If you heat with oil in Plymouth, Bristol, or Norfolk County, you’ve probably watched the tank gauge drop and done some math in your head. Someone told you gas is cheaper. Someone else said it costs a fortune to switch. Both are partly true, and neither helps until you know specifics about your house and street. We answer the questions we hear most from homeowners in places like Plymouth, Kingston, Raynham, Foxboro, and Dedham. Does gas reach your street? What does a conversion really cost? How does gas stack up against oil and heat pumps? And what should you ask before anyone touches your basement? Start with the question that comes first.
Is Natural Gas Available on Your Street in Plymouth, Bristol, or Norfolk County?
Before you compare furnace brands or efficiency ratings, find out whether a gas main runs past your house. It’s the first real decision in this whole process, and it’s the one most people skip.
In Massachusetts, gas availability is street by street. One road might have a main at the curb while the next one over never got one—more common in older, rural, or coastal pockets of Southeastern Massachusetts. The answer shapes everything after it. If the main is out front, a conversion can be fairly straightforward. If it’s a long way off, the cost and payback change. And if gas isn’t coming to your road, a new oil furnace or a heat pump may be the better call.
How Do I Find Out If a Gas Main Runs Down My Road?
Call your gas utility and give them your address. Which company serves you depends on your town. National Grid, Eversource, and Liberty Utilities all serve parts of Plymouth, Bristol, and Norfolk County, so check the utility on your bill or the one nearest you.
Ask three things: Is there a main on my street? What would the connection fee be? Is any main extension planned nearby?
The connection fee is where people get surprised. Industry sources put the utility’s charge anywhere from $500 to $3,000 or more, depending on how far your house sits from the main. Some utilities will run a line at no charge when a main extension project is already passing your street. Ask, and confirm any promise with the utility itself rather than a contractor or a neighbor.
Then there’s the piping inside your house. In Massachusetts, gas piping and fuel-burning equipment work must be done by a licensed plumber or gas fitter. Gas line work typically runs about $15 to $25 per linear foot, so the path from the meter to your furnace matters. A furnace near where the line enters the house is simpler than one at the far end of a long basement—whether you live in a historic North Plymouth home or a newer build in Foxboro.
We offer no-cost estimates and will tell you honestly what we see when we look at your setup.
What Does It Cost to Convert From Oil to Gas in Massachusetts?
Most Massachusetts sources put an oil-to-gas conversion somewhere between $5,000 and $15,000. That’s a wide spread, and the reason is simple: the furnace is only one piece of the project.
Here’s what else can show up. Gas line work runs $15 to $25 per linear foot. A chimney liner costs $500 to $2,000, oil tank removal $50 to $600, ductwork changes $500 to $1,500, and permits $50 to $300. Add the utility connection fee and you can see how two houses on the same road in Plymouth or Bristol County end up with very different totals. An underground oil tank costs more to deal with and can bring an environmental assessment, so ask about that early.
The furnace price matters too. Gas furnaces typically cost 10 to 25 percent more up front than comparable oil models. High-efficiency gas furnaces vent through PVC rather than a chimney, so the old chimney may sit unused or need a liner, and that deserves its own line in the quote.
A lot of homeowners have been burned by a quote that grew once the work started, and the worry is fair. We lay out the scope and the price before work begins, so you know what’s included and what isn’t. Install day itself usually takes 4 to 8 hours, and we handle the permits and inspections.
Gas, Oil, or Heat Pump: Which Costs Less to Heat a Home in Southeastern Massachusetts?
Once you know gas is an option, the next question is what it costs to run. The numbers are closer than most ads suggest. For the 2025–26 winter, the state’s Department of Energy Resources projected natural gas at about $2.03 per therm, heating oil at roughly $3.25 to $4.00 per gallon, and propane near $3.17 per gallon.
Those prices come in different units, so you can’t compare them straight across. Heat pumps complicate things in a useful way. The state’s annual heating cost comparison has put heat pumps within about 10 percent of gas on average, and roughly even with oil. We work on all three kinds of systems, so we have no reason to push you toward one.
Is Gas Really Cheaper Than Oil, and How Long Does the Switch Take to Pay Off?
Gas usually costs less per unit of heat in Massachusetts right now, but “usually” hides a lot. Oil carries about 140,000 BTU per gallon, so a price per gallon tells you very little until it’s converted to cost per BTU. That’s the math we run for your house, so you’re not relying on a rule of thumb.
Efficiency changes the picture too. A standard furnace at about 80 percent AFUE sends roughly 20 percent of its fuel up the flue. A high-efficiency condensing gas furnace runs 95 to 98 percent in the top models, so nearly everything you pay for turns into heat. If your oil furnace is old and tired, part of your savings will come from the new equipment, not just the fuel.
On yearly savings, you’ll see contractor claims of roughly $800 to $1,000 for Massachusetts homeowners who convert. The real number depends on your house, how much oil you burn now, and whether your project lands near $5,000 or closer to $15,000. A short gas line with no chimney work looks very different from a long run, an underground tank, and new ductwork.
Furnaces last 15 to 20 years, so payback has to fit inside that window. After a long Plymouth County winter of nor’easters and cold snaps, it’s tempting to switch on frustration alone. When the numbers don’t support it, we’ll say so.
Should I Get a Heat Pump Instead of a Gas Furnace If I’m Leaving Oil?
Sometimes, yes. Mass Save heat pump rebates apply when you’re replacing oil, propane, or electric resistance heat, which means pulling out an oil system qualifies. The program also offers the 0% HEAT Loan. Published rebate amounts change between program years, so confirm today’s numbers at masssave.com or ask us what applies to your address.
One catch: customers of a municipal utility that supplies both gas and electric may not be eligible. A few dozen Massachusetts towns have one, so check your bill.
The fair concern with heat pumps in New England is the coldest stretch of winter. Cold-climate models are built for it, but peak load, backup heat, and electric rates are all reasonable things to ask about. Some homeowners split the difference with a dual-fuel setup—a heat pump that handles most of the season and a gas furnace that picks up when it’s really cold.
Your ductwork matters here, and so does cooling. An air handler is the indoor unit that moves air through your ducts. A heat pump uses one in place of a furnace, and it heats and cools with the same equipment. A gas furnace pairs with a central AC coil and runs on the same ducts, so adding air conditioning to existing ductwork is often straightforward. If your furnace and AC are both near the end of their lives, replacing them together is worth pricing out, whether you’re in a Canton colonial or a Wareham cape.
Where to Start With Gas Furnace Installation in Plymouth, Bristol & Norfolk County
Start with the utility call, because gas availability and the connection fee set the course for everything else. Then get the whole project priced, not just the furnace. Compare fuels by cost per unit of heat rather than per gallon, and check whether a heat pump with Mass Save incentives beats a conversion in your house.
Whichever way you go, make sure a licensed plumber or gas fitter does the gas work and the permit gets pulled. After install, annual service keeps the system running, and a working carbon monoxide detector belongs near any fuel-burning equipment.
Dempsey Comfort Club members get annual tune-ups, priority scheduling, discounts on service calls, and reminders so nothing slips. If you’re in Plymouth, Bristol, or Norfolk County and want a straight answer on gas, oil, or a heat pump, Dempsey Energy will give you a no-cost estimate and tell you what we’d do in your house.
