Sila Heating & Air Conditioning

They called ½ hour before arrival just as they said they would! My Sanyo ductless system was not producing cold air. Technician discovered I had a setting wrong on the remote. easy fix! Love the honesty! Highly recommend!

Called to get a quote on maintaining my heating system, was also looking to upgrade since I have an older system. The person on the phone who answered the call could not be bothered with helping me out… business is business, He was more concerned with selling his air conditioning systems.
I have since found a less apathetic company.

After I saw and purchased the single split AC coupon from Angie’s List, a Sila rep (Brian MacFarland) came out and assessed our needs. We could have gone with the single unit for the AMAZING coupon price, but had other rooms we wanted to cool as well and Brian spec’d out a plan for our home at a very good price that included the coupon. We ended up with a 3 zone heat pump (15K and 2 x 9K BTU wall units). The 15K was installed on the first floor to cool and heat our living room/​kitchen area. The two 9K units went in bedrooms.
Gage and Josh came out exactly on time first thing in the morning and did a very professional job. They were clean and considerate of our home and left no garbage, nor marks or dings on any walls or floors. Very nice guys and easy to talk to. They were able to give us good information on the install and the units themselves. The install took a whole day (7 – 4) and the end result is excellent. All the hosing on the sides of the house were nicely covered, matched out siding and laid out cleanly. There were no «Oops» moments. I’ve had other work done by other contractors and there are almost always plenty of oops moments.
We also had Sila provide electrician services for the required 220 line. Jim was scheduled to come and give an estimate for the install in a week but was able to do the job same day. To me, that was huge. We had a running system at the end of the day. In fact, electrical was done before the system was completed, so that when it was time to turn it on, it was all ready.
The was one moment when a decision needed to me made to follow the original plan or make a change and a tech foreman was called to the site to go over it with me and make sure that we would be happy, no matter what. We discussed the change option and the original option and came to a resolution that we were happy with (the original plan). This was all done in 30 – 60 minutes. The foreman was able to come out quickly and they guys were able to continue working on other parts of the install while I waited for him.
Sila also sent a technician out a week later to go over the system one more time and also to give us training on the use of the system one more time. A very nice customer service perk.
All in all, I highly recommend Sila for your heating and cooling needs. Top notch professionalism and very good pricing.

This is a review of central AC repair.
One of the worst feelings in the world of homeownership is having your central AC go. It just sounds expensive and you never know if the service provider is going to get it right or soak you. Thankfully I found these guys.
I was able to get an appointment within days of my call. The tech they sent out, Brian, was not only on time, he was early! He got right to work and was able to diagnose and repair the problem quickly. He was very knowledgeable and explained the system and repair to me. Also a small, but much appreciated gesture, Brian put on plastic shoe covers so as not to track in any dirt into my home, (never has anyone done that before when providing a service in my home).
Their rate was clearly explained to me and I was able to save big $ by buying the Unilocal deal.
They also do heating work so I will be making them my service provider for that as well.

It’s not a happy time when you need these guys, but they did exactly what we wanted for exactly the price they quoted exactly when they said they would. We have had a recurring problem of our furnace shutting down in extreme cold weather because the original builder routed the condensate drainage pipe on the third floor furnace out to the edge of the eave and then down an outside wall. When the condensate in the pipe freezes so that it can’t drain, it trips a pressure switch in the furnace and shuts it down. We know this because it always happens when it gets really cold, and always clears up as soon as the temperature goes up.
It happened during the 2015 Snowmaggedon, and John came out to see what he could do about the short term problem. Nick then came out to assess it, and we discussed a long term solution of rerouting the condensate drainage to the inside of the house, down through two inside closets to the basement. But we didn’t do it because it was going to be a $ 1,000+ job and make a mess. And it warmed up, so the short term problem went away.
In Feb. 2016, we had a couple days of –30 windchill, and sure enough it happened again, and then went away the next day when the temperature when into the 50s. I called Nick back. He came out the next day, looked over the situation, and gave me a $ 1,500 quote, which sounded about right to me. He said he could get it done the next day at 7:30 am. Josh and Brendan showed up right on time, did the work professionally, and were out by 1:00 pm. Nick also came out to check on and to make sure they had the right parts.
What really impressed me was how much more concerned about cosmetic details they were than I, given that this was all going to be hidden in the backs of closets. They made an elegant plumbing solution, and then cleaned up spotlessly (including Formula 409 to get rid of the fingerprints), sweeping down the stairs, etc.
Really first rate. Would use them again in a heartbeat if I had to.

