A heat pump is an ultra-efficient air conditioner that can also provide heating for your entire home, as well as run without burning any fossil fuels.
To get started on installing a heat pump, contact your local HVAC pros for FREE ESTIMATES!
What Is The Average Cost Of A Heat Pump?
Heat pumps are an advanced and technologically superior Air Conditioning / Heating system that uses a reversed refrigeration cycle to produce heat during winter and direct cycle to cool your home in the summer.
However with all this technology, comes at an increased cost.
A 16-18 SEER Central Heat Pump (low-end) costs around $6,650 – $14,840 to install, depending on make/model, SEER efficiency rating, and options. On the high end, it can cost as much as $27,000 to $35,000+ Heat pumps heat your home in temps down to about 35°F. In cold environments you will need a Communicating Gas Furnace as a source of backup heat, when temps drop below freezing.
By contrast, a Ductless Heat Pump with multiple zones (indoor air handlers), with 19-21 SEER efficiency can be installed for about $14,240 – $19,830 for a 5-zone system, that can heat your home in as low as -15°F, so you don’t need a backup heating system.
For extra high efficiency models (such as Lennox XP25, with up-to 25 SEER), you may end up spending over $25,000 – $35,000+!
A newer generation of “hyper heat” heat pump with an Inverter Compressor, such as Mr. COOL Universal (up-to 20 SEER), can provide heating at as low as -22°F, without breaking a bank, like Lennox.
Keep in mind that when you compare SEER ratings of Central vs Ductless heat pumps, you need to keep in mind 10-25% efficiency loss in the ductwork of a central system, whereas Ductless (as the name says) does not use ducts, you get full capacity, without losses.
Also the cost of your new heat pump is based on your home size, climate region, heat load, & SEER rating.
You can use our Heat Pump Calculator to estimate the cost of installing a heat pump in your home.
Heat Pump Installation Cost
Installing a heat pump is very similar to installing central AC.
However, because heat pumps are also a heating system (not just cooling), there are very important differences in equipment and installation procedures, that must be met, for the equipment to function properly in heating mode.
This mostly applies to central heat pumps, because “out-of-the-box”, they are not made to heat your home, without adding specific cold weather & icing monitoring/mitigation devices, such as freeze-stats, base-pan heaters, communicating devices, etc.
At the same time, ductless heat pumps have all these features built into them from the factory, and all the installer really has to do is connect refrigerant lines either directly to the indoor air handler (or as is often the case with Multi-Zone Mitsubishi systems, to a “branch box” which is then connected to multiple air handlers), and connect signal wire from each indoor unit, to the compressor/condenser unit outside.
Due to critical differences between Central & Ductless heat pumps, we will list installation of each type of system separately.
Cost To Install A Central Heat Pump
As a baseline, a typical Central Heat Pump + Gas Furnace labor cost (for proper installation) will be in a rage of $6,300-10,500 for a high end unit (16-18 SEER), and about $5,400-$7,300 for a lower end (14-18 SEER) unit.
These numbers are not much higher than cost of a typical Central Air (AC + Furnace), where labor cost is about $4,500-5,000 and equipment cost is about $5,000.
However, there are certain aspects and nuances that require specific knowledge about how heat pumps are wired, which components to use, how to setup thermostat, installing outdoor “freezstat” (to prevent icing of the condenser unit), all related to Heating part of the heat pump.
Most traditional AC installers are not even aware if these, and will in most cases setup your heat pump as a simple Central AC, which defeats the purpose of getting a system which is 2x more expensive.
It is strongly recommended to have your heat pump installed only by an experienced professional, with heat pump training.
In light of all of these extra work items that have to be performed, the installation cost of a heat heat pump system is about 30-50% higher than that of a conventional Central AC.
Certain companies (for example Lennox authorized dealers) charge even higher price for labor, but obviously do not break it down, and just give you a total number.
DUCTLESS HEAT PUMP Installation Cost
Installing ductless (mini-split system) heat pumps is more straight forward. You are basically paying for labor for each zone/room, where an air handler (indoor unit) is installed.
Prices below assume installation of the condenser (outdoor unit) on a wall mount, properly secured to the framing of the house OR placing condenser on a “pad”, which is not recommended in cold climates, as snow will accumulate inside the condenser and will compromise equipment, and prevent heating operation.
Cost of a standard Ductless Heat Pumps installation ranges from $1,800-2,200 for the first zone, and around $1,500-1,900 for each additional zone. Thus, a 5-zone mini-split will cost around $7,800 to $9,800 for labor.
Standard installs also include running a separate, all new line-set (refrigerant pipes) and line-hide (covers) to the location of EACH indoor unit, mounting each indoor unit on the wall inside your house, pressure testing and vacuuming the system, and adding refrigerant as needed.
