yudkib t1_j0xr4gr wrote on December 20, 2022 at 4:48 AM

At first blush I thought it was outrageous, but a high quality 5 ton heat pump is going to be a lot of money. Middle of the road were $6k like a decade ago, $10k for something nice just for the big pump isn’t impossible. That’s a lot less than $30k even after overhead/profit though.

I would ask for the breakdown for labor/materials for each pump and a lump sum cost for the electric.

I would also check your condensers and see how many BTU they are. It’s not uncommon to step up a size from condenser to heat pump to account for efficiency losses in cold weather (condensers are always very efficient).

I would bid the work. Don’t say anything about the first guy to the next guy, including what equipment he suggested.

raidflex OP t1_j0yyt43 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 1:35 PM

There was a $1500 difference between the installation of each unit. I thought the 5-6 ton would have been significantly more. They did not break out the electrical cost, which I don't really need since my brother in law is an electrician. But I would not expect the electrical to be more than 2k.

I am in no rush. My current system works well, and the house is well insulated and sealed. I always try to get at least 3 bids. I hate looking around for a new company, though. I am either used to doing it myself, or I already have a known contact that I can trust.

yudkib t1_j0z1b55 wrote on December 20, 2022 at 1:56 PM

I’m in a similar situation to you. Oil boiler with central air, and fan coil units that can be converted and run from heat pumps. I’d love to do solar and switch. $30k does not make sense from a repayment period perspective. Even $20k. I haven’t quoted it out (planning to do solar first), but sounds like there’s no rush for me either. I do my best to cut down on emissions for environmental reasons, but part of that means being selective about spending my money where it’s going to produce the most benefit. This does not sound like that place.