HVAC Replacement Pricing Guide
What Should a New Furnace and AC Cost?
Clear answers from a family-owned company that has installed HVAC systems in Chicagoland since 1959.
You shouldn’t have to wonder whether you’re overpaying or whether you’re being steered into equipment you don’t really need. We’ve installed thousands of heating and cooling systems in homes across the western suburbs of Chicago, and we can usually explain why one system costs $3,500 and another costs $16,000.
On this page, we’ll walk through typical furnace, air conditioner, and heat pump pricing, what affects those numbers, and how to think about repair versus replacement.
What Does a New HVAC System Cost in Chicagoland?
There isn’t one price for a new heating and cooling system because there isn’t one system that’s right for every home. A straightforward furnace replacement may start around $3,500, while more advanced equipment with higher efficiency, quieter operation, and additional comfort features can cost considerably more.
Air conditioning and heat pump pricing also varies based on the size and efficiency of the equipment, the features you choose, and what is required to properly install it in your home.
The important thing is understanding what you’re paying for and why. That’s what we’re going to break down for you on this page.
Don’t Forget About Rebates
Depending on the equipment selected, its efficiency, your utility provider, and available programs, significant rebates may help reduce the cost of a new system.
For homeowners installing a qualifying heat pump, ComEd instant rebates can range from approximately $900 to $2,000 depending on the heat pump’s size and efficiency. Because this is an instant rebate, the qualifying amount can be applied as part of the purchase, rather than requiring the homeowner to wait for a rebate check.
Qualifying gas furnaces may also be eligible for rebates through your natural gas utility, including Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas, and North Shore Gas, depending on the furnace and current program requirements.
Carrier may also offer seasonal manufacturer promotions, including Carrier Cool Cash, which is often available during promotional periods in the spring and fall.
Because rebate amounts, qualifications, and manufacturer promotions can change, Air-Rite maintains current information in our Rebate Center.
Should I Repair My Furnace or Replace It?
A furnace that isn’t working properly doesn’t automatically need to be replaced. Sometimes a repair is absolutely the right answer.
When an Air-Rite service technician comes to your home, their job is to diagnose your system and determine whether it can be repaired. Our technicians are highly trained HVAC professionals, not replacement salespeople. Their focus is troubleshooting equipment, explaining what they’ve found, and helping keep your existing system running when a repair makes sense.
Before recommending new equipment, Air-Rite looks at the age and condition of your existing system, what’s actually wrong with it, the cost of the repair, its repair history, energy efficiency, and how well it’s heating your home.
If a reasonable repair can give you more useful life from your furnace, we’ll explain that option. If you’re facing a major repair on an older system, we’ll also help you understand what putting that money toward replacement would look like.
If replacement deserves consideration, we’ll explain why and, if you’d like, arrange a free consultation with one of our Comfort Specialists to review your options.
The person diagnosing your furnace isn’t there to sell you a furnace.
What Does a New Furnace Actually Cost?
Furnace replacement costs can vary considerably depending on efficiency, heating stages, comfort features, furnace size, and the installation requirements of your home. At Air-Rite, we don’t expect homeowners to know which furnace they need before we arrive. That’s part of our job.
Here’s a realistic look at what different types of furnace replacements can cost.
80% Efficient Furnaces
An 80% furnace is a common choice in many Chicagoland homes. These furnaces typically vent through an existing metal flue or chimney and can be an excellent option when you’re looking for reliable gas heat without converting the home to a condensing high-efficiency furnace.
- Single-stage 80% furnace$3,500–$4,800
- Two-stage 80% furnace$5,500–$6,900
- Carrier Variable 80% furnace$8,300–$9,500
These prices are intended to represent a typical Air-Rite installation, not simply the price of the furnace itself. A straightforward replacement generally includes removing the existing furnace, installing the new furnace, reconnecting to existing venting and utilities, normal sheet metal transitions needed to connect to existing ductwork, and the standard materials required for the installation.
What Does “Installed” Mean?
When Air-Rite gives you a replacement price, we’re looking at the complete job, not advertising a low equipment price and then building the installation back into the quote.
Single-Stage, Two-Stage, and Modulating
Single-stage: simple, dependable heat
A single-stage furnace essentially has two settings: on and off. When your thermostat calls for heat, it runs at full heating capacity until the thermostat is satisfied. For homeowners who primarily want reliable heating at a lower upfront cost, a single-stage furnace can make a lot of sense.
