Diagnosed on the First Visit, Heat Pump Repair, New Westminster
Eaton's Heating repairs central heat pumps of every brand across New Westminster, the one system that heats the house in winter and cools it in summer. The outdoor unit not running, the vents blowing the wrong temperature for the season, and a system that runs without stopping are the calls we take most, and every other fault gets the same visit. Our $189 diagnostic finds the problem, and every repair is quoted before the work starts. We use OEM, CSA certified parts and back every repair with six months of warranty on parts and labour. Same-day service available.
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A heat pump is an air conditioner that can run in reverse, pulling heat out of the outside air in winter and pushing it into the house through the same ducts and the same indoor coil it uses for cooling in summer. Most of what fails on it is the same short list as an air conditioner: the capacitor that starts the outdoor fan and compressor, the contactor that switches the outdoor unit on, the fan motor, and a slow refrigerant leak. A heat pump adds two parts of its own: the defrost control that melts frost off the outdoor coil on a wet winter day, and the reversing valve that switches the unit between heating and cooling. Our heat pump repair technician tests the part that matches your symptom, tells you which it is, and quotes the repair before doing it. Where the fault is a leak, the leak is repaired and the system is tested.
In New Westminster a heat pump carries nearly the whole winter on its own. A heat pump paired with a furnace hands the heating over to the furnace only below the balance point, the outdoor temperature where the heat pump can no longer keep up. In a city where January highs are around 7 degrees and lows around 1, that point is reached only on the coldest nights. The rest of the time the heat pump is the heating system, running most of every day from October to April. That is what it was bought for, and it is also why the parts that wear on a New Westminster heat pump are the running parts: the fan motor, the contactor, the capacitor, and the defrost control, worn by hours rather than by cold. The same wet, near-freezing days also put frost on the outdoor coil more often than a colder, drier climate would, so the defrost control does more work here too. Every one of those parts is a common repair.
The heat pumps we repair here are mostly central units on gas furnaces in The Heights, Glenbrooke North, Massey Heights, and the West End, installed in the last five or six years. Queensborough and Victoria Hill townhomes have a growing number of units that replaced an air conditioner on the same furnace and ductwork, and those wear the same way. Both kinds get the same diagnostic. For the other work we do in these neighbourhoods, see our New Westminster HVAC services. Eaton's Heating is TSBC licensed (LGA0200006), a Home Performance Contractor Network member, and holds a 4.9 rating across 400-plus Google reviews.
Most heat pump faults are repairs, and most repairs are finished the day they are quoted. The two cases where we talk about a new unit are a failed compressor, which is most of the cost of the outdoor unit, and a reversing valve or refrigerant leak on a unit past 12 to 15 years, where the repair goes into equipment near the end of its service life. Even then the repair is quoted first, and if a replacement makes more sense for the house the technician says so and points you to our heat pump options. Everything else, from a capacitor to a defrost board, is a repair at any age.
Inside the outdoor unit is a valve that changes the direction the refrigerant flows. In one position the unit cools the house and releases heat outside, the way an air conditioner does; in the other it pulls heat from the outside air and sends it in. The thermostat moves that valve when you switch from cooling to heating in the fall, and the defrost control moves it briefly on a frosty day to melt the outdoor coil. It is the one part an air conditioner does not have, and when it sticks or the small electric coil that moves it fails, the heat pump runs but heats when it should cool or cools when it should heat.
The symptom is usually clear: cool air from the vents in heating mode with the outdoor unit running, or a unit that worked fine in August and will not heat in October. A stuck valve is a repair on a unit under about 12 years, and the part is ordered for your model. On an older unit, the valve is a bigger job on a system that is near replacement anyway, and the technician quotes it alongside the cost of a new unit so you can decide. Either way, the first step is the diagnostic, because a low refrigerant charge and a stuck defrost cycle can look the same from the living room.
Licensed Gas Contractor (LGA0200006)
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The usual causes are a low refrigerant charge, a reversing valve that has not moved into heating, a defrost cycle that is stuck, or a dirty filter cutting the airflow across the indoor coil. The diagnostic tells them apart at the unit. On a New Westminster heat pump that has run every day since October, the charge and the defrost control are the first two to look at.
Short cycling, where the unit runs for a minute or two and shuts off, points to a contactor that is pitted, a capacitor that is weak, a thermostat placed where a draft or a heat source throws off its reading, or a charge that is off. It costs you heat and wears the compressor, so it is worth a diagnostic before the coldest week. The contactor and capacitor are on the truck and are same-visit repairs.
A thin frost that comes and goes is normal on a wet winter day; the unit melts it on its own. Ice that stays, thickens, or covers the fan is not. Switch the thermostat to emergency heat so the furnace takes over, and call us. Do not chip the ice off; the fins behind it bend easily. The diagnostic finds why the unit stopped defrosting, which is usually the defrost control, the outdoor temperature sensor, or a low charge.
Once a year, and the best time in New Westminster is early fall, before the unit starts its six months of daily running. A heat pump that also cools runs more hours over a year than a furnace or an air conditioner alone, so the parts that wear turn up sooner. A service visit catches a weak capacitor or a fan motor on its way out before the first cold week.
A capacitor, contactor, fan motor, or defrost board is a repair at any age. For a failed compressor, or a reversing valve or refrigerant leak on a unit that old, the technician quotes the repair and the replacement together. If you want to see what a new unit involves, heat pump installation in New Westminster covers it. A free in-home assessment gives you the replacement number, and you choose.
Yes. Mitsubishi, Daikin, and Fujitsu are common in New Westminster and we repair all three, along with Trane, Lennox, Carrier, Bosch, and the rest. Common parts are on the truck; brand-specific parts such as control boards are ordered for your model, and the technician confirms the part and the wait before you approve the repair.
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