If the unit in your closet, ceiling, or mechanical space is 8+ years old, now is the time to understand how it's performing. We help condo and strata owners get clear education on maintenance, repair, and replacement — before a small issue becomes an emergency.
02 —The 8+ year planning window
Owners with central or in-suite heat pump systems that are 8+ years old should start getting educated on their equipment: what maintenance protects, what repairs are worth doing, and when replacement planning makes financial sense.
03 —Why repair gets expensive
The bigger problem isn't only cost — it's uncertainty. A $2,400 repair that lasts six months isn't a repair; it's a deposit on the next failure.
The most expensive single part. Once one starts cycling abnormally, the clock is on the others.
Coil leaks on older units can be hard to isolate, and legacy refrigerants (R-22, R-410A) are increasingly costly or restricted.
Boards, valves, and proprietary fittings for 2005-era units can take weeks to source — if they're still made at all.
Many serious repairs need the unit pulled from the ceiling or closet. Once you're paying for that twice, replacement gets cheap.
04 — Repair vs. replacement
We'll be honest: a 7-year-old unit with a $400 capacitor failure — fix it. But when the unit is 10+ years old and the repair runs into the thousands, the math changes fast.
By the numbers
Option A
Option B
When the repair is more than ~30% of replacement cost and the unit is over 10 years old, replacement is often the smarter financial decision. We'll show you the math, in writing.
05 —Warning signs
If you're seeing two or more of these, it's time for a Health Check — before the unit decides for you.
New rattles, clunks, or the unit short-cycling on and off without reaching setpoint.
One service call is maintenance. Two or more is the unit telling you something.
If the building is from 2016 or earlier and the unit is original, it's worth understanding its condition and replacement timeline.
Rooms don't get as cool or warm as they used to — often the first sign of a slow refrigerant leak.
Pooling, drips, or stains around the unit can point to condensate problems that cause floods and affect insurance premiums.
Building heat-pump maintenance costs climbing year over year — your unit may not be far behind.
06 —Three ways to engage
We don't believe in a single hard pitch. Three lower-friction offers — built around where condo owners actually are when they find us.
Already received a quote to repair or replace your condo heat pump? Before you spend thousands, get a no-obligation review from a water-source specialist.
Is your unit 8+ years old? Book a professional, on-site assessment and get a clear written report on its condition, maintenance needs, repair risk, and replacement timeline.
If multiple owners in your building have aging units, coordinated replacement reduces per-unit cost, simplifies scheduling, and gives strata one point of contact.
Group pricing in practice
When 3+ owners in the same building replace together, we sequence the installs across consecutive days, coordinate one site visit and one written scope, and pass the savings back. Strata gets one point of contact. You get a better price.
07 —Why West Coast Geothermal
Most HVAC companies don't want to touch water-source heat pumps. They're the specialty we built the business around.
Closet-mounted, ceiling-mounted, vertical-stack — we work on the units other contractors refer out. It's not a sideline.
Full product access, parts, and factory-backed warranty support — not a parts-house guess on a discontinued brand.
Same-day callbacks. Real names. Scott picks up the phone. We service every system we install.
If repair is the right call for your unit, we'll tell you. We're not interested in selling you a system you don't need yet.
The expensive components — compressor, coil, valves — covered. Extended 10-year options available.
Insurance certs, owner notices, scheduling around strata bylaws. We make the process clear for owners, councils, and managers.
08 —Frequently asked
If yours isn't here, call us. We're happy to talk through your specific situation before you book anything.
In most BC strata buildings, the in-suite heat pump is the owner's responsibility, while shared building mechanical systems are the strata's. But every building's bylaws and Form B are different — we'll help you read yours during the Health Check, and contact your strata or property manager if needed.
For a like-for-like in-suite water-source heat pump in a Lower Mainland condo, replacement typically runs $8,900–$14,500 fully installed, depending on tonnage, location in the suite, and access. Group pricing (3+ owners in one building) reduces per-unit cost meaningfully. We provide written, fixed-price quotes — no change-order surprises.
A single in-suite replacement is typically one working day. We arrive in the morning, remove the old unit, install the new one, commission it, and the suite has heat and cooling back by end of day. We bring matting and floor protection — your floors and walls stay clean.
A full on-site inspection: refrigerant pressures and temperatures, electrical readings, fan and blower performance, condensate pan and drain, building water-side performance, age and serial verification, and a visual check of coils, compressor housing, and controls. You receive a written report with photographs, a condition rating, and our honest recommendation on repair, monitor, or replace.
Yes. We provide insurance certificates, WorkSafeBC documentation, a written scope-of-work for your strata Form K, and direct communication with your property manager or strata council if needed. For group pricing across multiple owners, we send a single strata-facing scope and coordinate scheduling around bylaws (elevator bookings, work-hour restrictions, etc.).
Financing is available for qualified customers, OAC. Many condo owners also plan replacement through existing home equity, lines of credit, or personal financing — we don't push HVAC-specific financing. Ask during the quote and we'll outline the options.
Yes — that's exactly what the Second Opinion offer is for. Send us the quote (photo or PDF is fine), give us 30 minutes, and we'll tell you whether it looks fair, what's missing, and what an alternate scope or brand might cost. No obligation, no pressure to switch.
09 —Get in touch
One short form, same-day callback before 4pm. For common like-for-like replacements, we'll work toward a fast base quote with clear caveats; for complex scopes, we'll confirm the details first.
— Ready when you are.
A 30-minute Health Check now beats a $4,000 emergency repair in January. Or sooner — if you've already got a quote you're not sure about.