Two-stage: more comfort and flexibility
A two-stage furnace can run at a lower stage during milder weather and move to higher when your home needs more heat. Because we don’t have below-zero temperatures every day of the heating season, it can spend much of its time in that lower stage, providing longer, gentler heating cycles, more even temperatures, and quieter operation than a traditional single-stage furnace.
Modulating: our highest level of comfort and control
Carrier modulating furnaces are for homeowners looking for a higher level of comfort and system control. Rather than operating at one or two fixed levels, select modulating equipment can adjust its operation much more precisely to match your home’s needs. That can help with temperature consistency, quieter operation, airflow, and humidity control, particularly when paired with other compatible variable components.
But—and this is important—not every home needs a modulating furnace. If those additional comfort features aren’t important to you, we’ll tell you that too.
High-Efficiency Furnaces
A high-efficiency furnace captures more of the heat produced from the fuel it uses before that heat leaves your home. An 80% AFUE furnace converts roughly 80% of its fuel into usable heat under that rating methodology, while a 96% AFUE furnace is rated to convert approximately 96%.
Another way to think about AFUE is in dollars. For every $100 of natural gas used by an 80% AFUE furnace, roughly $80 becomes usable heat in your home and about $20 is lost through venting. With a 96% AFUE furnace, it’s about $96 of heat and about $4 is lost.
But a high-efficiency furnace isn’t simply an 80% furnace with different venting. A condensing furnace uses a secondary heat exchanger to capture additional heat that would otherwise leave through the flue. Because of the additional components and technology, a high-efficiency furnace typically costs more up front than an 80% furnace.
Typical Air-Rite replacement ranges, assuming the home already has a high-efficiency furnace and usable PVC venting, are:
- 96% single-stage$5,300–$6,700
- 96% two-stage$10,000–$12,000
- 96% modulating$13,000–$16,000
If we’re converting from an 80% furnace to a 90%+ furnace, new PVC intake and exhaust venting and condensate drainage may be required. Depending on the home and the venting route, that typically adds about $1,500 to $1,800 to the installation.
Sometimes that conversion makes sense. Sometimes it doesn’t. We’ll show you both options when appropriate so you can decide what’s right for your home.
What Does a New Air Conditioner Cost?
Air conditioner replacement costs vary based on the size of your home, equipment capacity, efficiency, sound level, comfort features, and installation requirements. For Air-Rite customers, a new air conditioner can range from approximately $6,500 for a basic system to $23,000 for premium variable speed equipment.
Most homeowners don’t need to begin by deciding which model they want. That’s something we’ll work through together.
- Entry-levelstarting around $6,500
- Carrier Comfort Series Single-speedapproximately $7,500–$13,000
- Carrier Performance Series Two-speedapproximately $13,000–$20,000
- Carrier Infinity Series: Variable Speedapproximately $16,000–$23,000
The important thing is that we’re talking about installed cost, not just equipment.
Do I Need the Most Efficient Air Conditioner?
Not necessarily. Because Chicagoland has a shorter cooling season than warmer parts of the country, the added cost of moving to a higher-efficiency air conditioner may not always be recovered through energy savings alone.
But efficiency isn’t the only thing you’re paying for. Quieter operation, better dehumidification, and improved overall comfort may be just as important to you.
And if higher efficiency is one of your goals, we might suggest looking at a heat pump instead, especially when rebates are on the table.
Wait—A Heat Pump in Chicago?
Yes. Air-Rite has installed hundreds of heat pump systems throughout Chicagoland in recent years. These are very different from the ones we installed in the 1970’s.
In many of the systems we install, the heat pump replaces the traditional air conditioner, not the gas furnace. It provides cooling all summer and can also provide electric heat when conditions make sense.
With current local energy costs, natural gas is often the more economical heating source during colder weather. That’s why Air-Rite commonly pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace rather than relying on the heat pump alone. The system can transition between the two depending on which makes more sense.
For some homeowners—particularly those with solar panels—the economics may be different.
There’s another reason to consider a heat pump when you’re replacing an air conditioner: ComEd instant rebates. Qualifying customers may receive an instant rebate of approximately $900 to $2,000 depending on the equipment.
So when we compare a traditional air conditioner with a heat pump, we don’t just compare equipment prices. We look at installed cost, rebates, efficiency, expected use, and what you’re trying to accomplish so you can decide.
