It’s blowing cold air in heat mode
A few minutes of it on a frosty morning is defrost, and that’s normal.
Cool air for an hour is a reversing valve, a defrost part or the refrigerant. Call.
Heat Pump Repair in Northern Virginia
A heat pump diagnostic visit is $99, and most heat pump repairs run $240 to $2,400, from a capacitor to a blower motor. The technician prices the fix in writing before starting it, and tells you when a repair isn’t worth it.
Get your price in writing
Send this and the office calls or texts you back to set a time.
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Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
- Every brand of heat pump
- Priced before the work starts
- 24/7 emergency service
5.0 stars across 1,131 reviews
Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceOften same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own HVAC installersA dedicated heating and cooling team, separate from our plumbers
Price in writing firstYou see every option priced before anything is ordered
What it costs
Heat pump repair prices
in Northern Virginia
Our own prices from our price book, not a national average. Yours is written down before any work starts.
Diagnostic visit
$99
A technician finds the fault and prices the fix before starting it. Included with Comfort+.
Run capacitor replaced
$240 to $370
Heat pumps and furnace blowers both use one. A weak capacitor is the motor that hums and never gets going.
Contactor replaced
$290 to $425
The relay that powers the outdoor unit. When it sticks, the heat pump sits silent and the backup electric heat does all the work, which you see on the next bill.
Thermostat replaced
$300 to $640
Standard through smart, wired and set up for the heat pump or furnace it is running, including the backup-heat settings most installs get wrong.
Defrost board replaced
$450 to $1,150
The board that tells a heat pump when to melt the frost off its outdoor coil. When it fails, the coil turns into a block of ice.
Control board replaced
$550 to $1,180
The brain of the furnace or air handler. When it goes, the parts downstream of it stop doing what they are told.
Blower motor replaced
$670 to $2,400
The indoor fan motor. Most land around $1,500. The spread is a standard motor against a variable-speed one.
Before winter gets serious: the heating check covers a heat pump or a furnace, through December 31.
Comfort+ members bank half of each repair bill toward replacing that system, up to $1,500, at $199 a year. The full heat pump repair cost guide.
What it’s doing
Heat pump problems, and
what usually causes them
Six things people describe on the phone. The first answer is the likely cause; a technician confirms it.
The outdoor unit is a block of ice
Frost that clears is normal. Ice that stays is usually the defrost board, a sensor or low refrigerant.
A defrost board runs $450 to $1,150. Don’t chip the ice off; the fins bend.
AUX or EM heat is on all day
The backup strips are doing the work because the outdoor unit isn’t.
A stuck contactor, $290 to $425, is a common cause. Aux heat, explained.
The outdoor unit hums but the fan won’t spin
That’s usually the run capacitor, one of the least costly parts in the unit to replace.
A run capacitor runs $240 to $370.
Nothing comes on at all
Check the thermostat’s mode and batteries and the breakers for the outdoor unit and the air handler.
Still dead? It’s a control board, a thermostat or wiring. A control board runs $550 to $1,180.
Grinding, squealing or rattling
A squeal that follows the indoor fan is the blower motor or its bearings; a rattle is often a loose panel.
A blower motor runs $670 to $2,400, by a standard or variable-speed motor.
Repair or replace
When a heat pump repair
stops making sense
Most calls end in a repair. These are the ones where we’ll put a new system’s price next to it.
- It’s past 10 to 15 years. The Department of Energy plans on 15 years for an air-source heat pump, and Trane and Carrier put most at 10 to 15.
- It runs on R-22. That refrigerant hasn’t been made since 2020, so a leak usually ends it.
- The compressor failed out of warranty. Goodman’s rule of thumb: when a major part fails, or the repair is close to half the price of new, replacing may be the better money.
- A new heat pump system runs $8,499 to $21,650 installed. From about $142 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. Heat pump replacement.
A Trane heat pump on its pad beside a Northern Virginia house in winter, snow and ice packed around it.
How the call goes
Four steps, and you
approve the third one
Often same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there. We run 24/7 emergency service.
- 1
You call, we tell you when
A person answers, day or night, and gives you a real arrival window.
- 2
Diagnosis, $99
The technician checks the outdoor unit, the air handler, the backup heat and the thermostat, and finds the fault.
- 3
The price, in writing
Before anything is replaced. Approve it or don’t.
- 4
Fixed and tested
The repair, then a run in heat mode, so you know it holds before we leave.
