Built for NE Ohio winters
Salem sits on the higher ground of southern Columbiana County, well inland of the Erie lake-effect belt but locked into hard Northeast Ohio winters — long cold from November through March and a 42-inch frost line. Natural gas reaches most of the city, so propane is less of a factor here than in the surrounding townships, but the old housing stock loses heat fast and the no-heat season runs long. Aging chimneys on retrofitted furnaces make CO testing a standard part of every heating visit. The frost line here is about 42 inches and hard-freeze season runs November through March, so heating equipment in Salem works longer and harder than it would almost anywhere else — and the cost of a no-heat call in February is a lot higher than an inconvenience.