HVAC Cost Calculator

Pick the system you're replacing and see the installed band — then toggle the line items a real quote will bring up: permits, ductwork, panel upgrades, old-system removal, and refrigerant line-sets. Every band comes from cited national cost guides, kept per-source and never averaged.

The full guide with all 11 system types and the line-item tables lives at how much does a furnace or central AC replacement cost.

System scenario

Installed cost: $3,800–$4,800–$10,000

Low–typical–high installed band for gas furnace, standard efficiency (80% afue), from the cited HVAC dataset (labor included; bands per-source, never averaged).

Optional add-ons (each shows its cited band)

Permit & inspection+$50–$1,500 — electric-furnace row carried the wide permit band $50-$1,500 — composed by publisher, pres…Old furnace haul-away+$50–$330 — haul-away $50-$330Electrical panel / circuit upgrade+$500–$2,000 — general band $500-$2,000 (scope brief)Ductwork modifications (light)+$1,000–$2,700 — scope-brief band for minor modifications $1,000-$2,700Full ductwork replacement+$3,000–$7,500 — ductwork replacement $3,000-$7,500 (major rework; use when ducts fail inspection)Smart thermostat install+$120–$300 — thermostat install labor $120-$300; Angi snapshot $120-$350 (discrepancy band recorded)

Estimated total $3,800–$10,000 (base install only)

Assumes like-for-like capacity on existing infrastructure. Sizing is a Manual J load-calculation job, not a square-footage guess — an undersized or oversized quote is a red flag. Bands are national ranges from published cost guides; where publishers conflict, both figures are recorded as bands, never averaged. Get local written quotes. Estimate only.

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A national range is a planning number, not a price. Compare free written quotes from local HVAC pros — same scope, same materials — before you commit.

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How this calculator works

The base band for each scenario is the installed cost from the HVAC dataset — labor included, not equipment pricing. Add-ons are optional and each shows its own cited band before you add it: permits by system family, ductwork modification versus full replacement, electrical panel upgrades, old-system removal, thermostat installs, refrigerant line-sets, and geothermal drilling/ductwork.

Where publishers disagree, both figures stay in the band — nothing is averaged into a fake precision number. The two known composed figures (the high-efficiency furnace low bound and the electric-furnace typical) are flagged in the dataset and carry those flags into the guide's table.

Honest limits

Sizing is a Manual J load-calculation job — any quote that starts from square footage instead of a load calc is a red flag. The bands are national; regional labor rates and code requirements move them. The line-set figures come from an industry publisher (HVACR Pipe) because the three core guides fold that cost into install labor, so they carry lower confidence.

Get local written quotes before budgeting. These are national installed ranges from public cost guides, not quotes.

Next step: compare local quotes

The numbers above come from public cost guides. Getting two or three written quotes for the same scope is the only way to know your local price — free and no obligation.

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Sources

Fixr - How Much Does a New Furnace Cost? [2026 Data] (updated Jan 28, 2026) — www.fixr.com/costs/furnace (manual; retrieved 2026-09-25)
Fixr - Cost to Install Central Air (updated Aug 29, 2025) — www.fixr.com/costs/central-air-conditioner-installation (manual; retrieved 2026-09-25)
HomeAdvisor - Heating & Cooling cost guides (furnace / gas furnace / electric furnace / AC installation) — www.homeadvisor.com/cost/heating-and-cooling/install-a-furna (manual; retrieved 2026-09-25)
HVACR Pipe (industry) - Cost to Replace AC Line Set (alternate publisher) — www.hvacrpipe.com/application/cost-to-replace-ac-line-set (manual; retrieved 2026-09-25)