I cant say enough about the experience I just had with Peter. He showed up early, was very professional and unlike others from different companies over the years which names I won’t mention out of respect, did an excellent job. I ended up signing for maintenance contract and will use the company from now on. I’m very satisfied with the level of service and Peter’s positive attitude which is not easy to find these days. I would highly recommend the company to anyone looking for professional service and honest approach. EXCELLENT*****

Completely replaced old oil burning furnaces with high efficiency gas and added central A/​C. Huge job ($ 25k) done painlessly on time!
Their team was great! Led by Sam and Nick, they came out and designed a new system that would work in our old house (Victorian built in 1870’s).
Great low cost.
Always on time.
Always took my calls and got back to me quickly — I had a lot of questions! Sam would call me back after hours even.
Helped me navigate the MassSaves HEAT loan program and made it easy
Maximized my rebate opportunities.
Installed the new systems quickly and cleanly.
Coordinated multiple sub contractors (chimney, electrical, etc.) with no effort on my part.
Came back multiple times to help tweak things and get it PERFECT! Our satisfaction was clearly number one priority.
Can’t recommend them highly enough and already have referred a co-​worker who also had their system replaced.

I’ve used Sila on a number of occasions, mostly for tune-​ups. All their service men were friendly and knowledgeable, and were very neat. Most recently I had a problem with my furnace (not running). Unfortunately it was a sporadic problem, so it was difficult to diagnose. They came out 3 times. The second time Dave did an amazing job inspecting my furnace, even inside using a special camera, but the furnace was running. Of course it quit soon after he left. Brian came out the next day and luckily we were able to get the furnace to quit. Brian quickly diagnosed the problem. An induction motor was needed. It was late in the day (~5:00) and he couldn’t get a replacement part form their usually vendor until the next day. Shortly after he left, he called me back and found a local company to get the part from. He returned that night and fixed my furnace. Since it was the middle of January I was very thankful for not having to spend another cold night.

Just had the HVAC system in my condo replaced. Graham Keohane did the estimate. Very thorough, and patient. He took the time to explain the options, and didn’t try to «up sell.» Gage Silva and a number of others did the installation. They arrived at the promised time, and worked steadily. The system was delivered fully-​functional, and my cellar was spotless afterwards, despite the crew having to run a feeder duct through drywall, and work in several inches of snow to install the outside equipment, and then connect inside. Great experience. Professional. The company even credited the account for the unused portion of the maintenance contract on the old equipment. –Adams

Craig was a great technician and helped us get our heat turned back in a quick and cost– efficient manner. Nothing like a good rescue when your heat goes out over Thanksgiving break.

I just had my oil heating system serviced by John Gulstcom at Sila. I just bought the house a year ago, and Heritage had come before the closing to replace the fuel line and (supposedly) to do a cleaning. When John opened up the system, we found lots of gunk and build up that had clearly not been cleaned in the check done by Heritage. Also they did not replace the valves when they did the fuel line, and the connection to the valve inside the furnace was actually leaking.
I was very pleased with the service and workmanship from Sila. John was very patient in explaining the issues and made recommendations but was not pushy. I decided to replace the burner, as it was very old and needed several components replaced. He gave me a written estimate and approximated the time for the repair. He stayed on schedule and the cost was as estimated. I highly recommend Sila and John as well.

I contacted Sila at 2pm on a Friday in a tight spot. My water heater had burst and my home and rental property did not have hot water. I had plans to leave the state for 4 days on Sunday evening, and knew that leaving the tenants without hot water was not going to work.
Even though I was not an existing customer, Sila made time to send a senior field serviceman (John G) out to my home later the same day. John helped me understand the choices available for replacements (rather than just replacing what was already in place) and scheduled me for the very next day… a *Saturday*.
I didn’t get a chance to price shop, but a quick check suggests that I did not get ripped off. Sila was responsive, understanding, and flexible. They could have taken advantage of the urgency of the repair, but they did not. I expect to be a Sila customer for the foreseeable future.

