West Springfield, MA HVAC, one neighborhood at a time

Tight side yards decide where a condenser can go before anything else does. We plan placement around lot lines, setbacks and where a two-family's units will each need access. In a two-family house we often set each unit up with its own ductless system so neither floor fights the other for heat or cooling.

Basements near the river get our attention first. We check boilers, furnaces and water heaters for rust and moisture damage before we quote anything, because equipment that sits in a damp basement ages faster. A dehumidifier or a raised pad sometimes buys the next system years of life.

Every fall the Big E changes traffic on Memorial Avenue, so we time visits around it. Where a house here has ducted forced air with a central AC coil, that is where a matched furnace and AC replacement, or a heat pump on the existing ducts, makes the most sense.

This is our fastest way in: I-91 north from Connecticut drops us right at Riverdale Street. The homes tucked behind the corridor get the same service as anywhere in town, including emergency calls through the night when a furnace or boiler quits.

Where a house here predates the 1940s, heat usually comes from a hot water or steam boiler and radiators. We repair and replace boilers, and we add ductless cooling without touching the radiant heat. Water heaters in these basements are often past their service life too, and we check them on the same visit.

These streets sit farther from the river and Route 5. Where a house here has central air, the ductwork often runs through an attic, and we check that run for leaks and missing insulation before blaming the equipment. A room that never cools is often a duct problem, not a size problem.