Ductless Indoor Units (air handlers): Mini splits are not limited to just a wall-mounted indoor units. In fact, there are 5 common types of air handlers:
Ductless Heat Pumps Air Handler types ($ represents number of digits in the price of each type of air handler)
- Wall Mounted: Standard unit, hanging on the wall, 4-8″ below ceiling. These is the least expensive type. These cost between $350-$800 depending on size/brand.
- Floor Mounted: Cast iron radiator “replacement”, mounted on a floor. More expensive than wall units. No extra labor charge. Floor mounted air handlers seamlessly fit into design of your home, while only costing between $500-$950, depending on size/brand.
- Ceiling Cassette: These “concealed” units are pretty expensive (each ranging in price from $1400-$4000+ for equipment) and require special mounting, framing work to accommodate unit size, installation of a condensate pumps and drains.
These will typically cost $850-1500 extra to install.
- Concealed / Slim Duct: Another fairly expensive fully concealed air handler (costing from $1500 to $5000 each, depending on size). As the name implies these are “locally ducted” units. They may or may not need framing work. They can be used to simultaneously heat/cool multiple rooms/spaces, such as master bedroom + master bathroom, or several adjacent rooms.
Since they are ducted, each space will need its own supply duct, and one main return, as well as a condensate pump and drain. This increases the labor cost by $1200 to $2500 per indoor slim duct unit. If you don’t have ceiling access, some drywall work will also be required.
- Ceiling Suspended: Very expensive large capacity units, primarily used in large spaces, commercial settings, conference rooms, etc.
One critical item that is often NOT included in standard installation is the electrical connection (240V dedicated line, with appropriate size breaker, and outdoor AC Disconnect box), which must be done by a licensed electrician, and typically cost around $300-500.
It is standard not to include those, or include it as a separate line item, as many HVAC contractors do not have a licensed electrician, and need to hire and outside contractor for this.
Can it be done cheaper? If you search on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, you will get prices in a range of $800-1200 per zone.
However, and as discussed below, these prices are often from unqualified/unprofessional installers doing unlicensed electrical work and poor quality installation.
These low cost installs very often do not include essential items like installing line hide, properly mounting wall bracket, not securing condenser, or just simply putting it on 2 cinder blocks. These jobs often result in poor performance, premature failure of equipment, refrigerant leaks, etc.
Heat Pump Equipment Cost
Let’s take a look at 3-ton (36,000 BTU) heat pump units from several US manufacturers. We will break down the prices by Central & Ductless and include entry level, mid range and high end units (usually distinguished by SEER rating).
We will look at the following units, that represent a high-end, mid-range and lower end of central heat pumps:
Both of Lennox & Armstrong have a variable-speed compressor, while both Goodman units are two-stage (2 speed) heat pumps. What this means, is depending on heating/cooling load, variable-speed units can ramp up and down, to provide continuous and energy efficient comfort, and constantly adjusting output to meet demand.
A 2-speed unit has only 3 modes – high, low and off. Therefore, once thermostat is satisfied, these units shut off. And then when thermostat is calling for heating or cooling, they turn on at full blast, and may or may not go into low speed. Regardless
NOTE: Armstrong is a Lennox mid-range brand, and comparable units are very similar. Goodman is owned by Daikin
(a Japanese HVAC manufacturer), which was bough by Carrier (a US HVAC manufacturer).
Our guess, is that all of these units are made in the same sweat shop in mid-land China … just kidding 🙂 … We believe all four of the above products are manufactured is USA!
Lennox XP25-036
XP25-036 is high end 3-ton, 21.5 SEER Variable Speed Central Heat Pump costs $10,124.00 (as of 1-18-2021). This unit also requires additional equipment to operate as a true HEAT PUMP, and not as a simple AC:
Quote from LENNOX Price List: NOTE – An iComfort® Communicating Thermostat (S30) and a variable-speed iComfort® Communicating Furnace or Air Handler is required with the XP25 for a complete communicating system. All components must be ordered separately.
A compatible Lennox CBA38MV-036 iComfort Air Handler (indoor coil) will cost $1,886.00
Unfortunately price is not available for S30 iComfort® Communicating Thermostat in our price list, but it sells for about $700 on Amazon, and about $850 from various HVAC suppliers online. Another required part is 88K38 Discharge Air Temperature Sensor, per unit’s specification document.
Lennox XP25-036-230 Heating in Low Ambient Temperature: For some reason, Lennox is hiding this information very well, and it took some digging to unearth the actual numbers from spec sheet (which is not readily available on Lennox’s product page for XP25 series).
