Peninsula Heating and Air in Gloucester is again conducting its Project Comfort and Joy contest that awards a new heating and cooling system to a deserving local family. This is the fifth consecutive year the company has conducted the project.

Through Dec. 7, PHA will accept applications for the opportunity to have a new HVAC system. Homeowners may apply themselves or nominate someone else for consideration. To qualify, applicants must have a central gas or electrical HVAC system, including duct work, and provide a written description of their backgrounds and HVAC needs.

"It’s what we call our give-back project," said PHA owner Karen Smith. Over the past four years, she said her company has provided over $30,000 worth of HVAC equipment and labor to deserving families through the project.

Smith emphasized that the award is not based on financial need. "Last year, the winner was just an all-American family of five with three children and the parents working and going to sc...