Heat Pump Repair Gatineau — Same-Day Service | B&M Canada
Same-day service available in Gatineau & Ottawa — service le jour même.
Heat pump iced over, running constantly on backup heat, or blowing cool air when it should be heating? B&M Canada Appliances is a licensed HVAC contractor serving all of Gatineau — Hull, Aylmer, the Gatineau sector, Buckingham, Masson-Angers, Chelsea, Cantley, Val-des-Monts and Wakefield — plus every Ottawa neighbourhood across the river. In business since 1995, our bilingual technicians work on cold-climate ducted systems, ductless mini-splits and multi-zone installations, and carry reversing-valve solenoids, defrost boards, sensors and refrigeration gauges on the van so most calls close in a single visit.
In business since 1995 • 3-month warranty on repairs • Bilingual technicians — service bilingue • 24/7 dispatch
Service call: $89 + tax residential ($129 + tax commercial). Heat pumps are electric equipment, so they are covered at the standard residential rate. That includes travel and a complete diagnosis; the technician then quotes a firm price for parts and labour before any work begins, and you approve it first.
📞 Call 613-301-0016
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✉️ Request a technician
Why a heat pump fault in the Outaouais gets urgent fast
Heat pumps have become the default in new Aylmer, Chelsea and Cantley construction and a popular retrofit across Hull and the Gatineau sector — and when one stops working properly the consequences land in two places at once. In winter the house either gets cold or falls back on auxiliary electric resistance heat, which is far more expensive to run; a single month on backup strip heat can add hundreds of dollars to a hydro bill without the homeowner realising why. In summer the same unit is your air conditioning, so a failure during an August heat wave leaves the house without cooling.
There is also a mechanical argument for moving quickly. A heat pump that is low on refrigerant, or one whose defrost cycle has stopped working, keeps running while iced up — and that stresses the compressor, the single most expensive part of the system. We hold same-day slots each morning for Gatineau and Ottawa, and our dispatchers answer 24/7. Call 613-301-0016 and tell us whether the outdoor unit is spinning, whether there is ice on the coil, and whether the indoor head is showing an error code — that lets the technician load the right parts before leaving.
Heat pump problems we fix across Gatineau
The signature Outaouais call is the outdoor unit is coated in ice. A light frost during a cold, damp spell is normal and the defrost cycle should clear it. A solid block of ice is not: it means the defrost control, the defrost sensor or the reversing valve has failed, and cooling capacity is collapsing. Next most common is the system runs constantly on auxiliary heat — the strip heaters are carrying the load because the heat pump itself is under-performing, usually from a low refrigerant charge, a failing compressor or a thermostat with wrong balance-point settings.
We also see heat pumps stuck in the wrong mode, blowing cool air on a heat call or warm air on a cool call, which points squarely at the reversing valve or its solenoid. Then there are units that won’t start (capacitors, contactors, breakers, inverter boards), mini-splits throwing communication errors between indoor head and outdoor condenser, water dripping from an indoor head from a blocked condensate line or a failed lift pump, and new noises — a grinding fan bearing or a compressor rattle — that are worth investigating before they become a replacement. Every one of these is routine work for our technicians.
Ducted, ductless, cold-climate and hybrid systems
We service ducted central heat pumps tied into existing forced-air ductwork, ductless mini-splits serving one room, and multi-zone systems running three or four indoor heads from a single condenser. Cold-climate models — the inverter-driven units rated to keep producing usable heat well below −20 °C — are now common in the Outaouais, and they bring inverter-board and sensor faults that older single-stage equipment never had. We work on those too.
A large share of Gatineau installations are hybrid or dual-fuel: a heat pump handling shoulder season with a gas furnace taking over in deep cold. When the changeover logic drifts, the symptom can look like either machine misbehaving. If the furnace side is the problem, see furnace repair in Gatineau — note that gas equipment is diagnosed at the $129 + tax gas-appliance rate. If the fault only shows up in cooling mode, our AC repair in Gatineau page covers that side. Commercial heat pumps and rooftop units are serviced at the $129 + tax commercial rate.
What the diagnostic actually covers
A heat pump diagnostic looks at both operating modes, because a fault often shows in only one. The technician verifies the thermostat call and staging logic, tests the capacitor and contactor, measures compressor and fan amp draw, reads suction and liquid pressures against outdoor ambient to assess the charge, checks the reversing valve actually shifts, tests the defrost board and defrost sensor, inspects both coils for fouling and ice damage, confirms the auxiliary heat strips engage only when they should, and checks condensate drainage. On mini-splits that extends to reading the fault history from the indoor board. That sequence distinguishes a $250 defrost sensor from a refrigerant leak that needs locating — and you get the answer in plain language, English or French, with a firm quote before anything is touched.
Honest, up-front pricing
The diagnostic visit is $89 + tax for residential customers and $129 + tax for commercial accounts. That covers travel and a complete diagnosis of the system in both heating and cooling modes. Once the technician knows what failed, you receive a firm quote covering parts and labour and you decide, with no pressure and no upsell. Every repair carries a 3-month warranty on parts and labour — if the same fault returns within that window, we come back at no charge.
Two scheduling notes. Emergency appointments between 9 PM and 7 AM include a $100 flat emergency fee on top of regular rates, always quoted before we dispatch. And jobs more than 30 km from downtown Ottawa — which can include Wakefield, Val-des-Monts and outer Buckingham — may carry an extra travel or kilometre fee, confirmed with you in advance.
📞 Call now — 613-301-0016
📅 Book same-day service
Service across Gatineau, the Outaouais and Ottawa
We cover the full Gatineau map: Hull, Aylmer, the Gatineau sector, Buckingham, Masson-Angers, Chelsea, Cantley, Val-des-Monts and Wakefield. Francophone customers can read the same information in French on our réparation de thermopompe à Gatineau page, and our French service hub is at réparation d’électroménagers Gatineau. On the Ontario side we serve every Ottawa neighbourhood through heat pump repair Ottawa. For heating and cooling together, visit our HVAC repair hub.
Frequently asked questions
How fast can you get to my heat pump in Gatineau?
In most cases the same day. We reserve same-day slots each morning for Gatineau and Ottawa. Call 613-301-0016 before noon and a technician usually reaches you that day; otherwise we book the next available morning.
How much does heat pump repair cost in Gatineau?
The service call is $89 + tax for residential customers and $129 + tax for commercial accounts. Heat pumps are electric equipment, so the residential rate applies. That includes travel and a full diagnosis; parts and labour are quoted firmly before the repair begins.
My outdoor unit is covered in ice. Is that normal?
Light frost during cold, damp weather is normal and the defrost cycle should clear it within minutes. A solid block of ice is not normal — it usually means the defrost control, the defrost sensor or the reversing valve has failed. Turn the system off and call us before the compressor is damaged.
Why is my heat pump running on auxiliary heat all the time?
The strip heaters are covering for a heat pump that isn’t producing enough heat, typically from a low refrigerant charge, a failing compressor, or thermostat balance-point settings that hand over too early. It is worth fixing quickly — auxiliary heat is far more expensive to run.
Is the repair covered by a warranty?
Every repair comes with a 3-month warranty covering both parts and labour. If the same fault returns within that window, we come back at no charge.
Do you service ductless mini-splits and cold-climate heat pumps?
Yes — ducted central systems, ductless mini-splits, multi-zone installations and inverter-driven cold-climate models, plus the hybrid setups that pair a heat pump with a gas furnace.
