Emergency service in Washington DC
No heat below freezing, no cooling in a heatwave, or water where it should not be. The job is re-broadcast with a rising fee until someone accepts — never above the ceiling you set.
- Diagnostic fee
- $89 – $129
- Typical total
- Quoted on site
- Usual response
- Escalated until accepted
- On site
- 1 – 3 hours
At a glance
Work warranted 12 months
A carbon monoxide alarm or a gas smell is a 911 call, not a service request. Leave the building first and call from outside.
What counts as an emergency
Not everything that feels urgent at 11pm is worth an after-hours premium. These are the ones where waiting until morning costs more than calling now.
No heat, and it is below freezing
Pipes are the risk, not comfort. Below about 20°F an unheated DC rowhouse can reach freezing internally overnight, and a burst supply line is a far larger bill than the after-hours fee.
Fee $89 – $129
No cooling during a heat advisory
Genuinely dangerous for infants, older people, and anyone with a heart or respiratory condition. If someone in the house is at risk, say so in the request — it changes how the job is routed.
Fee $89 – $129
Water actively leaking
A condensate overflow finds drywall and then a ceiling. Switch the system off, put a bucket under it, and treat it as urgent even though the repair itself is usually small.
Fee $89 – $129
Burning smell or visible smoke
Switch the system off at the breaker before anything else. This is one of the few faults where running it while you wait can turn a repair into a fire.
Fee $89 – $129
A carbon monoxide alarm sounding
Leave the building and call 911 or the gas company from outside. Do not request a technician first — this is not an HVAC call until the building is clear.
Call 911 first
Ice covering the outdoor unit in winter
A heat pump that cannot defrost. It will keep running on expensive strip heat and can damage the fan. Worth a same-night call rather than a same-week one.
Fee $89 – $129
While you wait
Genuinely. Three of these fix the problem often enough that we’d rather tell you than take your $89.
- 01If there is any burning smell, switch the system off at the breaker
- 02If water is leaking, switch it off and catch what you can — the drain is the usual cause
- 03In a heatwave, close blinds on the sun side and move everyone to the lowest floor
- 04In a freeze, open cabinet doors under sinks on exterior walls and let taps drip
Still not sorted?
Request in the app and a verified company usually accepts within a few minutes.
Ranges are indicative of the DC market, not quotes, and not yet drawn from completed NovaAir jobs. Your price is whatever the technician quotes for your system, and you approve it before any work starts.