Peter did a great job cleaning my boiler and explaining just how to take care of it throughout the winter. Arrived on time and was very courteous and thorough and answered all of my questions. Made some suggestions for future needs. Feel very confident my condo will be warm and comfortable and that Sila will be there for me should an emergency arise. Thank you Peter and Sila Heating.
Brenda B. Cambridge, MA

Craig was on time, extremely helpful, explained everything, recommended what will keep the heater performing at capacity and did his job efficiently and quickly. I use Sila every year and they have been exceptionally good at maintaining and keeping my heating system performing really well. I highly recommend them.

I was able to schedule an appointment for the same week. John G came in, quickly diagnosed my situation and got my radiator working. He did a great job explaining the issues and teaching me about my boiler. While waiting for the system to heat up, he offered a few good paths forward for dealing with my aging system. I will work with Sila again.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!
Angie’s List turned me on to Sila… thank you, thank you thank you!!!
John Arrived early, spent almost 3 hours cleaning my furnace, awesome job… educated me like no other before him… GREAT experience… finally found the best heating company out there… SILA!!!

Well my water heater failed the other day. I was away on business so told my wife to call and see if Craig could come out asap. She said Domenic answered the phone and answered her questions about how to turn off water to the water heater heater. She told me his soft calm voice put her at ease when she was shutting the valves off. She asked for Craig to come out at asap. He made some changes to the schedule. Craig arrived less than an hour later looked at the unit. Turned out it was some type of relief valve. Craig replaced the valve and explained what it did as my wife watched him make the repair. He tested the water temperature and water pressure and found no issues. He advised us unit is 5 years old and has a 10 year warranty on the tank. Once again Sila and Craig to the rescue again. Thanks to Domenic with his soothing voice and making changes to get Craig back.

Got oil boiler maintenance deal from Angie’s list. John Gulstrom was excellent. He explained monthly «water change» maintenance tip that I didn’t know about. Answered all my questions and left the place clean when he was done. Highly recommended.

Amazing bunch of techs. 3 big issues over the last 2.5 years and 3 solved professionally. Outside AC unit, gas heater and hit water heater. Couldn’t recommend them more.

Quoted me $ 119 for my annual maintenance and system flush/​descale. On the phone they said it was going to be $ 119 instead of $ 89 because of the type of system I have. Tech get’s here and say’s that it’s going to be $ 389 after starting to do the work. Other quotes I received were for 270 and 230 from other vendors. This is an hour to hour and a half job plus $ 12 in vinegar, which I have done myself before. Avoid working with this company.

Since last summer I had been having trouble with my AC/​Heating Unit. I have used Sila for 10 years. They charged me $ 400/​yr for a service contract and did twice yearly preventive maintenance. When the problems began last summer they first told me my unit could not be repaired because it used freon (no longer legal in MA) as a coolant — this turned out to be untrue. They then said my system needed to be replaced for $ 10,000 and began to set up the replacement. I asked whether this was covered under the service contract — NO they said and even if it was fixable, they would no longer offer me a service contract on the unit — which seemed totally unfair since I had paid them $ 4000 over ten years and now, when I needed repairs they refused to honor the terms of the contract.
I sought a second opinion, they discovered an electrical issue with the unit — fixed it for short cash and the unit has been running excellently since. If I listened to Sila — I’d be out $ 10 000 for absolutely no reason.

The jury is still out for me on Sila. Looking at all the glowing reviews I was hopeful we’d found a solid, quality HVAC company in Boston that would earn our loyalty for years to come. We’re new condo owners and had a Mass Saves energy assessment in the spring after the harsh winter. We weren’t shocked to learn our furnace is older — we knew that when we bought it – but we were shocked to hear that the AC system runs on a banned coolant that is hard to get and will be nearly obsolete in about 12 months. Wanting to be proactive, and possibly use the Mass Saves Heat Loan benefit, we started getting quotes from several HVAC contractors.
It started off well when Guy arrived to our condo in a timely manner (early actually) and even went so far as to put booties on his shoes to not scuff our wood floors. He did a heat load, looked at our 15+ year old system, mentioned a ballpark estimate, and promised a quick quote. And he delivered on that promise. The problem was the quote was significantly higher ($ 21,000) than the ballpark ($ 16,000) AND he kept trying to «throw in» a water heater. We found the make and model on Amazon for less than $ 800 (they were charging $ 2,500+). Plus the water heater had HORRIBLE reviews from customers all over the country.
Guy then quickly changed the quote and dropped about $ 3,000, saying he had gotten «permission» from his boss to give us the water heater a bit cheaper if we were willing to book the job by the end of the month. It felt like I’d walked into a car dealership! When we didn’t respond promptly enough to that offer, he sent a third quote that was cheaper still, and again with the message that he couldn’t possibly go any lower than than quote… so long as we booked by the end of the month.
I don’t think this is typical and I want to believe other people’s great reviews, but I have serious reservations.