What customers said
Heat pump repairs, in our
customers’ own words
5.0 stars across 1,131 reviews. These two are about heat pump repairs.
…Our heat pump was nearly failing, and Indira was able to send a technician out the same day. She also kept in touch to ensure the technician was on his way and to check on the status of the service. Our technician, Moises Rojas, was not only professional but also courteous and extremely knowledgeable. He quickly identified the issue and presented us with options.…
Swiftpro did a great job fixing my heat pump to get my AC working again. They’re easy to work with and explained everything so that I was able to comprehend the issue well.…
Shown as written on Google, cut to the part about the job. Read them all.
Who installs it
The people who come
to your house are ours
No subcontracted install crews: the estimate, the install and any call after it are SwiftPro.
- A dedicated HVAC team. The people who install your system do heating and cooling every day. Our plumbers are a separate team, and when a job touches both trades, both are in the same company.
- On Trane’s dealer locator as a Trane Comfort Specialist, a Rheem Pro Partner, and Carrier experts.
- Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276, fully insured, and BBB Accredited with an A rating.
- 5.0 stars across 1,131 reviews, and you can read them all.
- Family owned, out of Lafayette Center Drive in Chantilly and our office in Ashburn. About SwiftPro.
The SwiftPro team in front of our wrapped vans at the Chantilly shop.
Where we work
Heating repair in every
Northern Virginia town we serve
Out of Chantilly and Ashburn, across six counties. Pick your town for its heating repair page: the same prices, plus what’s different about the houses there.
Fairfax County
Arlington County
Loudoun County
Prince William County
Fauquier County
Stafford County
Asked at the estimate
Heat pump repair questions,
answered straight
How much does heat pump repair cost in Northern Virginia?
The diagnostic visit is $99, and most heat pump repairs we price run $240 to $2,400: a run capacitor $240 to $370, a contactor $290 to $425, a defrost board $450 to $1,150, a control board $550 to $1,180 and a blower motor $670 to $2,400. The technician prices the fix in writing before starting it.
Why is my heat pump blowing cold air?
A few minutes of cool air on a frosty morning is defrost, and it’s normal: the heat pump runs backward to melt the frost off its outdoor coil. Cool air for an hour isn’t. That’s usually a reversing valve, a defrost part or low refrigerant, and it’s worth a call.
Is it normal for a heat pump to ice up?
A white frost that clears on its own, yes. A solid block of ice that stays, no: the defrost board, a sensor or the refrigerant charge is the usual cause. Don’t chip the ice off; the fins bend.
Why is my heat pump on aux or emergency heat all the time?
When the outdoor unit isn’t carrying the house, the electric backup strips do the work, and they cost far more to run. A stuck contactor or a failed outdoor part is a common cause, and so is a thermostat set up wrong. Our aux heat guide explains the difference.
Should I repair or replace my heat pump?
Repair a young heat pump. Past 10 to 15 years, on R-22, or with a failed compressor, put the repair price next to a new system: a heat pump system runs $8,499 to $21,650 installed. We’ll price both and say which we’d pick.
Do you repair heat pumps at night or on weekends?
Yes. We run 24/7 emergency service. Often same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Do you work on every brand of heat pump?
Yes, every brand, and the air handler and backup heat inside as part of the same visit.
Heat pump acting up
Call now, or tell us
what it’s doing
Call, or send the form at the top and the office calls or texts you back. The repair is priced in writing before anything is replaced.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
Prices are SwiftPro’s own installed prices in Northern Virginia, from the same price book as the HVAC estimator; yours is written down before anything is ordered. Rebate terms are the utilities’ and change; they’re as read in October 2026. Lifespans as the Department of Energy, ENERGY STAR and the manufacturers publish them, read in October 2026. Trane, Rheem and Carrier are trademarks of their owners.
Watch us fix heat pumps and air handlers
Real jobs in Northern Virginia homes, filmed by our own crew. Tap one to watch.
0:34Heat Strips: The Backup Heat Inside Your Heat Pump's Air Handler
0:39Heat Strip Replacement in an Air Handler, Tested Before and After
0:31Furnace Part Replacement That Isn't a Furnace: New Heat Strips
0:32Signs of a Bad Air Handler, Shown From an Attic Blower Pull
0:41HVAC Troubleshooting: Three Checks to Try Before You Call
0:29What Does an AC Capacitor Do? A Look Inside the Panel