Heating and air conditioning equipment is a big expense. You want your HVAC to last as long as possible, but eventually you discover you probably need new heating and cooling equipment. If your system is getting older and more expensive to repair, you might be thinking it’s time for some brand-new units.
Some triggers that show it may be time to replace are:
- If your energy bills are consistently higher than normal (and it’s not just due to your supplier’s price hikes)
- If your unit is R22 and consistently needed refrigerant refills
- If your unit needs a very expensive repair
- If your unit is 10+ years old and not working well
When you do decide upon HVAC replacement, one of the main questions you want answered is “How much does HVAC replacement cost?”
We will go through lots of types of HVAC systems and factors that affect the cost to get replacement HVAC installed in your home.
Different Types of HVAC Systems
First, what type of HVAC system you want has a large effect on how much it may cost.
- Mini Split Heat Pump – this type of heating and AC is ductless. It can be installed anywhere in the home or even in a detached building. It is ultra-efficient and requires a smaller indoor and outdoor unit. You can also have numerous indoor zones per outdoor unit.
- Air Conditioner – an air conditioner, or condenser, is installed outside of the home and works by removing heat and humidity from indoor air and pushing it outside. An AC uses gas as its power source.
- Heat Pump – a heat pump is similar to an air conditioner in that it is installed outside of your home and has a matching indoor unit. It also looks almost identical. Unlike an air conditioner, though, a heat pump can both heat and cool and is powered by electricity instead of gas.
- Gas Furnace – as the name suggests, a gas furnace runs on natural gas which ignites in the furnace to warm up the air inside your home and delivers this warm air through the ductwork.
- Electric Furnace – an electric furnace is very similar to its gas counterpart in design but uses electric as its power source.
- Boiler – this type of HVAC works by heating up water and providing hot water or steam for heating. They do not cool.
- Geothermal – this type of heating and cooling system is installed underground and uses the earth’s temperature plus various sets of pipes to heat and cool your home. The upfront installation is very labor intensive.