Heating Mode (Low Temperature Protection):
Outdoor unit will not operate in the heating mode when the outdoor temperature is at or below –4°F. If the unit is operating and the outdoor temperature drops below –4°F, the unit will continue to operate until the room thermostat is satisfied or the outdoor temperature drops to –15°F.
NOTE – A freezestat is recommended for extra protection during low ambient cooling operation.
So wow – this Lennox XP25 is a true heat pump that can actually produce heat, when it is really cold outside.
Bottom line – for a 3-ton Lennox XP25 Heat Pump your are looking to spend at least $12,810 just in equipment costs alone. Keep in mind, this is Jan 2021 pricing, and since then, average price increases for HVAC equipment have gone up by about 10%.
Next, in most cases you will need a compatible high efficiency furnace. An 88K BTU Lennox Elite EL296V furnace (99% AFUE) will cost $3,750.
Typical other parts will run you about $200-400.
Final item is the copper line-set (3/8″ + 3/4″) will cost about $400-700.
Final Equipment Cost for Lennox XP25 Heat Pump with Dual Fuel Gas Furnace: When we add everything together, we get about $17,460 in 2021 prices and about $18,682 if we add 7% (official US inflation in 2021).
Armstrong 4SHP20LX
Here we won’t go into so many details as with Lennox, but will say that 4SHP20LX operating range is stated as 0°F – 115°F, and we assume 0°F is the lowest ambient temperature for Heating (Armstrong’s spec sheet does not specify if it is for Heating or Cooling).
However if we look at page 11 of said spec sheet, you will find a table of heat output at various temperatures, as well as power input (in KW).
What we get, is 14.9K BTUs of heat output at 0°F outdoor temperature. That is pretty pathetic (for a 3-ton Heat Pump), given that my single zone Fujitsu 09LZAH1 9000 BTUs (3/4 ton) mini split heat pump can output about 16,000 BTUs of heat at 0°F. Besides, 14.9K BTUs is just abysmal for a whole house, when typical home heat load is between 65,000 and 100,000 BTUs
Armstrong 4SHP20LX prices are much more recent than Lennox, and are from November 2021.
- For the outdoor unit (4SHP20LX136P) the cost is $5,684.65
- For a matching indoor communicating air handler (BCE7S36MA4X-50 OMNI FAN COIL/3.0T/230V/1PH), the cost is $1,911.58
- For a matching 97% AFUE Modulating Gas Furnace (A97USMV090C12), the cost is $2,080.66
- Typical other parts will run you about $200-400.
- Copper lineset (3/8″ + 3/4″) will cost about $400-700.
- Armstrong Comfort Sync Thermostat (essentially a copy of Lennox iComfort Thermostat) is about $500-600.
Total cost for Armstrong 4SHP20LX heat pump in Dual Fuel configuration with a Gas Furnace is about $11,126.89
Cost To Install A Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pump
Installation costs of ductless heat pumps are fairly simple to estimate, except for situations where you have ceiling cassette or hidden slim-duct types of air handlers installed. These however are rare, and are not tremendously more expensive.
What is important in any Ductless Heat Pump installation, is when you plan to use it for HEATING, you need to put it at least 18-24″ up above ground! If you put the outdoor condenser on the ground, it will fail to work if there is snow.
Usually ductless condensing units are installed on a wall bracket or a ground stand. In case of a stand, we recommend to always pour a small concrete footing, to keep the stand and your mini-split compressor stable and leveled!
Then, unlike central AC, where a single run of line-set is installed between compressor outside and air-handler inside, each zone (room/location) in a ductless system needs its own run of line-set, which ranges from 15 to 60 feet on average, for each zone.
The actual cost per zone ranges from about $900-1,100 from guys on Craigslist / Facebook Marketplace (who then markup the equipment) for a basic install, to about $1,700-2200 per zone from professional HVAC contractors who are usually licensed/trained by manufacturers such as Mitsubishi / Fujitsu / Daikin / LG, etc. For example, I’m a Fujitsu Certified Installer.
In the end, even if you hire a guy off Craigslist/FB, you end up paying about the same as for the pros, because of all the markups, and not included stuff, whereas pros already include a wall mount, refrigerant, all the line-set and line-set cover (line-hide), and this and that.
Also – often enough, guys on CL/FB are complete hacks, and install junk mini-splits from no-name Chinese brands. If you hire one of those clowns, there is a good chance you will only get a year or two out of your system – we will do a video + blog post about this soon.
Do You Need To Replace Ductwork/Line-set When Installing A Heat Pump?
