How Much Does an Air Conditioner Cost?
The cost of an air conditioner ranges approximately from $5,500 to $14,000, based on a range of national averages. This is inclusive of labor costs and any fees, and all equipment types. The exact cost of a system is dependent on several factors, including efficiency, size and power, installation requirements, brand, and the region you live in.
Breaking Down A/C Cost: What Should You Expect?
Any large purchase has to be carefully considered. An air conditioner should last you 10-20 years and will cool your home for years to come. It’s important to know what the best system will be for you, and also what to expect on cost.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a single price for air conditioners that we can quote you over the internet.
Fortunately, though, what we can do is break down cost factors, narrow down price ranges for different types of systems, and give you a good idea of what to expect when upgrading your home’s A/C system.
The price range listed above is for all AC unit installation options, but below we get into more detail. We’ll also cover what determines the cost of an air conditioner, and what each option means for you.
Factors That Affect Cost of an A/C Unit
The question isn’t just how much an AC costs. The question is also what is the best fit for you, and why.
To answer both, below we break down the different factors that affect the cost of an air conditioner. In explaining each, you’ll also learn why you might consider different system types, and what each one means for the comfort in your home.
Types of Air Conditioners
Air conditioners are mostly the same, right? How many types could there be?
At least a few, it turns out, and this is ignoring the many brands and models available that offer additional variance.
Brands
Some people are brand-loyal when it comes to their HVAC system, and this is perfectly reasonable. Manufacturing companies have worked hard to develop a reputation for heating and cooling equipment reliability.
However, we’d point out two facts we believe to be true:
- A quality installation is more important than the brand you choose, and
- Most major brands produce quality equipment.
That doesn’t mean there are no differences between manufacturers, though. Installers like us here at CABS choose manufacturers to work with based on a number of qualities, such as customer service, support for repairs (parts, training), training resources available to our technicians for that brand’s equipment, and response rate with shipments.
These might sound like they don’t affect you as a homeowner, but manufacturer service can directly affect price. The less efficient a manufacturer is, the more we have to pass along cost to our customers in order to break even on jobs.
So while the brand of equipment you choose can have an effect on cooling quality, it can have a bigger impact on your wallet. Speaking with a trusted HVAC partner is the best way to assess brands, since they’ll be directly working with several.
Efficiency Ratings
Efficiency ratings help to measure the cooling-to-energy ratio of a cooling unit.
Depending on what type of system you own (heat pump, air conditioner, etc.) the exact metric may change.
If you’ve heard of any efficiency rating, it’s likely SEER, or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. As of 2023, the metric has been updated to SEER2, which is a modified version of the SEER rating.
There are federally mandated SEER2 requirements for systems in the U.S., though the minimum threshold varies depending on which region of the country you live in.
In general, higher energy efficiency will equal higher price, though SEER2 (and related metrics) aren’t the only factor to consider in how well a system cools your home. But to talk about that, we’ll need to discuss compressor types.
Single-Stage Air Conditioners
An air conditioner’s compressor traditionally can only operate at a single speed. This technology has been around for decades and is known as a single-stage air conditioner.
In practice, this means that the A/C unit is either running at 100% power or is off entirely.
In terms of price, these are generally your lower-end or entry-level equipment options. New construction or rental units will almost invariably have single-stage systems, for instance.
This also has implications for the cooling efficiency and comfort in your home. Single-stage equipment is more than capable of cooling a home. But as we’ll see with other compressor types, there are situations in which a single-stage compressor is not ideal.
Two-Stage Air Conditioners
Just as the name implies, a two-stage AC can operate at two distinct speeds (i.e. power levels). This is typically something like 100% power and 60%.
Why is this important? Because the lower power level allows the unit to more easily maintain the temperature in your home, whereas there will be spikes of hot and cold occasionally with single-stage.
Additionally, since cycling out the warm air in your home is an important part of cooling, the lower power setting allows this to happen more efficiently in hard-to-reach places like second-story bedrooms or finished attics.
This is counterintuitive to some, but operating at a lower power level for a longer period of time can be significantly more efficient than the all-or-nothing power options of a single-stage air conditioner.
Variable Speed Air Conditioners
If two-stage equipment is a step up from traditional systems, variable speed ACs are the height of current compressor technology.
Depending on the make and model of your variable-speed AC, it could have up to hundreds of different power intervals.
This allows for optimal home comfort and maximum energy efficiency. Unsurprisingly, it also comes with a bigger price tag than the two types above.
