Heat Pump Installation Cost Calculator
Heat Pump Installation costs $7,650 to $11,575 for a typical 1,800 sq ft job in 2026, against a national benchmark of $9,350. Labor runs 16.2 crew hours at $42.44 an hour. Enter a ZIP code to apply that area's measured wages for this work and its regional price level.
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What makes up the price
Cost by size
National averages, before any local adjustment. Computed from the same model as the calculator above, so the two always agree.
| Home size | Tons of capacity | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 sq ft | 1.5 | $7,750 | $6,350 to $9,625 |
| 1,450 sq ft | 2.5 | $8,825 | $7,225 to $10,925 |
| 1,800 sq ft | 3 | $9,350 | $7,650 to $11,575 |
| 2,450 sq ft | 4 | $10,400 | $8,525 to $12,900 |
| 3,050 sq ft | 5 | $11,450 | $9,400 to $14,200 |
What it costs
| 1,800 sq ft, 3 tons | |
|---|---|
| Standard heat pump, electric backup | $9,350 |
| Keeping a working gas furnace as backup | $8,600 |
| New furnace alongside it | $12,150 |
| Cold-climate inverter system | $14,075 |
| Standard, with duct modifications | $10,750 |
| Standard, all new ductwork | $17,750 |
Two things about that table are worth noticing before anything else.
Keeping the gas furnace is cheaper, not more expensive. In a dual-fuel setup the existing furnace becomes the backup heat and the air mover, so no air handler is bought. It is the one case on this site where the more complicated-sounding answer costs less.
Ductwork dwarfs everything else. New ducts add $8,400 to this job, which is more than the heat pump. If there are no ducts, a mini-split system is almost always the better question to ask.
Backup heat is the part nobody expects
An air conditioner cools and that is all. A heat pump heats as well, which means two things an air conditioner quote never mentions:
- Something has to move the air. If the heat pump is replacing a furnace, the furnace was the blower. Take it out and an air handler has to go in — about $1,400 with its electric heat kit, which is in the figure above.
- Something has to carry the load when it is too cold. A standard heat pump loses capacity as the outdoor temperature falls, and somewhere around freezing it can no longer keep up on its own.
The three answers:
- Electric resistance strips in the air handler. Cheap to install, expensive to run — they are the one part of a heat pump system with a COP of exactly 1.0, so every kilowatt-hour buys one kilowatt-hour of heat. A badly set-up system that falls back to strips at 40°F will produce an electricity bill that becomes a local legend.
- Dual fuel with an existing gas furnace. The heat pump runs down to a changeover temperature and the furnace takes over below it. Cheapest to install and cheapest to run, and the obvious answer in any house with a working furnace.
- Dual fuel with a new furnace. The most expensive, and right when the furnace is also near the end of its life.
If the installer is fitting electric strips, ask what the lockout temperature is — the outdoor temperature below which the heat pump gives up. On a decent system it should be in the low 20s or below, not the high 30s, and it is a setting rather than a property of the box.
Running cost against gas: the honest arithmetic
Most pages on this subject imply a heat pump is always cheaper to run. At average US prices, it is not, and the sum is simple enough to do yourself.
A heat pump with a COP of 3 turns one unit of electricity into three units of heat. A 95% gas furnace turns one therm into 0.95 therms of heat.
| Cost per million BTU delivered | |
|---|---|
| Gas at $1.20 a therm, 95% furnace | about $12.60 |
| Heat pump at 17¢ a kWh, COP 3 | about $16.60 |
So at national average prices, gas heat is roughly a quarter cheaper to run. The rule of thumb that falls out of it:
A heat pump at COP 3 beats a 95% gas furnace when electricity costs less than about 11 cents a kWh for every dollar a therm of gas.
At $1.20 gas, parity is around 13 cents a kWh. Below that the heat pump wins; above it the furnace does.
Where the heat pump is clearly ahead:
- Against electric resistance heat or oil. Not close — a heat pump is three times cheaper than baseboard electric and usually well ahead of oil.
- Against propane. Usually ahead, often by a lot.
- In a cooling-dominated climate. You are buying the air conditioner anyway; the heating comes nearly free with it.
- Where electricity is cheap — the Pacific Northwest, parts of the Southeast and anywhere with hydro.
And where it is behind: cheap natural gas, cold winters, expensive electricity. Which is most of the upper Midwest and the Northeast on gas.
None of this is an argument against heat pumps. It is an argument for doing the sum with your own two numbers before accepting somebody else's conclusion.
Cold climate systems are a different machine
A standard heat pump at 5°F delivers perhaps half its rated capacity. A cold-climate inverter system is engineered to deliver its full rated capacity at 5°F and to keep running to around −13°F, which changes what backup heat is for: emergencies rather than January.
