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Boiler Repair in Massachusetts

Across Massachusetts as a whole, 20% of households heat with fuel oil. We publish a page for the 129 Massachusetts towns where that share reaches 5%, and oil heat means a boiler far more often than it means anything else.

In brief

Fuel oil heats 20% of households in Massachusetts as a whole. A town page is published here wherever that share reaches 5 percent, and where oil is the heat the appliance is a boiler far more often than it is anything else.

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25040.

BoilerBridge is a referral service, not a contractor. We connect homeowners with independent contractors. Contractors are required to hold whatever credential their state or municipality demands. Every state page sets out who licenses plumbers there and where to check, so you can confirm before work begins. We carry out no work, we sell no equipment, we do not set prices, and we never charge homeowners anything — the contractors in our network pay us when we route them a call.

Where the oil heat is in Massachusetts

Of the 129 towns we cover here, 28 are at 35% oil or more, 70 are between 15 and 35%, and 31 sit between 5 and 15%. Berkley is highest at 66%.

TownHeat with oilOccupied homes
Quincy12%45,526
Lynn19%36,328
Somerville6%35,295
Dorchester8%33,281
Malden11%26,319
Haverhill11%26,300
Plymouth29%25,822
Waltham20%25,692

Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B25040 (house heating fuel), 2023 release. The state figure is weighted across every town we cover in Massachusetts, including those below the threshold for a page. B25040 records the fuel, not the system.

Carbon monoxide, wherever you are

Any appliance that burns fuel can produce carbon monoxide when combustion or venting goes wrong, and CPSC describes low to moderate poisoning as producing symptoms "similar to the flu (but without the fever)". It recommends alarms on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas — but not in kitchens or above the appliance — and annual professional inspection of the heating system.

If an alarm sounds: outside first, then call 911. Not open windows, and not look for the source.

Source: US Consumer Product Safety Commission, Carbon Monoxide Fact Sheet.

What the federal standards require

DOE’s amended minimums are 84% AFUE for gas-fired hot water boilers, 82% for gas-fired steam, 86% for oil-fired hot water and 85% for oil-fired steam — plus no constant-burning pilot on gas units and an automatic means for adjusting water temperature on hot water boilers. What that number does and does not measure is worth ten minutes before any quote.

Source: US Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Boilers.

Checking a plumber in Massachusetts

Massachusetts licenses are issued by the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Plumbers and Gas Fitters, which publishes a public search you can use before work begins.

Towns we route in Massachusetts

A boiler is not a furnace, and the person you want knows the difference.Tell us it is a boiler, tell us what the gauge reads if you can see it, and we will route you to somebody in your area who works on them. You are never charged. Boilers give this site its name and not its limits.

Call (888) 510-4130
Call (888) 510-4130