AC & heat pump
AC Keeps Tripping the Breaker? Stop Resetting and Read This First
One trip is an event; repeated trips are a message. Weak capacitors, seized fans, dirty coils, shorted compressors and tired breakers, in diagnosis order.
Formerly Adam & Sam Brothers RepairEverett · the most electric-heated city we serve
Everett AC and heat pump repair in a city that heats with electricity
About 68% of Everett homes heat with electricity, more than any other city we serve. That makes heat pumps the natural upgrade here and a common repair. We fix existing systems from south Everett to the north-end neighborhoods, and convert electric-heated homes when it's time.
- Drive time
- 18–23 minutes to south Everett; 25–32 to the north end.
- Electric heat
- About 68% of homes heat with electricity.
- Older housing
- Roughly 7,400 homes built before 1940, mostly in north Everett.
- $85 diagnosticBecomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 offAny repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- No-charge site visitInstalls are quoted in writing, equipment and installation work in one number.
Everett is Snohomish County's largest city and its most electric: about 68% of homes heat with electricity and only 28% with gas. In south Everett, the neighborhoods annexed between 1959 and 1972 and built up through the Boeing years, that usually means an electric furnace or baseboards, with cooling either missing or added later as a heat pump. North of downtown, in Riverside, Northwest and around Rucker Hill, many houses are early-1900s mill-town homes; about 16% of the city's housing predates 1940, close to 7,400 homes. Add the 1943 Baker Heights wartime housing, apartment blocks along Evergreen Way and a share of manufactured homes, and Everett has the widest range of housing we work in.
Everett repairs reflect that mix. Heat pumps that replaced electric furnaces in the 1990s and 2000s are reaching the age where compressors give out, and capacitors fail in both seasons, under summer heat and under the long run times of a damp winter. Over a quarter of homes are in buildings of two to nineteen units, so we work on plenty of condo, duplex and townhome systems as well. Because Everett marks the north end of the convergence zone, wet near-freezing days are common, which keeps heat pump defrost systems busy. Common parts are on the van, refrigerant work is handled by our own technicians, and the written price comes before any work.
What Everett heat pumps and ACs do when they fail
Compressor clicks on, hums, then shuts off
- Likely cause
- Failed start capacitor or a compressor near the end of its life
- What we do
- Test the capacitor first, then measure the compressor windings and starting current
Breaker trips the moment the heat pump starts
- Likely cause
- Grounded compressor or damaged wiring
- What we do
- Isolate the fault with a megohmmeter and multimeter, and quote the repair before replacing anything
Outdoor fan spins, compressor silent, warm air inside
- Likely cause
- Compressor side of the capacitor has failed
- What we do
- Replace the dual capacitor from van stock, then confirm the compressor's amp draw is normal
Heat strips running nonstop and the bill much higher
- Likely cause
- Heat pump no longer contributing heat
- What we do
- Find the failure in the outdoor unit, whether charge, defrost or compressor, and repair it
Second floor of an older north Everett house stays hot
- Likely cause
- No cooling, or ducts that can't carry it upstairs
- What we do
- Assess the ducts and the route upstairs, then suggest ducted or ductless options with prices
Outdoor unit very loud on startup
- Likely cause
- Compressor straining or a failing mount
- What we do
- Check starting current, the compressor mounts and the pad, and advise on remaining life
South Everett tracts and north-end older houses
In south Everett around Silver Lake, Cascade View, Holly and Twin Creeks, many homes from the 1970s through the 1990s heat with electric furnaces, and their ductwork is already in place. That suits either option we install: a heat pump outdoor unit added to the existing electric furnace, which turns the furnace into the air handler and keeps its strips as backup, or a complete heat pump with a new air handler. Either one usually cuts winter electricity use noticeably compared with heating on strips alone, and both bring central air conditioning with them. Twin Creeks, by the Everett Mall, is the part of the city closest to our shop.
The north end is a different job. Many pre-1940 homes in Riverside, Bayside and the Northwest neighborhood have no ducts and heat with baseboards or wall heaters. Adding ducts to a plaster-walled two-story is costly, so ductless systems often win there; our mini-split page covers them. Where an older house has had a forced-air furnace added along the way, we check duct sizes and the route to the upper floor before recommending a ducted heat pump, since undersized ducts make a new system noisy and weak. Bayside and the Port Gardner side of town also catch wind off the water, which we factor into outdoor unit placement.
Snohomish County PUD supplies Everett's electricity, and with so many homes on electric heat, its heat pump programs are often part of the conversation; we look up the PUD programs or rebates your home and equipment would qualify for, without promising amounts. During the June 2021 heat dome, readings near I-5 in Everett reportedly reached about 104°F, and Paine Field's official record stands at 100°F. South Everett is eighteen to twenty-three minutes from our shop and the north end twenty-five to thirty-two, with no surcharge for the distance.
