The Census counts a heat pump as electric heat, and by that count Arlington is split down the middle: about half of all its occupied homes heat with electricity. Among renters it’s about 6 in 10, and the typical rented home was built in 1985. Among owners it’s close to 4 in 10, in homes whose median year is 1960, and about 6 in 10 owners burn gas instead.
Fairlington is Arlington’s clearest heat pump case. Its 3,449 garden apartments and townhouses went up from 1942 to 1944 as rentals, and when they were renovated and sold as condos between 1972 and 1977, central heat and air conditioning heat pumps went in. Very little from that first round is likely still running, so a Fairlington replacement is usually a heat pump for a heat pump, with the association’s documents saying where the outdoor half may stand.
In the gas houses, a heat pump usually shows up when the air conditioner quits. It takes the outdoor unit’s place, carries the heating through spring and fall, and the gas furnace takes over when it turns truly cold. If your gas bill comes from Washington Gas, it pays its Virginia customers a rebate toward that dual fuel pairing, but only when the heat pump replaces a central air conditioner. Our dual fuel guide has the amounts and the fine print.
A heat pump replaced with the same type and size in the same spot needs no Arlington permit, though the County’s Zoning office still approves where the outdoor unit stands. Trading an air conditioner for a heat pump, or a furnace for an air handler, falls outside that like-for-like exemption: Arlington’s mechanical permit covers adding, removing or relocating heating and cooling equipment.