Maryland HVAC leads

How Maryland homes are heated

No single fuel dominates in Maryland. The Census Bureau’s table B25117 (ACS 5-year 2020-2024) shows 724,067 owner-occupied homes heated by utility gas and 620,801 by electricity, out of 1,597,565, or 45.3% against 38.9%. Fuel oil heats another 8.5%, the 11th-highest oil share of any state, and propane 4.6%.

The near even split matters because the two fuels lead to different equipment. A gas home usually has a furnace or boiler on a utility line; an electric home usually has a heat pump, often an air handler with electric backup strips. In nine of the ten jurisdictions in the county table below, neither fuel reaches 60% of owner homes in the 2020-2024 ACS county data. These shares are a description of the homes, not of where requests come from.

Counting renters as well, electricity edges ahead: table B25040 (2020-2024 ACS) gives 44.1% electric and 43.1% utility gas across 2,362,928 occupied Maryland homes.

Maryland HVAC contractor licensing

Maryland licenses HVACR work at the state level. The State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, part of the Maryland Department of Labor, licenses individuals who provide residential and commercial HVACR services under Business Regulation Article 9A and COMAR 09.15. Its licensing requirements page lists these levels:

• Master: three years as a licensed journeyman providing all areas of HVACR services under a master, at least 1,875 hours in the year before applying, and a passing score of 70% on the master examination (State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, checked October 8, 2026).
• Master restricted: the same experience and hours, with the master restricted examination.
• Limited: two years as a journeyman under a licensed master, at least 1,000 hours in the prior year and the limited contractor examination (State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, checked October 8, 2026).
• Journeyman: at least four years as a licensed apprentice with at least 6,000 hours of training under a licensed HVACR contractor, and the journeyman examination (State Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, checked October 8, 2026).

Master, master restricted and limited licensees who sign HVACR contracts must carry general liability insurance of at least $300,000 and property damage insurance of at least $100,000, combined at least $400,000, according to the board’s insurance requirements (checked October 8, 2026). The board’s county licenses page adds that Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties require a county HVACR license as well as the state one, and other localities may require plumbing, gas fitting or electrical permits.

Refrigerant certification is a separate federal matter under EPA Section 608.

Maryland counties by owner-occupied homes

The table lists the ten Maryland jurisdictions (nine counties and Baltimore city) with the most owner-occupied homes, with the share heated by utility gas and by electricity. Source: ACS 5-year 2020-2024, tables B25003 and B25117 at county level. It reports housing characteristics only and implies nothing about where leads come from.

The split flips across the state. Baltimore city is 71.9% gas, while Charles County is 51.5% electric and Carroll County, at 22.4% gas, also has 19.0% of owner homes on fuel oil, in the same county data (2020-2024 ACS). Anne Arundel and Prince George’s, the two counties with their own HVACR license, are on opposite sides: Anne Arundel leans electric and Prince George’s leans gas.

What Maryland HVAC buyers filter on

Maryland HVAC buyers filterFilterA rule that decides which leads a buyer is offered, based on fields such as vertical, sub-type, state, ZIP code, homeownership or accident details. Glossary on the same kinds of fields as other home services buyers. In Maryland, each one relates to the facts above:

• Project type: for example install, replace or repair, for heating or cooling. With both seasons this pronounced, buyers often take heating and cooling work.
• Homeowner status: the 1,597,565 owner-occupied homes are where system replacements get approved (ACS 2020-2024, B25003).
• Timeframe: a failed air conditioner in July or a dead furnace in January versus a replacement planned ahead.
• ZIP code: buyers set coverage by ZIP code, for example around the counties where their technicians hold a county license.

When HVAC opens, Maryland buyers will set these filters per campaign, down to the ZIP code, as on Summit’s other home services leads. Once HVAC opens, HVAC leads will be exclusive by default, with shared delivery on request. The fields themselves are on the sample HVAC lead.