Everett starting prices
Everett AC and heat pump repairs start at $285. Capacitors are the common call and a compressor sits at the far end of that work; before quoting one we check whether a manufacturer's warranty still covers it. To convert from strip heat, a heat pump outdoor unit added to your existing electric furnace starts at $5,250, and a full heat pump with a new air handler starts at $7,000. These are opening prices for the area, not a quote; after the diagnostic you receive a written estimate with the exact cost, and you approve it before work begins. Install prices include the equipment and installing it, and the site visit with a written quote is at no charge. If your furnace's blower or strips need work for a heat pump add-on, that shows up as a separate line.
- AC / heat pump capacitorfrom $285
- Contactorfrom $285
- Heat pump defrost boardfrom $300
- Outdoor fan motorfrom $425
- Refrigerant leak repair and rechargefrom $500
- Heat pump reversing valvefrom $1,100
- Indoor (evaporator) coilfrom $1,500
- Compressor (out of warranty)from $2,200
- Diagnostic visit$85, included in the repair
Starting prices for the north Seattle area, 2026. The $85 diagnostic is included in any repair you approve, and the exact price is in the written estimate before work starts.
System, installed
- Central air conditionerfrom $5,000
- Heat pump outdoor unit onlyfrom $5,250
- Inverter (variable-speed) heat pumpfrom $6,000
- Heat pump with air handlerfrom $7,000
Install prices start here, equipment and installation included, before any utility program. Multi-zone systems are priced after a visit. We do not charge for the site visit or the written quote.
Compressor, add-on or full system
In Everett the question is often whether to put a compressor into a heat pump that replaced an electric furnace fifteen or twenty years ago. A heat pump installed within the last several years may still have compressor coverage under the manufacturer's warranty, which makes the repair an easy call. If it is older, uses R-22, or has had leaks before, a new heat pump usually makes more sense, since the compressor is the most expensive part and the rest of the system is just as old. For homes still heating only with an electric furnace, adding a heat pump outdoor unit to a furnace in good shape is the least expensive way to gain cooling and lower winter bills. When the furnace's blower and strips are also worn, a full system with a new air handler avoids a second project later. Duplex and condo owners have one more question to settle, whether the equipment or its circuit is shared with the unit next door. You get each option priced in writing, with the trade-offs explained.
Common questions
Can you add a heat pump to my electric furnace?
Usually, yes. If the electric furnace's blower and cabinet are in good shape, we add a heat pump outdoor unit and a coil, and the furnace's heating elements become backup for the coldest hours and for defrost. It's a smaller project than replacing everything, and it adds central cooling.
My north Everett house has no ducts. What are my options?
A ducted heat pump would need new ductwork, which is costly in older plaster-walled homes. Ductless mini-splits are usually the better fit, with one or more indoor heads and a single outdoor unit. Our mini-split page covers those installs, and we'll quote both if you want a comparison.
Which utility programs apply in Everett?
Everett's electricity comes from Snohomish County PUD and its gas from Puget Sound Energy. Because most homes here heat with electricity, PUD programs for moving off resistance heat are often relevant. We check which programs or rebates apply to your house and equipment when we quote, without promising amounts.
How long does it take to get to Everett?
South Everett, around the Everett Mall, is eighteen to twenty-three minutes from our shop; the north end, around Legion Park, is twenty-five to thirty-two. We serve the whole city with no distance surcharge, and same-day visits are available Monday through Saturday when you reach us in the morning.
Is it worth fixing a heat pump that's twenty years old?
For small electrical parts, usually yes. For a compressor or a major leak, usually not, especially if it runs on R-22, which is no longer produced. We give you the repair price and a replacement price together so you can see the difference before deciding.
Talk to Adam & Sam
Anywhere from Silver Lake to the north end, call (425) 570-9520 or book a visit online. The $85 diagnostic is included when you approve the repair, and booking online saves up to $18 on it. Converting from electric heat? The site visit and written quote cost nothing.
From Sam’s repair notes
AC & heat pump
The Small Part That Kills Most ACs in a Heat Wave: Capacitor Failure Explained
Humming outdoor unit, a fan that needs a stick-start, breaker trips, cooling that quits late in the day: the run capacitor's tells, and the right fix.
AC & heat pump
Outdoor AC Fan Not Spinning: Capacitor, Motor or Contactor — the Stick Test Tells
A still fan on a humming condenser points to one of three parts. Why the stick-start trick is a warning, not a fix, and what each repair involves.
Schedule a repair
Request a visit from Adam & Sam
Send the basics and we call you back with an arrival window, most days the same morning.
- $85 diagnostic Becomes part of the repair price when you say yes. If you pass on the repair, that visit is all you pay.
- Up to $18 off Any repair requested through the online form. The diagnostic itself is never reduced.
- $10 off A second appliance’s diagnostic when we check it during the same trip.