Annual furnace service in Ottawa: what the gas technician checks and what it costs

Whose job the yearly visit is

Ontario’s gas regulation puts the duty on the owner or user of a gas appliance to keep it in safe operating condition. TSSA, the province’s fuels safety regulator, asks that every fuel-burning appliance be inspected each year by a TSSA-registered fuel contractor. Enbridge Gas gives the same advice for furnaces, boilers and gas fireplaces, and leaves the service itself to HVAC contractors. TSSA’s online registry lets you look up a company before it comes.

What a full service covers

BC’s safety regulator publishes a gas furnace service checklist that works as a yardstick for any Ottawa quote. Grouped, it covers:

• Safety controls: limit controls, pressure switches, vent blower, thermostat.
• Burners and flame: burner inspection and cleaning, flame rectification (the flame sensor’s signal).
• Gas: piping to the furnace, manifold pressure, clocking the furnace to confirm its input.
• Venting and combustion: the full vent run to its outside end, flue temperature, combustion air, a test for elevated carbon monoxide, the heat exchanger.
• Air side: blower cleaning and speed, bearings, filter, temperature rise between return and supply air.

The list ends with a completed checklist left with the homeowner, naming the gas contractor and gas fitter. Ask for the same paper. On a high-efficiency furnace, ask whether the condensate drain and trap are part of the visit.

Cleaning, tune-up or inspection: compare scope before price

Ads use three names for this visit. HomeStars’ Ottawa page prices a standard cleaning of burners, blower, heat exchanger and filter at $80–$150, and an inspection and tune-up, a full system check with the cleaning, at $100–$200. Its Canada-wide guide prices single items: burner cleaning $80–$150, combustion analysis $100–$150, thermostat calibration $50–$100.

A low price can mean a cleaning without the combustion test. Ask which checklist items are in the price and whether the CO and combustion figures come written down.

One visit a year or a plan

Canada-wide, a one-time tune-up runs $70–$250 and a plan $150–$500 a year. One Ontario-wide provider’s furnace plan, with a 22-point inspection, is $9.99 a month for 12 months plus HST, and $12.99 for boilers. Before you sign a plan, compare:

• visits a year, and whether the air conditioner is included;
• which repairs or parts, if any, it covers;
• the term, renewal date and how to cancel;
• who supplies filters.

Ontario’s guide for home renovation businesses says any contract worth more than $50 needs a written agreement, that maintenance contracts can count as future performance agreements, and that a contractor cannot charge more than 10% above an estimate in the contract unless a signed change adds work.

When to book in Ottawa

HomeStars’ Ottawa page says most manufacturers recommend a yearly cleaning before the heating season, and that demand climbs heading into winter, which affects price and openings. A standard cleaning takes one to two hours by that page. Be home if you can, so the technician can walk you through the findings. Booked work also costs less than an urgent call: HomeStars lists after-hours call-outs at $140–$210 an hour.

When the visit turns up a problem

• A worn part. HomeStars’ Canada repair guide lists a flame sensor at $75–$200 and an ignitor at $150–$300. Get the price in writing first. More: furnace repair cost in Ottawa.
• An unsafe condition. A gas technician who finds a hazard can shut off the gas and tag the furnace. Next steps: furnace red-tagged.
• A sales offer. Ontario limits new agreements for furnaces, air conditioners and duct cleaning during a maintenance visit; see the FAQ. Duct work offered as an add-on: duct cleaning.

Ontario’s Fire Code requires a CO alarm beside each sleeping area of a house with a fuel-burning appliance, and since 1 January 2026 on every storey. More on carbon monoxide safety.

Who handles your request

Ottawa Heating Desk passes your request to one independent local heating company. That company calls you back, sets the visit, prices the service and does the work.