Despite this, there can be times where a variable-speed air conditioner is the best long-term financial decision for a home, usually when the owners expect to stay in the home for a long time, have rooms that are difficult to properly cool, and get regular use out of their system. The increases in eco-friendly energy efficiency and overall comfort are a nice bonus as well.
Size of an Air Conditioner
Is bigger better? No, though as we’ll explain in a moment, bigger does usually come at a slightly higher price.
First, though, it’s important to realize that when we talk about “size” of an air conditioner, what we’re really talking about is power, and the ability to cool a certain volume of space.
Manual J Load Calculation
To determine the correct sizing for a system, your HVAC partner will often run what’s called a Manual J Load Calculation. This is a series of measurements and calculations that takes into account all cooling needs of your home.
The end result is one that tells your HVAC installer what size of system is required to properly cool your home.
Some items that contribute to the calculation include the following:
- Number and size of windows
- Are the windows single-pane, double-pane or thicker? (this relates to air leakage)
- What direction do the windows face, and what’s their sun exposure?
- How many doors or entryways?
- State of the insulation?
- Overall square footage of the home?
- Ceiling height
Some contractors will approximate this calculation with square footage alone. This can sometimes lead to the same conclusion as the full calculation, but also risks improperly sizing your air conditioner. Without going into too much detail, air conditioners that are too small OR too large can lead to inefficient cooling.
So it’s important to get to the right size, or tonnage, for your system.
Tonnage of an AC System
Often you’ll hear those in the HVAC industry refer to the tonnage of a system. This is more-or-less synonymous with size/power.
The tonnage directly correlates to the cooling needs of your home. A large home, or one with a lot of old windows that results in the loss of cold air, will need a higher tonnage to maintain proper cooling.
Smaller homes, or those with excellent insulation, windows or few outward-facing windows, will have lower tonnage needs.
This often translates to the literal size of your air conditioner as well. The most powerful units are often quite wide, tall, or both compared to their older counterparts.
SEER and Efficiency
We discussed SEER2 ratings above, and it’s often true that more sophisticated compressors (two-stage, variable-speed) come with an increased efficiency rating. Technically they’re two different things, but upgrades to either will result in a more efficient system.
What Affects the Cost of an Air Conditioner Installation?
We’ve talked about the air conditioner itself, but what about the installation process? Several factors can contribute to the cost of an installation. We discuss some major ones below.
Condensate Pump
Depending on the location of your system and the path of its drainage system, you may need a condensate pump to help with that drainage. This isn’t necessary on all installations, but can be when there’s a buildup of condensation.
This occurs because part of an air conditioner’s job is to remove moisture from the air. This is what allows it to cool properly. But all of that moisture needs to go somewhere, and so it needs to be properly drained.
Condensate pumps can add several hundred dollars to an AC installation.
Extended Line Set
If you need to move the location of your air conditioner for any reason, the line set that runs from your indoor condenser to the outside unit will need to be extended.
Usually this isn’t recommended, but can still occur when – for example – the AC unit is positioned outside a bedroom window and keeps that person up at night, or when the physical size of the new air conditioner requires it to be moved to a new location around the house.
This again isn’t typical in installations and replacements, but can add considerably to the cost.
Equipment Pairing
Equipment pairing, or equipment matching as it’s sometimes called, takes into account your entire HVAC system.
Particularly with high-end systems like variable-speed air conditioners, you’ll often only get their full benefits if they’re paired with matching equipment. This can include a more sophisticated thermostat that’s capable of sending more information to the central cooling unit, or pairing it with an equally sophisticated heating unit.
For example, if you have a multi-speed air conditioner but your heating unit (heat pump, furnace, etc.) doesn’t match, you’re investing in technology that you’re not getting the full benefit from.
This sometimes means that it’s wise to consider a full system replacement alongside your air conditioner upgrade.
Thermostat Compatibility
We touched briefly on this above, but as systems increase in options and efficiency, this comes with a greater need to manage their settings and options via a thermostat.
While many thermostats are “system neutral” and can work with a variety of brands, it’s sometimes necessary to install a matching brand thermostat to ensure that you have access to an air conditioner’s full suite of settings.
Electrical Work
Occasionally, electrical upgrades are needed to ensure that enough power is being supplied to your replacement unit.
Some contractors can do their own electrical work and are licensed electricians. Other HVAC providers will need to work with a third-party electrician for specific work involving electrical upgrades. Either way, it can potentially add additional cost to your installation.
