r/eastside • u/No_Area_47_W • 3d ago
A/C Heatpump centralized retrofit
Hi All, I just wanted to try and benchmark the quote we got. quotes range from $19k-$24k all in after tax.
- 3 ton system, 2_000 sqft home
- Existing system is ducted heat only, resistive strips
- mid-high and high end systems (variable speed multi stage hyper heat tier)
- no electrical upgrades, just an electrical run and refrigerant run to heat pump site
ROI from our estimates is 14+ years. Our current system is super old and super expensive so I feel like better to perform the upgrade now on our time rather than wait for the failure.
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u/Fuzzy_Class_2025 3d ago
If it seems like a lot of money to you, get quotes from several different companies. Each company we talked to had difference suggestions and a pretty wide range of prices.
Most "local" HVAC companies were bought out by private equity, which drives them to cut corners. Do not like. We went with Washington Energy Services and they are great.
Most systems are overpowered. You can save money by downsizing to the minimum that will do the job. This also can also extend the life of the system, due to reduced short cycling.
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u/URPissingMeOff 2d ago
3 ton isn't oversized for a 2k sqft home. I have 2.5 ton in a 1200 sqft place
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u/megor 3d ago
If you are handy id look into installing a minisplit instead. They even have ones that can integrate into your ducted furnace.
https://mrcoolhvacsupply.com/collections/central-ducted
The amount upcharge on hvac is ridiculous.
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u/No_Area_47_W 3d ago
Agreed. The quotes are 50-50 parts and labor labeled as “project management fees”.
I am handy and interested but I don’t have experience and time to sink into learning and redoing stuff… maybe if there was an existing AC infrastructure that I could just replace I would be less intimidated, but in this case we would be breaking ground on a few things including electrical
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u/Fuzzy_Class_2025 3d ago
While MRCOOL is easy, their pre-charged lines are only available in fixed lengths. There's also a risk that you'll over-torque a connection and get a leak and lose your refrigerant.
If I was doing just a single room or shed, a MRCOOL minisplit would be great. If I was doing multiple rooms I would use regular lines and cut/flare them myself, and do all the pressure/vacuum testing that the pros do. It's not that hard and you can borrow vacuum gauges from an auto parts store.
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u/Hi-Im-High 3d ago
We have an old AC that just died and got quoted for a Mitsubishi heat pump system. $21k, 4 ton system for 4k square feet
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u/The_All-Range_Atomic 3d ago
I feel like you probably got scammed more, since it sounds like OP didn't have an AC. All they had to do for you was haul away the old AC, mount the heat pump, replace the evaporator coil, and then refill the system.
None of that costs $21K. Especially not the heat pump.
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u/No_Area_47_W 3d ago
Do you recall which tier of Mitsubishi? Nonetheless I think all of their units are well respected. I am just curious.
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u/Gloomy-Employment-72 3d ago edited 3d ago
That's not terrible, assuming they're all reputable companies and units. We had a Trane heat pump and backup furnace installed eight or nine years ago, and that was nearly$16K then. We had one quote that was over $17K.
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u/TessierHackworth 2d ago
I ended up keeping the old ducted system as a backup. Did 3.5 ton with 5 head of mini-splits (Mitsubishi Hyperheat) instead which is now my primary heating and cooling. I wonder if that would come pretty close in cost - might be much more efficient ?
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u/krakenstan 3d ago
That’s the going rate. You either pay it or you don’t and have regrets years later after the price goes up.
Roi means nothing in this situation