It costs roughly $4,725 more on a three-ton job — $14,075 against $9,350 — and in a genuinely cold climate it is the difference between a heat pump that heats the house and a heat pump that runs the electric strips all winter at a COP of 1.
What to look for rather than taking the label at face value:
- Rated capacity at 5°F, in BTU, not the nominal tonnage. It is published for every model.
- HSPF2, which is the seasonal heating efficiency figure.
- The NEEP cold climate list, which is the independent register of systems that genuinely perform at low temperature.
In a mild or cooling-dominated climate, a cold-climate system is money spent on capacity you will not use.
Ducts matter more than they do for a furnace
A furnace delivers air at 120 to 140°F. A heat pump delivers it at 95 to 105°F, so it has to move considerably more air to put the same heat into a house.
The consequence: ducts that were adequate for gas heat can be undersized for a heat pump. The symptoms are rooms that never quite warm up, a system that runs continuously, and backup heat engaging when it should not — all of which get blamed on the heat pump.
Ask the installer whether the existing ductwork has been measured against the new airflow rather than assumed. On a changeout from a furnace this is the single most common omission, and it is the reason some people conclude heat pumps do not work.
A related point worth knowing in advance: the air from a heat pump feels cool at the register compared with a furnace, because 100°F air is below body temperature. It is not a fault, and it is the most common first complaint.
The federal tax credit has ended
Worth being precise about, because most pages on this subject have not caught up.
Section 25C — the $2,000 heat pump credit — was repealed for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025. A 2026 installation cannot claim it.
What does still exist:
- HEAR rebates, the income-qualified program, offering up to $8,000 on a heat pump for households under 150% of area median income, administered by states. Availability and program status vary by state, so check your state energy office.
- State and utility rebates, commonly $500 to $3,000 and sometimes stacking with the above.
- Utility load-management or time-of-use rates, which can matter more to the running cost than the rebate does to the purchase.
Ask the installer which rebates they file for you and which you claim yourself, and get the model and AHRI certificate number, because the paperwork depends on it.
Sizing: bigger is worse
With an air conditioner, oversizing costs comfort and humidity control. With a heat pump it costs more, because the same box has to carry the heating load, and the temptation is to size up for winter.
An oversized heat pump short-cycles: it reaches the thermostat setting quickly, shuts off, and never runs long enough to dehumidify in summer or to run efficiently in winter. The result is a house that feels clammy in July and a compressor that wears out early.
The 600 square feet a ton used in the calculator above is a cooling rule of thumb for a moderate climate. The proper answer is a Manual J load calculation, and on this trade it is worth insisting on — it is a few hundred dollars of somebody's time against a fifteen-year mistake. A variable-speed inverter system is more forgiving of a sizing error than a single-stage one, which is a real argument for paying for one.
What you are paying for
A three-ton standard heat pump with electric backup on existing ducts, at $9,350:
| Heat pump condenser and coil | $3,850 |
| Air handler with electric backup heat | $1,400 |
| Refrigerant line set, 25 ft | $259 |
| Labor, about 16 hours | around $963 |
| Permit, disposal, pad and fittings | $450 |
| Overhead and margin | the balance |
Sixteen man-hours is a long day for two technicians: recovering the old refrigerant, pulling the condenser, swapping the coil or fitting the air handler, brazing, pressure testing, pulling a vacuum, charging, then commissioning in both modes — which is the part an air conditioning changeout does not have and the part a rushed installer skips.
Questions worth asking
- Has a Manual J load calculation been done?
- What is the rated capacity at 5°F, not the tonnage?
- What is the backup heat, and what is the lockout temperature set to?
- Can the existing furnace stay as the backup?
- Have the ducts been measured against the new airflow?
- Will you commission it in heating as well as cooling?
- What is the HSPF2, and is the model on the NEEP cold climate list?
- Which rebates do you file, and which do I claim?
- What is the warranty on parts, on the compressor, and on labor?
- What happens if the house does not heat properly in January?
Common questions
How much does a heat pump cost to install?
About $9,350 for a three-ton ducted system for an 1,800 square foot house, with electric backup heat on existing ductwork. Keeping a working gas furnace as the backup instead is $8,600, because no air handler has to be bought. A new furnace alongside it is $12,150, and a cold-climate inverter system is about $14,075. New ductwork, if there is none, adds around $8,400.
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than a gas furnace?
Not at average US prices. A heat pump at a COP of 3 delivers heat at about $16.60 a million BTU with electricity at 17 cents a kWh, where a 95% gas furnace delivers it at about $12.60 with gas at $1.20 a therm — so gas is roughly a quarter cheaper. The rule of thumb is that a heat pump wins when electricity costs less than about 11 cents a kWh for every dollar a therm of gas. Against electric resistance heat, oil or propane the heat pump is clearly ahead.
Why does a heat pump need backup heat?