The most frequent electrical needs involve new wiring for a thermostat and adjustments or upgrades to high-voltage wiring and breakers that provide energy to your system.
Permit Fees
Municipalities have permit laws that require new installations to be registered, which generally requires a small fee. Most HVAC contractors will include the price of permit fees in their estimate, but it’s important to know that this is an element of any major HVAC work.
Ductwork and Air Conditioning
An air conditioner is only as good as the ductwork that it’s attached to. Ductwork modifications can be a necessary part of some air conditioner installations, to ensure the proper airflow needed for the A/C to operate at maximum efficiency and properly cool your entire home.
The most frequent modification we make is to increase the size of the return air drop, which is the large portion of duct attached to your unit that returns air from your home to circulate through the air filter and cooling system, then back into your home.
A return air drop replacement may only run you a few hundred dollars, but it still adds to the time, materials and labor of the installation.
More costly are holistic ductwork additions or modifications. These may be necessary if, for example, you’ve added rooms to your home since the last HVAC system was installed. It’s likely that your ductwork isn’t sufficient to cool everything, and so larger changes to the duct system will need to be considered.
Ductwork installation or modification can run anywhere from a few hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the scale of the job. Our AC cost estimates in this article do not include ductwork modification costs, since most installations won’t need them. But they can add substantially to the cost when they’re required.
Air conditioners can be installed without these things, but it often means your system’s cooling capacity will suffer as a result.
Additionally, for residents of the Sacramento area, proper ductwork sealing and insulation can make your upgrade eligible for substantial rebates and tax incentives. While we can’t say the same for every area of the country, many regions, states or urban locales have incentives for upgrades to ductwork. Be sure to ask your HVAC partner about this before you decide on a system upgrade.
Cost of Technician Labor
If you see an air conditioner price online and it is thousands of dollars less than what we’re quoting here, chances are they’re doing one of two things:
- Quoting only entry-level, single-stage equipment, or
- They’re omitting labor costs.
Technician rates can vary depending on the cost of living where you live, but as much as half of the total cost of your installation can be attributed to labor, depending on how complicated the installation process is.
This isn’t idle labor, though. Air conditioner installation requires technical knowledge of mechanical concepts, thermodynamics to account for airflow, mathematical models to size the equipment properly, and technicians work with volatile materials and dangerous machinery to perform the installation.
Additionally, limited carpentry work may be involved in more complicated installations, and any adjustments to ductwork require additional expertise to properly adjust and install those parts of a system.
The difference between an expertly installed system and a poorly installed one can be measured in hundreds or even thousands of dollars in lost efficiency costs per year. If you care about the long-term benefits of air conditioner upgrades, you owe it to yourself to invest in certified experts that perform the steps we’ve listed above.
Cost of an Air Conditioner
The typical range of cost for an air conditioner replacement is $5,500 to $14,000. This includes all labor costs and fees associated with installation.
Here in the Sacramento area, cost of living is higher than the national average. As a result, the prices you can expect to pay is closer to the following ranges
- Single-Stage Air Conditioner Cost (entry level): $6,000 to $9,000
- Two-Stage Air Conditioner Cost (mid-range): $8,000 to $11,000
- Variable-Speed Air Conditioner Cost (high end): $10,000 to $14,000
Everything discussed above that’s part of a typical AC install is included in those ranges, including equipment, permit fees, and labor costs.
Specialized installation requirements (additional ductwork, extended line set, etc.) are not included in the ranges. These are not typical of installations, but could affect your exact pricing.
Financing and Rebates When You Replace Your Air Conditioner
The listed prices above may not actually be your final price. In many instances, rebates, tax benefits and other discounts can apply.
This is often the case with higher-end equipment that is the most energy-efficient.
For example, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has financial incentives for energy-efficient upgrades that meet certain criteria of being eco-friendly.
These can often reduce your final bill by thousands of dollars!
Make sure to discuss rebates and incentives with your HVAC contractor to maximize the value of your system and minimize your bill.
Finding the Right AC System For You
Sometimes we get asked “what’s the best air conditioner?” And while there’s an exact answer to that question in terms of efficiency, that doesn’t make it the best answer for you.
Depending on your budget, home and comfort needs, any of the types listed above could be the “best” type of system for you.
The only way to know for sure is to speak with a trusted HVAC specialist who can walk you through all of your options and help you select the best fit for your home and budget.
At CABS Heating and Air Conditioning, we offer free estimates and no-obligation quotes, so that you can be confident in assessing your options before you make this important decision. If you’re in the greater Sacramento area, give us a call today!
