Before the heating season in Ottawa: what to book, and when the rush starts

The Ottawa calendar, and when the rush starts

Climate normals for 1991–2020 put January’s average low at -14.3°C, and most days from December through February stay below freezing. About 232 cm of snow falls in a year, mostly from December to March.

The heating season starts earlier on paper. In Ontario rentals, heat is a vital service from September 1. HomeStars’ Ottawa page says furnace cleaning sees higher demand heading into winter, which moves price and openings, and its Canada-wide guide says off-peak bookings may get discounted rates. Booking in September or October keeps the visit ahead of that demand.

Walk the house and list every appliance

One request can cover more than the furnace. Go room by room and list:

• Furnace or boiler. Enbridge Gas advises a yearly inspection or service visit by a TSSA-registered HVAC contractor. The full checklist is on the furnace maintenance page.
• Gas fireplace or insert. Enbridge asks for a yearly service visit and a yearly chimney inspection. See gas fireplace service.
• Gas water heater and gas dryer. Both burn fuel and vent outside. Name them so the technician knows what shares the venting.
• Humidifier on the furnace. Ask whether it is part of the visit price or a separate line.
• HRV or ERV. A Canada-wide guide puts annual professional service at $150–$300.
• Heat pump or central AC. Note the outdoor unit and where it sits, since snow will pile against it.

Add the make, model and age from each rating plate, and the date of the last service if you have the paper.

Oil and propane homes

Ontario’s fuel oil regulation, O. Reg. 213/01, bars a distributor from supplying a tank unless it has inspected the installation within the previous decade, or follows a quality assurance inspection program. The same section requires an underground tank to be registered before it is filled. Ask your oil company for the date of its last inspection before the first winter delivery.

TSSA’s online registry filters contractors by fuel oil, natural gas or propane. Check the company under your fuel before the visit.

Booked in October or called in January: the price gap

A planned visit is priced as routine work. HomeStars’ Ottawa pages put a furnace inspection and tune-up at $100–$200 and a routine heating maintenance visit at $90–$275. One Ottawa firm lists annual gas fireplace service at $179–$329.

Urgent work is priced differently. Ottawa HVAC labour runs $85–$175 an hour in regular hours, and HomeStars says emergency or weekend service can nearly double it. Canada-wide, an after-hours furnace repair adds $100–$200 or more to the base bill. HomeStars puts it plainly: a worn ignitor found at a maintenance visit costs the part; found at 11 pm in January, it costs the part plus the surcharge.

Replacements and heat pumps: paperwork before winter

HomeStars notes that parts for a furnace past age 15 can be hard to find, which means a return visit, and that near age 20 it is worth asking whether a repair still makes sense. Asking in October leaves time to compare quotes.

A heat pump needs more lead time. Under Home Renovation Savings, a participating contractor files a pre-installation application, and the install can start only after approval; work done before approval gets no rebate. The steps are on the rebates page.

Outside the house, before the snow

Enbridge Gas asks owners to keep the gas meter and the exhaust vents for furnaces, fireplaces, water heaters and dryers clear of snow and ice. A plugged vent can let carbon monoxide build up indoors. Enbridge says to brush snow off carefully and to keep shovelled, plowed or blown snow away from the meter and vent pipes. Ask the technician to point out each vent outlet during the visit.

Indoors, Ontario’s Fire Code now asks for a CO alarm next to each sleeping area and, since January 1, 2026, on every storey of a house with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. The province advises testing each alarm monthly and changing batteries every year.

What to write in your request, and what to sign

Put the list from your walk-through in the form: each appliance, its fuel, its age, and the last service date. Add the weeks that suit you, access to the furnace room, and anything odd from last winter.

For the paperwork, Ontario’s guide for home renovation businesses calls for a written agreement on any contract worth more than $50, and a contractor cannot charge more than 10% above the estimate unless an amended agreement is signed. Ask for each appliance as its own line, with HST shown.

Who handles your request

Ottawa Heating Desk sends your request to one independent local heating company. That company calls you back, agrees the date and the price, and does the work.