The Town Next Door
Brunswick was part of the town of Troy until it became its own town in 1807. The 2020 census counted 12,581 people across 44.6 square miles. Most of its development follows two roads out of Troy: NY 7, Hoosick Road, which became a four-lane highway in the 1980s, and NY 2, Brunswick Road. The part of town closest to the city shares the 12180 ZIP code with Troy.
Along Hoosick Road, a Wal-Mart and a supermarket opened in 1996 and strip plazas followed. Brunswick Center, which locals call Center Brunswick, sits on Hoosick Road. Eagle Mills, on the Poesten Kill along Brunswick Road, was the town's biggest business center in 1880 and is now mostly homes.
Brunswick Homes and Heating Fuel
Brunswick housing is newer and more suburban than Troy's. On the western side of town, the census tract along Hoosick Road and Eagle Mills has a median build year of 1965, about 27 percent of homes built after 2000, and about 71 percent single-family detached. Around Brunswick Center and Grange Road the tract median is 1969, and about 80 percent of homes are owner-occupied.
The big difference is fuel. In the town as a whole, only about 47 percent of homes heat with utility gas. About 24 percent burn fuel oil and about 12 percent propane. Even on the Hoosick Road side, about 17 percent use oil and 11 percent propane. A significant share of Brunswick homes use private wells, and most use septic systems.
Oil, Propane and Heat Pumps
Homes off the gas lines heat with oil boilers and furnaces or propane, and those systems need their own care: burners, nozzles, filters and tanks on oil, and regulators and venting on propane. We work on both, along with gas and electric systems.
Oil and propane homes are also where a cold-climate heat pump is most often considered, either as the main heat with the old system kept as backup, or to carry spring and fall. The state's NYS Clean Heat program site covers the current programs. With wells and septic in the picture, it also pays to plan for heat during a long power outage, since a well pump, a boiler and a furnace blower all need electricity.
Brunswick heating or AC? Call us.
Call (838) 884-0024Roads and Landmarks
We cover Hoosick Road, Brunswick Road, Grange Road, Town Office Road, Moonlawn Road, Garfield Road and the streets around Eagle Mills and Brunswick Center. The Garfield School at Moonlawn Road and Brunswick Road, built in 1881, was the town's first National Register listing and now houses the Brunswick Historical Society. The Country Club of Troy, despite its name, lies entirely in Brunswick.
Brunswick Questions
Do I need a town permit to replace my furnace or boiler in Brunswick?
The Town of Brunswick building department lists fuel-burning appliances among the work that needs a town permit. Call the town office on Town Office Road to confirm for your project.
I heat with oil. Can a heat pump carry my house through January?
A cold-climate heat pump can carry much of the load, but many oil homes keep the existing boiler or furnace as backup for the coldest nights. The house, its insulation and the heat pump size decide it.
I'm on a well and septic. How do I keep heat during a long power outage?
Every common heating system, including oil, propane and gas, needs electricity to run its burner, blower or circulator, and the well pump needs power too. A properly installed standby generator or transfer switch is the usual answer.