My interaction with SILA started after the original guys I hired (Central Cooling and Heating) backed out of the job, after I had already put down a ¹⁄₃ deposit. Quite frustrating when you are in the middle of 2 heat waves, and their acceptance of the job basically stopped the process of me pricing out vendors.
Central Cooling cancelling the job was the best thing that happened to me this summer, as it opened the door to SILA…
SILA’s team left my condo about 3 hours ago, after a very long 10 hour, 4^th floor, city job, and I am still just blown away with everything about the experience. I don’t have 1 negative thing to say about these guys. From Graham that gave me an estimate and oversaw the project, to Pete and Jesse that replaced the old system and installed the new system… These guys are just 100% PROS!!!
Seriously, look no further if you need your HVAC serviced! You will consider yourself lucky to have come across SILA.
Off the charts, head and shoulders better than any of the other companies we got estimates from!
You’re welcome Unilocal!I wish they were all this good!!!

My experience comes with a lesson. I called Sila after using another local AC company. When the other AC company left me high and dry without fixing anything, I called Sila.
Our service was scheduled for the day after I made first contact, which was awesome considering the temps have been in the mid 90’s and humid as hell. They were super responsive. My service technician Peter, arrive promptly at 7am and got right to work. Very professional, walked me through everything he was going to do and while he was doing it. Explained all the gauges and readings, while doing the work so a normal person like myself could understand. He spent extensive time making sure his diagnostics were correct and he was doing the best service for our equipment. In the end, he got our system running as efficiently as possible. I can’t say enough for Peter’s professionalism, understanding, and patience with me and our equipment.
Now for the lesson. Sila might not be the cheapest AC service in town, but if you want our equipment maintained correctly and efficiently with no excuses, call Sila. It will save you money in the long run to use someone that knows what they are doing. Peter and the team at Sila are those people!

I found Sila through Angie’s list. I interacted with a few people on the phone, and they were friendly. The fact that I was able to reach a human, let alone that they were friendly and responsive was a big improvement from the other HVAC places I called.
On the day of service, John G came to my place exactly on time. He was very kind, professional, and thorough. He was realistic in his assessment, and gave me practical immediate/​short term things to try, and better long-​term solutions. Turns out I will eventually be needing an entirely new system, but he gave me tips to prolong the life of my current unit. He also let me know that having mass saves come out can help make my replacement unit more affordable.
The fact that there was a Unilocal deal available was a wonderful surprise. It cut my bill in half!
In the end, I hope that my unit behaves nicely and I don’t need to call anyone for quite a while. But if I do, you can bet I will be calling Sila.

This is a story about empathy.
During this week of record cold temperatures, our furnace decided that it didn’t want to keep running occasionally. So we called Silas to get someone out to take a look at the furnace.
The repairman showed up when scheduled. Within 30 seconds of looking at the furnace, he stated that he would not work on it as it wasn’t installed properly. His attitude wasn’t great as he was basically laughing at me while telling me that our furnace was basically some portal to hell that he wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole.
From there, he proceeded to spend the next hour telling me about the roughly $ 10,000 project that would be necessary to ensure proper heating of our small condo. Of course, all of this was happening on my dime. $ 269 later, all I had was a vague idea of a project that we might be able to tackle in the spring time (hoping the furnace would make across that line).
This brings me to today. When the furnace finally said «nope». My wife, infant and toddler and myself awoke this morning to a condo that was well into the 50s.
So we called another HVAC company for help.
Within two hours we had a very professional technician who again mentioned that the furnace would need some reconfiguration, but FIXED THE FURNACE without complaint because my family was cold and just needed some help. We have scheduled a follow up with this other company once to get everything else in order.
Sometimes, people just need some help. Don’t treat them like they’re assholes because someone didn’t do everything perfectly 10 years ago.