AC repair in Arlington.
AC and heat pump repair across Arlington, from Maywood bungalows to Fairlington condos and the towers by the Metro, priced from a published book.
The diagnostic visit is $99, and a run capacitor replaced is $240 to $370 from our published price book.
- Prices in writing, first
- Common parts on the truck
- Dedicated HVAC team
Get your AC repair priced
Arlington cools 1920s houses, 1970s condos and towers by the Metro.
Arlington cools three kinds of home, and which one you’re in decides the repair. The median owner-occupied house here went up in 1960, in neighborhoods like Lyon Park, Ashton Heights, Cherrydale and Penrose, whose historic districts run from the 1880s into the 1950s. Very few houses of that age were built with central air. If yours has it now, the ductwork was added later and threaded through closets, attics and the knee walls of a Cape Cod’s half story.
Fairlington is the second kind. It went up from 1942 to 1944 as 3,449 garden apartments and townhouses, and when the units were sold as condos in the 1970s, central heat and air conditioning heat pumps went in. So a Fairlington unit usually cools with a heat pump, and the outdoor unit that cools it in July is the same one that heats it in January.
The third is the towers. Since the 1970s the County has steered its high-density building into the two Metro corridors, and more than half of all Arlington homes are now in buildings of ten units or more. In those, a repair usually starts at the management office: who has the roof key, which hours contractors may work, and whether the condenser is yours or the building’s.
Arlington houses, by the numbers
From the Census Bureau’s 2020 to 2024 survey. Median year built and heat count owner-occupied homes only.
Arlington
- Median home built1960 Census
- Built before 1980about 5 in 10 Census
- Built since 2000about 3 in 10 Census
- Most homes arecondo and apartment buildings, about 6 in 10 Census
- Heated withgas, about 6 in 10 Census
- Rentedabout 6 in 10 Census
- Gas heat means a furnace inside and a separate air conditioner outside, sharing one blower, so a tired blower shows up in both seasons.
- Older houses often have returns too small for today’s systems, and a starved return is one of the ways an AC freezes up.
What AC repair costs in Arlington.
The same price book as our AC repair page. The diagnostic visit is $99, and the common parts ride on the truck, so most of these get fixed on the first visit.
- Run capacitor replaced$240 to $370
- Contactor replaced$290 to $425
- Condensate drain cleared$175 to $420
- Refrigerant topped up$190 to $740
- Blower wheel pulled and cleaned$300 to $440
- Refrigerant leak found and repaired$1,850 to $2,700
- Repair diagnostic visit$99
Often same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
With Comfort+ membership, $20 a month or $199 a year, the diagnostic visit is included, any service is 15% off, and the cooling and heating maintenance visits are part of the membership.
What a failing AC in Arlington usually does.
The upstairs never cools down
In a 1930s or 40s Cape Cod the bedrooms sit under the roof, behind knee walls, at the far end of ducts that were added decades after the house. A tired system shows up there first, and so does a duct that was never sized for the room.
The air coming out is warm
Usually the outdoor unit has stopped running. A hum with no fan turning is almost always the run capacitor; silence while the thermostat calls is usually the contactor.
It runs all day and never cools
That’s an airflow problem far more often than a refrigerant problem: a clogged filter, a matted coil, or a blower wheel packed with dust.
How to pick the best AC repair company in Arlington.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Will they tell you when Zoning or the historic board gets a say?
Not on a repair. On a replacement, Arlington’s Zoning office approves where an outdoor unit goes even when no permit is needed. In Maywood, Buckingham Village and Colonial Village, the County’s local historic districts, an exterior change can also need the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, though routine repairs and same-material replacements are exempt. Hear that before you sign, not after the unit is on its pad.
Do they publish prices?
A company that prints what a capacitor or a contactor costs has already told you the number. One that won’t say until the tech is in your driveway hasn’t.
Do they measure before they sell refrigerant?
A healthy system drops the air somewhere around 16 to 22 degrees across the indoor coil. Low refrigerant means a leak, and topping it up every summer is the expensive way to find that out.
Will they tell you when it’s the end of the road?
Some repairs aren’t worth doing on a 20-year-old system. The good answer shows you the repair price and the replacement price side by side and lets you pick.
What our customers say.
We had a mini split ac/heat unit installed. They were here when they said they would be, were very professional, and did a very nice job.
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
AC repair questions from Arlington.
Do I need a permit to replace my AC in Arlington?
Not for an electric air conditioner or heat pump going in at the same type, size and spot. A gas furnace swapped along with it takes a plumbing and gas permit. Either way, the County’s Zoning office approves the outdoor unit’s location.
Can you fix the heat pump in a Fairlington condo?
Yes. Fairlington’s central systems date from the 1970s condo conversion, so whatever is there now is at least a second generation, usually a heat pump with an air handler inside. Because the same outdoor unit carries the winter, the parts that only work in cold weather get a look on a summer call too.
I rent in Arlington. Can you work through my landlord?
Yes. We do more work through landlords and property managers in Arlington than in almost any other town, so condo buildings, tenant scheduling and access rules are routine for us there. Tell us who approves the work and who has the key, and we’ll schedule around both.
How much does AC repair cost in Arlington?
The diagnostic visit is $99. The common repairs: a run capacitor $240 to $370, a contactor $290 to $425, a condensate drain cleared $175 to $420, refrigerant topped up $190 to $740. A refrigerant leak repair runs $1,850 to $2,700.
Should I repair it or replace it?
Fix the cheap parts on almost anything. Think twice about a big repair on a system over 15 years old, and about any leak on an R-22 system. The HVAC estimator prices a new system in about a minute, so you can put the two numbers side by side.
AC repair in the towns next door.
- AC repair in Falls Church
- AC repair in Alexandria
- AC repair in Annandale
- AC repair in McLean
- AC repair in Vienna
More from SwiftPro in Arlington
Tell us what your AC is doing.
Call, or book online and pick a window. The tech prices the repair from the book before starting, and if it’s the end of the road you’ll hear that first.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing is a licensed, BBB Accredited (A rating), independently owned heating, cooling and plumbing company in Chantilly, serving Arlington and the rest of Northern Virginia. Virginia contractor license #2705192276. 5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. SwiftPro maintains a dedicated HVAC team and a dedicated plumbing team.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing, 4230 Lafayette Center Dr, Suite N, Chantilly, VA 20151, (703) 997-9757. Book online, read our reviews, or see every town we serve.