Because a standard heat pump loses capacity as the outdoor temperature falls, and somewhere around freezing it can no longer carry the house on its own. The options are electric resistance strips in the air handler, which are cheap to install and expensive to run at a COP of exactly 1.0; dual fuel with an existing gas furnace, which is the cheapest route both to install and to run; or dual fuel with a new furnace. If strips are being fitted, ask what the lockout temperature is set to — the low 20s or below, not the high 30s.
Is it cheaper to keep my gas furnace with a heat pump?
Yes, and it is the one case on this site where the more complicated answer costs less. In a dual-fuel setup the existing furnace becomes both the backup heat and the air mover, so no air handler is bought — about 8% off the job, or $750 on a three-ton install. The heat pump runs down to a changeover temperature and the furnace takes over below it, which is also the cheapest arrangement to run in a cold climate with cheap gas.
Do heat pumps work in cold weather?
Standard ones lose about half their rated capacity by 5°F and hand over to backup heat. Cold-climate inverter systems are engineered to deliver full rated capacity at 5°F and to keep running to around −13°F, which costs roughly $4,725 more on a three-ton job and in a genuinely cold climate is the difference between a heat pump that heats the house and one that runs the electric strips all winter. Look at the published capacity at 5°F rather than the tonnage, and check the NEEP cold climate list.
Can a heat pump use my existing ductwork?
Often, but it needs checking rather than assuming, and this is the most common omission on a furnace-to-heat-pump changeout. A furnace delivers air at 120 to 140°F and a heat pump at 95 to 105°F, so the heat pump has to move considerably more air for the same heat — ducts sized for gas can be undersized. The symptoms are rooms that never warm, continuous running and backup heat engaging when it should not, and all of them get blamed on the heat pump rather than the ducts.
Why does the air from my heat pump feel cool?
Because it is. A heat pump delivers air at around 100°F, which is below body temperature, where a furnace delivers it at 120 to 140°F. It is the most common first complaint about a new heat pump and it is not a fault — the room still reaches temperature, it just does so with a larger volume of cooler air over a longer run time. Longer, gentler cycles are how a heat pump is supposed to behave.
Is there still a tax credit for heat pumps?
Not federally. Section 25C, the $2,000 heat pump credit, was repealed for systems placed in service after 31 December 2025, so a 2026 installation cannot claim it. What remains is the income-qualified HEAR program, offering up to $8,000 for households under 150% of area median income and administered by states, plus state and utility rebates commonly worth $500 to $3,000. Ask the installer which they file for you and get the model and AHRI certificate number.
What size heat pump do I need?
Around 600 square feet a ton is the cooling rule of thumb for a moderate climate, so an 1,800 square foot house is about three tons — but a heat pump has to carry the heating load as well, and this is the trade where a proper Manual J load calculation is worth insisting on. Oversizing is worse for a heat pump than for an air conditioner: it short-cycles, never dehumidifies properly in summer and wears the compressor. A variable-speed inverter system is more forgiving of a sizing error, which is a genuine reason to pay for one.
Is a heat pump better than an air conditioner plus a furnace?
It depends on fuel prices and on what is being replaced. A heat pump costs more up front than an air conditioner alone and covers the heating too, so if both the furnace and the AC are at the end of their lives the comparison is closer than it looks. In a cooling-dominated climate the heating comes nearly free with the air conditioner you were buying anyway. Where natural gas is cheap and winters are cold, a dual-fuel setup — heat pump plus the gas furnace — is usually the best of both.
Why is my heat pump steaming or making noise outside?
Almost certainly a defrost cycle, which is normal. Frost builds on the outdoor coil in cold damp weather, so the system briefly reverses to melt it off — which produces steam, a change in sound and a few minutes of cool air indoors. It happens several times a day in the right conditions. What is not normal is a coil completely encased in ice for hours, which means the defrost control or the sensor has failed and is worth a call.
How long does a heat pump last?
12 to 15 years typically, a little less than an air conditioner of the same quality because it runs year-round rather than seasonally. What shortens it most is oversizing, which short-cycles the compressor, and poor commissioning — an incorrect refrigerant charge or an airflow problem that nobody measured. Both are decisions made on installation day, which is the argument for paying for a careful installer over a cheaper box.
Where these numbers come from
Nothing here is copied from a contractor directory. Labor is priced from what the trades are actually paid, materials from published producer prices, and both are adjusted to your area using federal cost-of-living data.
- Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors, United States: $42.44/hour, August 2026 (BLS CES CES2023822003)
- Heat pump condenser and coil, base unit: $1,750.00 per system (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Heat pump condenser and coil, capacity: $700.00 per ton of capacity (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Air handler with electric backup heat: $1,400.00 per system (price recorded October 2026, not index-adjusted)
- Refrigerant line set: $10.36 per linear foot, benchmark observed October 2026, unchanged against BLS WPU102502 to the three months ending August 2026