If you already have/had an older Central AC in your home, then you have existing ducts and refrigerant line-set (copper pipes/tubing). Thus, seemingly you don’t need to replace or install new ducts or copper tubing.
Our recommendation is to always replace old line-set. Reason for this is simple. Over the years, oil, small debris and other contaminants accumulate in the copper lines. And while they don’t clog the pipes, these debris and contaminants may damage your new, more sensitive equipment.
Also you don’t know for sure if the original installer or any service technician that might have repaired the copper lines or put in a new field-installed filter drier, the technician/installer could have been lazy and did not run NITROGEN gas.
This would cause a lot of carbon deposits on the inner walls of the copper pipes, and can do a lot of damage to the compressor.
While most HVAC companies will tell you to just leave old line set in place – because it is easier for them, and easier to sell you the job, without adding $1,200-1,500 to the bill, it is very important to install new (very expensive) heat pump with new line-set.
We also strongly recommend to have both LOW and HIGH side copper pipe be insulated. Most HVAC companies will say they always have only the LOW (vapor) side insulated, and HIGH side (liquid) is bare copper.
But for a heat pump, which sends hot refrigerant over both lines, depending on the mode (cooling or heating), you need both to be insulated. That is why ALL line-set for DUCTLESS heat pumps is always insulated on both sides!
Finally, your ductwork may or may not be insulated and of adequate size. While there is not much you can do about size, except outright replacing your ducts, insulating ducts is something that is HIGHLY recommended! At least portions of it that are accessible.
Can A Heat Pump Heat A Whole House?
Yes, a central heat pump is designed to heat a whole house.
However there is a BIG caveat when it comes to Heat Pumps and Heating. As we discuss in our heat pump efficiency guide, not all heat pumps are created equal.
Most US-made central heat pumps are “not that good for heating”. In my opinion, it is the result of “lazy approach” of the US AC manufacturers, who took their existing “good-ole” air conditioners, slapped a reversing valve on it, and called it a “heat pump”.
In reality, what you get is a slightly more efficient AC which can provide some heating at mild outdoor temperatures. Once temps fall near freezing, you need a supplemental / backup heating source.
Basically these manufacturers use homeowners’ lack of knowledge (or ignorance) and sell them “heat pump” which cannot heat (not a very nice strategy imho).
Later these homeowners find out, that either their electric bill is sky-high (because source of make-up heat is electric heat strip – the most expensive type of heat), or electric bill is high, but also gas bill is high, as the gas furnace needs to kick in, when temps outside fall into low 30s or below.
Do You Still Need A Furnace With A Heat Pump?
The 3-ton central heat pumps described above, have their heating capacity rated at around 33,000-36,000 BTU/h at 47°F ambient temperature.
33,000-36,000 BTUs is not sufficient for most US homes in regions and climate zones north of South/North Carolina. Most homes in Virginia / DC area (and similar climates) will need about 50K-60K of heating capacity.
As temps drop to about 35°F, central heat pumps’ heat output drops by about 15% to 28.5K BTUs, which is barely enough to heat 2 lager rooms (350 sq.ft. each) in climates like in Massachusetts.
Therefore in most cases you WILL need a backup heat source – usually a gas furnace.
What Is Cheaper To Run: Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace?
If your electricity costs less than $0.20/kWh (ideally less than 15 cents/kWh), in many cases it is cheaper to heat your home with a Heat Pump. We recommend using our home heating costs calculator, to get a much more accurate estimate of how much it will cost to heat your home with Gas vs Oil vs Propane vs Electricity.
What Are The Disadvantages Of A Heat Pump?
The main disadvantage of a heat pump is the fact that it runs on electricity. If your power goes down, you are stuck without heat.
While the same can be said about a Furnace or a Boiler which also require electricity to operate, you can run a furnace or boiler off of a backup generator as small as 1500-2000w.
To run a heat pump off a generator, you will need a properly wired in “Generac” or similar stand-by whole house generator, with at least 7500w capacity.
In either case having some type of wood pellet or wood burning stove is a great idea for any home, as a backup option for when there is no power or gas or oil or propane. You can just go and collect firewood in any wooded area, in most case for free!
Does A Heat Pump Use A Lot Of Electricity?
Yes – typical power consumption of a heat pump can range from 3600w to as much as 12000w (15-50 Amp at 240 volts). This is a good and bad at the same time!
If your power costs less than 15 cents/kWh, your heating will be fairly cheap (considering 20-40% price hikes on all types of heating fuels (Gas, Oil, Propane & Electricity) in last 6 months in every state!
At the same time if your electricity is expensive (over $0.20/kWh), you can go Solar, and in most case, will ROI within 4-6 years, after which your will have FREE Heating and Cooling!
