Heating · Tri-Cities
Heat pump repair and replacement in Richland, WA
AirCare repairs, tunes up and replaces heat pumps across Richland and the Tri-Cities. One system heats and cools the house, so when it struggles we find out why before anyone talks about replacing it.
Chapter 01
One system for July and January, and when aux heat steps in
A heat pump moves heat instead of making it. In summer it pulls heat out of the house the way an air conditioner does. In winter it reverses and pulls heat in from the outdoor air. That is why a single outdoor unit and a single air handler can do both jobs in the Tri-Cities, where summers run hot and winters are cold enough to matter.
Inside the air handler sits auxiliary heat, an electric backup that is supposed to help in the hardest cold snaps and during defrost cycles. It is not supposed to carry the house. If the aux light stays on through a mild afternoon, or the outdoor fan is running and the house still will not warm up, the heat pump is not keeping up and your electric bill will say so.
That is a repair call, not something to live with through the winter. The line at (509) 579-9979 is answered any hour, and most repairs are finished during the same visit. When a part has to be ordered, you hear about it that day.
Two new heat pump outdoor units set on pads beside a pool fence
Why a heat pump quits heating: relays, defrost and thin output in a cold snap
Heat pumps rarely fail all at once. A relay switch gets tired, a defrost sensor stops telling the board the truth, ice stays on the outdoor coil, a capacitor weakens, or the refrigerant charge drifts low. The system keeps running and keeps disappointing you. Gauges, electrical tests and a look at the control board tell us which one it is.
Marlon J Dancel booked a spring tune-up and got more than he planned for. In his words: "The service call was for Spring maintenance but they also diagnosed why our Heat Pump was having a hard time heating the house this past winter. They tried their best to remedy the malfunctioning relay switch but ultimately recommended it be replaced." A maintenance visit caught a winter problem before the next winter.
You get the findings in plain language, along with what it will take to fix. Estimates are reviewed with you before work begins, and if there is more than one reasonable path you hear all of them, including the one that costs less.
Chapter 03
Replacing a heat pump: what a 26-year-old system change-out looks like
Kevin Slover wrote in his Google review that AirCare "replaced two entire heat pump systems with air handlers and auxiliary heat that were 26 years old." He chose the company for "their responsiveness, their follow through, their excellent communication, and their willingness to lay out the options in a way I could easily understand and then make decisions with." One air handler turned out to have a bad valve that blocked cooling, and he reports it was replaced quickly under warranty. He stayed on the maintenance program afterward.
AirCare's own published guidance is that heat pump installation in the Tri-Cities typically costs between $5,000 and $12,000. That is a range for planning, not a quote. Size, the air handler, the ductwork and the electrical all move the number, so a new installation needs an in-home look before anyone puts a price on it.
Replacement is never the first suggestion. If a relay or a sensor is the whole story, we say so and fix that. If the system is decades old, leaking or past sensible repair, you will hear that too, with the options laid out. Ask about the maintenance plan on your visit, or call (509) 579-9979.
Trevor Nelson and his brother Cameron run the calls at AirCare Heating & Cooling. Licensed, bonded and insured, WA L&I licence AIRCAHC759DC. Call (509) 579-9979, any hour.