Furnace and heating repair in Arlington.
Furnace, heat pump and boiler repair across Arlington, from 1940s basements to Fairlington condos, priced from a published book before a panel comes off.
The diagnostic visit is $99, and a flame sensor cleaned is $95 to $180 from our published price book.
- Prices in writing, first
- Furnaces, heat pumps and boilers
- Dedicated HVAC team
Get your heating repair priced
Arlington heats with gas in old basements and heat pumps in Fairlington condos.
About six in ten Arlington homeowners heat with gas, and in the older neighborhoods the furnace lives downstairs. Westover’s 1940s houses and Glebewood Village’s 104 rowhouses from 1937 and 1938 were each built over a basement, and the median owner-occupied home in the county dates from 1960. A basement furnace is easy to get at. The house around it has usually outlived three or four of them, and the flue it vents into is older than any of them.
Close to four in ten heat with electricity instead. Fairlington’s garden apartments and townhouses got central heat and air conditioning heat pumps when they were converted to condos in the 1970s, so heat in a Fairlington unit usually means a heat pump. In the towers along the Metro corridors, heat is often a fan coil or a compact electric unit in a closet.
Close to six in ten Arlington homes are rented, and under Virginia’s landlord and tenant law, working heat in season is the landlord’s to provide. So when a rented furnace quits, the tenant’s call goes to the owner or the manager, and the owner’s goes to us. The repair is priced from the book before a panel comes off, which makes it a quick yes for an owner who can’t be there.
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
- Most heat here is a gas furnace, so most calls come down to the flame sensor, the igniter, the inducer motor or a pressure switch.
- Older houses often share one chimney between the furnace and the water heater, which matters the day either one is replaced.
What furnace repair costs in Arlington.
The same price book as the rest of our site. The diagnostic visit is $99, and the tech prices the repair before starting it.
- Flame sensor cleaned$95 to $180
- Igniter or flame sensor replaced$240 to $410
- Blower wheel pulled and cleaned$300 to $440
- Thermostat replaced$300 to $640
- Control board$550 to $1,180
- Blower motor$670 to $2,400
- 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 a heating maintenance visit comes every fall.
What a failing furnace in Arlington usually does.
Emergency heat is on all day
A heat pump leans on its backup heat strips on the coldest mornings, and that’s normal. If the thermostat shows emergency or auxiliary heat for hours on a mild day, the heat pump isn’t carrying the house, and those strips cost far more to run.
It lights, then shuts off
The burners fire and go out a few seconds later, over and over. That’s usually a dirty flame sensor, and cleaning it takes about ten minutes.
It won’t light at all
No glow, no flame. A cracked igniter is the usual part, and on a high-efficiency furnace a clogged condensate line can stop it cold too.
What the county says about your heat in Arlington.
Arlington County
The Arlington County Fire Department says to have a trained professional inspect, clean and tune up furnaces, flues and chimneys every year, and to fix any leaks. Source.
The same page names gas furnaces and water heaters among the appliances carbon monoxide can escape from, and asks for at least one CO alarm near where people sleep. Source.
How to pick the best furnace repair company in Arlington.
Questions worth asking anybody who comes out, us included.
Whose name goes on the permit for a gas furnace?
Arlington strongly suggests it be the contractor’s, so the person doing the work answers for it, and the County notes that a contractor unwilling to get the permit may not be properly licensed. If you own rentals, the one-address-every-two-years limit on owner permits can rule you out anyway.
Will they price the part before they fix it?
Flame sensors, igniters and control boards all have a going rate. A tech who can’t tell you the number before starting is asking you to find out afterwards.
Do they look at the venting, not just the flame?
Getting the burners lit is half a heating call. Ask whether they check the flue and test for carbon monoxide while the panel’s open.
Do they know when a repair isn’t worth it?
A big repair on a furnace past 15 or 20 years deserves a replacement price next to it. A good tech puts both numbers in front of you and lets you choose.
What our customers say.
Called in the morning for a broken furnace. The technician came out same day. David was very knowledgeable and helpful. We will definitely use SwiftPro for our furnace maintenance in the future as well.
5.0 stars across 884 Google reviews. Read them on our reviews page.
Heating repair questions from Arlington.
Does Arlington need a permit to replace a furnace?
For gas, yes: a plumbing and gas permit with inspections, even for a straight swap. An electric furnace or heat pump replaced with the same type, size and location needs no permit, but the County’s Zoning office still approves where the outdoor unit goes.
Does a furnace repair in Maywood need the historic board’s approval?
No. Arlington exempts routine maintenance and repairs from the certificate of appropriateness its local historic districts require, and a furnace repair happens indoors. What the review board looks at is the outside of the house, so a change there, like a new vent through a front wall, is the kind of job to ask about first.
How much does furnace repair cost in Arlington?
The diagnostic visit is $99. A flame sensor cleaned is $95 to $180; an igniter or flame sensor replaced, $240 to $410; a control board, $550 to $1,180; a blower motor, $670 to $2,400.
Should I repair it or replace it?
Fix the small parts on almost anything. Before a big repair on an old furnace, look at the replacement number: a furnace alone, keeping the air conditioner you have, runs $4,285 to $14,040 installed, and the HVAC estimator gives your number in about a minute.
Furnace repair in the towns next door.
- Furnace repair in Falls Church
- Furnace repair in Alexandria
- Furnace repair in Annandale
- Furnace repair in McLean
- Furnace repair in Vienna
More from SwiftPro in Arlington
Tell us what your heat is doing.
Call, or book online and pick a window. The tech prices the repair from the book before starting, and if the furnace is at the end of its life 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.