Typical Installed Heat Pump Pricing
- Carrier Two Stage heat pumps$7,000–$11,000
- Carrier Variable stage heat pumps$12,000–$20,000
Quiet Matters, Too
Efficiency isn’t the only reason to move beyond a basic air conditioner. For some homeowners, sound is one of their biggest concerns with their outdoor unit. Maybe it sits next to the patio, maybe it’s outside a bedroom window, or maybe your neighbor’s house is only a few feet away.
In situations like that, we sometimes recommend a quieter side-discharge system, even when the homeowner isn’t looking for the most elaborate air conditioner available.
It’s another example of why we don’t force every home into a good, better, best package. You might end up with a simple single-stage furnace and a quiet side-discharge heat pump simply because quiet operation outdoors matters more to you than having the most advanced furnace. And that’s perfectly reasonable.
Should I Replace My Furnace and Air Conditioner at the Same Time?
Not always. If your furnace still has years of useful life but your air conditioner needs replacement, we can focus on the cooling equipment only. Likewise, a failed furnace doesn’t automatically mean your air conditioner must go, too.
But when both systems are older or near the end of their lifespan, replacing them together can make financial and practical sense. When your furnace and cooling system are replaced at the same time, our installers can complete portions of the work together, which can reduce the overall installation cost.
There can also be another advantage. Replacing both at once allows us to design the furnace and cooling equipment as a complete system, instead of just attaching new equipment to whatever happens to be there.
And because every home is different, we don’t advertise a one-size-fits-all bundle discount. We’ll calculate any savings based on the specific system you’re getting.
What Can Make My Replacement Cost More?
Two homes can need the same size furnace or air conditioner and still have different installation costs because replacing HVAC equipment isn’t as simple as swapping boxes.
Ductwork, venting, electrical, refrigerant lines, drainage, equipment location, and accessibility can all affect what it takes to install the new system properly.
For example, converting from an 80% furnace to a high-efficiency furnace may require new PVC venting and condensate drainage. A new air conditioner or heat pump may require electrical changes or modifications to the existing refrigerant lines. Sometimes the ductwork needs adjustment so the new equipment can deliver the airflow it was designed for.
That doesn’t mean every home will need those things. It simply means we need to see your home before we give you a firm price.
During your free in-home consultation, we’ll look at the existing equipment and installation, talk about what you want from the new system, and identify anything that could affect cost, so the price we give you reflects the job your home actually needs—not a starting number that grows later.
Which Heating and Cooling System Would Air-Rite Recommend?
The answer depends on your home, your comfort preferences, and your budget.
At Air-Rite, we don’t believe the most expensive system is automatically the best system for every homeowner.
Some homeowners simply want dependable heating and cooling at an affordable price. Others are looking for quieter operation, more consistent temperatures, better dehumidification, or improved energy efficiency.
During your free in-home consultation, one of our Comfort Specialists will evaluate your existing equipment, discuss what’s important to you, and explain the differences between the available options.
We may recommend a basic furnace paired with a traditional air conditioner, a two-stage system for improved comfort, or a heat pump paired with a gas furnace to take advantage of available rebates.
And sometimes, the best recommendation is to keep part of your existing system rather than replace everything.
Our goal isn’t to sell you the most expensive equipment. It’s to help you choose the system that makes the most sense for your home and your budget.
Why Homeowners Have Trusted Air-Rite Since 1959
As a family-owned company, Air-Rite has served Chicagoland homeowners since 1959. Over the decades, we’ve been welcomed into more than 200,000 customers’ homes—whether to install their original ductwork and equipment, replace a system, or simply help keep what they already have running.
That history matters, but it’s not the reason to choose us. You should feel comfortable with how you’re being treated and the information you’re given, which is why our technicians focus on diagnosing and repairing. If replacement becomes something you want to consider, a Comfort Specialist will sit down with you, look at the whole system, explain your options, and help you understand what you’re getting for your money.
We’re not looking for the most equipment we can put in your home. We’re looking for what’s right for your home, your priorities, and your budget.
And after more than six decades in serving Chicagoland, our family plans to be here the next time you need us.
Let’s Talk About Your Options
You don’t need to know which furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump you want before you call. That’s our job.
Tell us what’s working, what isn’t, and what you’d like to improve—whether that’s upfront cost, comfort, efficiency, quieter operation, or simply dependable heating and cooling.
One of our Comfort Specialists will come to your home, look at your existing system, listen to your concerns, and walk you through the options that make sense for your home and your budget.
There’s no obligation, and you don’t have to make a decision while we’re there.
Have more questions or want to schedule your free in-home consultation? Call Tess directly at 630-966-8130. I’ll be happy to help you get started.