Heat pump repair in Burke, VA — same day, 24/7

What we fix

Why Burke homeowners contact us

• We take every request as it arrives, day or night. Most contractors call back in two hours. By then the homeowner has called someone else.
• We know Burke housing. Most of Burke was built between 1970 and 1990, which means a large share of the heat pumps and furnaces here are past their service life. We see the same failure patterns repeatedly: failing reversing valves, refrigerant leaks at the Schrader ports, and control boards that quit after twenty years of Virginia summers.
• Heat pumps are what we do. Northern Virginia is a heat pump market, and Burke is no exception. The problem is that older single-stage systems were never rated for the cold snaps we get in January. When the temperature drops below 20 degrees, those units run auxiliary heat constantly and still lose ground. We size replacements for the actual design temperature, not the brochure number.
• Straight pricing. Diagnostic fee quoted before we dispatch. No surprise line items.

Signs your heat pump needs attention

Heat pumps rarely fail without warning. They degrade first, and the degradation looks like normal operation if you have not seen it before. These are the signals worth acting on before the system fails outright in January.

• Cold air in heat mode. The compressor runs, the fan runs, the air is not warm. Usually the reversing valve, a defrost fault, or a low refrigerant charge. Rarely the compressor itself.
• Running constantly without reaching the setpoint. The system has lost capacity. Low charge, restricted airflow, or a failing compressor valve.
• Auxiliary heat running most of the winter. The strips are doing the work the heat pump should be doing. It heats the house, and it roughly triples the electric bill.
• Ice that never clears. Frost during a defrost cycle is normal. A solid block of ice that survives for hours is a failed defrost board or a refrigerant fault.
• Hard clicking at the outdoor unit. Contactor or capacitor. Inexpensive now, a compressor later if ignored.
• Uneven temperatures between rooms. Airflow and duct distribution, not usually the equipment. Worth measuring rather than guessing.
• Any repeated breaker trip. Not a reset-and-forget problem. A tripping breaker is a fault, and repeated resets damage the compressor.

If you recognise two or more of these, the system is telling you something specific. A diagnostic visit converts that into a component name and a number.

What it costs

We publish ranges because a firm quote before diagnosis is a guess dressed up as a price. These are the numbers we actually see in Burke.

Four things move the number: the part, the refrigerant type, whether the system is single-stage or variable-speed, and access to the unit. A heat pump wedged into a closet takes longer to work on than one with clearance. We tell you which of those applies before we start, not after.

There is no separate trip fee. The $89 covers the visit and the diagnosis, and it disappears if you approve the repair. After-hours emergency dispatch is $149.

What happens when you contact us

We read every request as it arrives, at any hour. No voicemail, no queue, no callback in two hours.

The first exchange is a qualification, and it is not a formality. We ask what the system is doing, how long it has been doing it, whether the house is losing heat, and whether anyone has looked at it already. That determines which parts the technician loads, which is why most repairs finish on the first visit instead of the second.

The technician confirms the symptom and runs the diagnostic sequence: refrigerant pressures, electrical draw, control board fault codes, airflow, and reversing valve operation. Thirty to sixty minutes depending on the system.

Then you get a number before any work starts. Not a range, not an estimate — a price for the specific repair, plus replacement arithmetic if it is worth considering. You approve or you do not. If you do not, you owe the $89 and nothing else.

Payment is on completion. Card or check. No deposit, no prepayment.

Repair or replace

The rule we use: if the repair costs less than a third of replacement and the system is otherwise sound, repair it. Past twenty years, with a refrigerant leak or a failed compressor, replacement usually wins on five-year total cost.

Three questions decide it. How old is the system — under fifteen years repair almost always wins. What refrigerant does it use — R-22 systems are expensive to recharge and the supply keeps shrinking. Is this the first major failure or the third — one repair in five years is normal, three in two years is a pattern.

We quote both on every major repair, side by side, with the numbers shown. You decide. We do not push replacement because it pays better.

Service area

We cover Burke and the surrounding ZIPs: 22015, 22009. Nearby: Burke Centre, Burke Lake Park, Braddock Road, Rolling Road, Burke Village.

See all service areas

Common questions

Why is my heat pump blowing cold air in heat mode?

Usually a reversing valve failure, a defrost board fault, or low refrigerant. All three are diagnosable in a single visit. If the outdoor unit is iced over and not defrosting, shut it off at the breaker and let us know.

How much does heat pump repair cost in Burke?

The diagnostic visit is $89 and is waived if you approve the repair. Most repairs land between $250 and $900 depending on the part. A compressor or reversing valve replacement runs higher.

Should I repair or replace a 20-year-old heat pump?

If the repair is under a third of replacement cost and the system is otherwise sound, repair it. Past twenty years, with a refrigerant leak or a failing compressor, replacement usually wins on total cost.

Do you charge extra for nights and weekends?

After-hours emergency dispatch is $149, which covers the trip and diagnosis. The repair itself is quoted at the same rate as daytime work.

How fast can you get here?

Same day for most requests sent before 4pm. Emergency no-heat calls are dispatched within two hours, including overnight.

Do you work on dual-fuel and hybrid systems?

Yes. Dual-fuel setups are common in Burke, and they fail in specific ways — usually a stuck changeover or a misconfigured lockout temperature. We test both stages.