If your home has a gas furnace or boiler, have it checked once a year, and early fall is the best time: before the first cold night, not after it. PGW tells customers to have their natural gas heating equipment inspected annually, and ENERGY STAR recommends a pre-season check-up of the heating system every fall. Below is what a proper tune-up covers, what you can do yourself in twenty minutes, the carbon monoxide alarm rules in Philadelphia, and where to turn if money is tight or the heat has already quit.
This is general information. For anything involving gas, venting or permits, the utility, the manufacturer and the City are the final word.
Furnace or boiler: know what you have
Philadelphia houses have both. It matters because the tune-up is different.
- Furnace (forced air). A furnace heats air and pushes it through ducts and floor or wall registers. It has a filter, a blower and usually a flue or a plastic vent pipe.
- Hot-water boiler. A boiler heats water and a pump circulates it to radiators or baseboard. You'll see a pressure/temperature gauge on the boiler and a circulator pump on the piping.
- Steam boiler. Common in older houses with cast-iron radiators and a single pipe to each radiator. A steam boiler has a glass tube (sight glass) showing the water level and a low-water cutoff that shuts the burner off if the water drops too low.
If you're not sure, look at the equipment label (make, model, and usually the manufacture date) and take a photo of it. A technician will ask for it, and so will anyone quoting a repair or replacement.
What a real tune-up should include
"Tune-up" can mean anything from a thorough check to a quick look and an invoice. A useful yardstick is the list PGW publishes for its own Check & Adjust service on natural gas heating equipment. Its technicians:
- check the thermostat for proper operation;
- inspect the venting system and the draft at the draft hood (on equipment that has one);
- check and remove debris from the chimney clean-out;
- check the flame characteristics and clean the pilot and main burner if needed;
- check the automatic cutoff and the adjustable limits;
- check the filter (on furnaces) and tell you if it needs replacing;
- check the blower or pump, and lubricate it if the motor isn't permanently lubricated;
- check the water level and pressure gauge (on boilers);
- inspect the temperature/pressure relief valve for leaks and corrosion;
- check the low-water cutoff, flush it and refill to the proper water level (on boilers);
- examine the heat exchanger or boiler sections for defects.
ENERGY STAR's maintenance checklist adds a few items: tightening electrical connections and measuring voltage and current on motors, checking the condensate drain on high-efficiency equipment, and checking gas connections, gas pressure, burner combustion and the heat exchanger. ENERGY STAR notes that dirty burners or a cracked heat exchanger can cause improper operation, fire hazards and health problems, which is the main reason the yearly check is worth doing.
When you book, ask the company to describe what their tune-up includes and compare it with the lists above. A short written report of what was checked, what was found and what was adjusted is a reasonable thing to ask for.
What you can do yourself
None of this replaces the technician's visit, but it takes little time and catches the easy problems.
- Check the filter (furnaces). ENERGY STAR suggests inspecting the filter monthly and cleaning or replacing it when it's dirty. Note the size printed on the frame and keep a spare.
- Clear the area around the equipment. Basements in rowhomes double as storage. Keep boxes, paint cans, cleaning products and laundry away from the furnace, boiler and water heater, and don't block the access panel.
- Open the registers and radiator valves. Move furniture and curtains off supply registers, return grilles and radiators so air or heat can actually reach the room.
- Test the thermostat. Replace its batteries if it uses them, switch it to heat, raise the setpoint a few degrees and make sure the system starts.
- Look at the boiler gauge or sight glass. You don't need to adjust anything. Just note the reading, and if the water level or pressure looks different from last season, mention it to the technician.
- Test your smoke and CO alarms. PGW recommends a carbon monoxide detector on each floor and testing smoke and CO alarm batteries, replacing them twice a year.
- Check outside. If your high-efficiency furnace or boiler vents through the wall with plastic pipes, make sure leaves, plants or stored items aren't blocking them.
Leave the burner, gas valve, venting and anything inside a sealed panel to a qualified technician.
Carbon monoxide alarms in Philadelphia
Gas, oil and wood-burning equipment can produce carbon monoxide, which you can't see or smell. In Philadelphia, the Fire Code requires carbon monoxide alarms in one- and two-family homes that have one or more fossil-fuel or wood-burning appliances or an attached garage. According to an L&I code interpretation, in an existing house these alarms don't have to be hardwired or interconnected, so plug-in or battery models generally meet the rule. New construction is held to stricter hardwired and interconnected requirements.
Pennsylvania's Carbon Monoxide Alarm Standards Act also applies when a home is sold. A house with a fossil-fuel heater, fireplace or attached garage needs a working CO detector near the bedrooms and the fuel-burning equipment, and the seller has to disclose the detectors.
Signs to act on right away
- You smell gas. PGW's instruction is to leave the area immediately and then call PGW at 215-235-1212 from a safe place. Don't flip light switches, use your phone or an open flame inside, or try to find the leak yourself.
- A CO alarm goes off, or people in the house feel sick, dizzy or headachy when the heat runs. Get everyone outside and call 911.
- Don't heat the house with the oven or gas range. PGW specifically warns against it.
Other signs that the system needs a technician soon, not someday: a burner flame that looks lazy or mostly yellow, soot around the equipment or the vent, a steam boiler that keeps losing water, a hot-water boiler whose relief valve drips, or a furnace that short-cycles (starts and stops every few minutes).
Paying for maintenance and repairs
- PGW Parts & Labor Plan. PGW sells a Parts & Labor Plan for natural gas appliances. Check & Adjust, the yearly heater inspection described above, is an add-on to a heater plan, not something you can buy by itself. Read the terms before you sign up, because the plan covers listed parts and has exclusions.
- Heater Hotline (low-income homeowners). The City's emergency heater repair program is run by the Energy Coordinating Agency: call 215-568-7190. ECA says you must own and live in the single-family home, not own another property, and have a household income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level. Renters aren't eligible. It covers repairs such as burners, gas valves, thermostats and controls, chimney and flue, circulators and blowers, and heating pipes.
- LIHEAP. Pennsylvania's 2026/27 heating assistance season opens Monday, November 2, 2026 and runs through April 23, 2027. You can apply on COMPASS, through your County Assistance Office or by calling 1-866-857-7095. Crisis grants of up to $1,000 for the season go through the County Assistance Office, and the state notes that weatherization help can include repairing broken heating equipment.
When a tune-up turns into a replacement
Sometimes the technician finds a cracked heat exchanger, a rotted boiler section or parts that are no longer available. Before you agree to a replacement:
- Get it in writing. Ask for the finding (photos help), the model and size of the proposed equipment, and what's included: removal of the old unit, venting or chimney work, piping and the permit.
- Expect a permit. In Philadelphia, installing heating equipment and gas piping needs a mechanical permit. Replacing an appliance in a one- or two-family house generally qualifies for an EZ permit without plans, but the work must be done by a licensed contractor. Ordinary repairs and maintenance don't need a permit. In Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties, check with your township or borough.
- Compare more than one estimate. Equipment size, efficiency and the venting approach vary between bids, so compare what's actually being installed, not just the total. Our guide to checking a contractor in Philadelphia covers the state registration, licenses and the written contract.
When to call a pro
Call a heating technician for the yearly tune-up itself, and right away for any of the warning signs above. Call sooner rather than later if the system is making new noises, isn't keeping up on cold days, or hasn't been serviced in several years. Gas valves, burners, venting, heat exchangers, and boiler controls such as the low-water cutoff and relief valve are not DIY work.
If you'd like quotes from local heating pros, you can describe the job once on HomeKept: the type of system, its age, and what you need (a tune-up, a repair or a replacement estimate). It's free for homeowners, you can compare up to three estimates, and HomeKept covers Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties. Pros' license and insurance badges appear only after their documents are checked. That isn't a background check, so still do your own checks before you hire.
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