Homeowners Paying Unexpectedly High HVAC Bills

“We just recently bought our home in February of this year. It was fully remodeled in 2024; new HVAC system and outdoor unit included. During our inspection, the inspector noticed that there was hardly any insulation in our attic; being the blown in cellulose type. With that being said, this summer has been brutal. Our AC has to run constantly to maintain temperature and after turning it off, it will climb in temp quickly. It stays low to mid 70s, sometimes even reaching 80 degrees being set on 6”

“1400sf single story house from 1979. The ducts are original and meant for only heat so they are undersized and dont cool efficiently since ac was added to the home about 20ish years ago. We are planning to replace just the ducts for about $9,000. The ac condenser and furnace is about 20ish years old but still works. Hvac technician recommends replacing the entire system with the ducts for about 16k. He said if we replace just the ducts and the condenser dies later on due to its age, it'll co”

“I have been limping my package AC through the summer. The compressor has been overheating regularly; about every day, and nothing I do seems to fix it. I have an industrial maintenance background so HVAC is not a new concept for me. I invited a company over for a quote on a package AC replacement. Immediately the guy wanted to know how old the ductwork was. I let him look in the crawl space and told him probably original to the house at 35 years. He then proceeded to tell me that I cannot upgrad”

“I had a new, smaller window unit installed two months ago. My electricity bill jumped from $100-140/month to $240-290/month! The new one is smaller and the HVAC technician shoved some wood and foam at the sides it ‘fits’ and taped all the sides with some sealing foam tape. I’m convinced that it’s leaking air despite all that. I pealed some of it and could see sunlight. This is the usage so far this month (it’s been a week and the estimated cost is $35!). I wanted to ask you guys for advice befor”

“Genuinely curious about this after hearing so many completely different experiences with HVAC companies. If your AC or furnace stopped working and you called somebody out for a **repair**, what happened next? Did the technician actually diagnose what failed and give you a repair option? Or did the conversation pretty quickly turn into replacing the whole system? And if replacement came up, **who actually sold it to you?** Was it the same technician who diagnosed the equipment and then started sh”

“Finally caved after many years due to the current climate, and are installing heat pumps. $2.20/L furnace oil vs the 3300L/yr average total we use is looking like a $7500 bill with the current world climate for the season, and that's only if things don't get worse. With that context, we're putting in heat pumps in two weeks.We are paying out of pocket (no grants), due to this we are leaving the oil furnace in. Kind of adds a bit of value as it was just all gone through last year and”

“Bought my first house recently. This is my first summer in it and my energy bill went up from about 200 a month to 600 a month here in Georgia. I thought this was crazy and something must be wrong but after talking with a few people it seems not that outrageous? When I went looking around I found this water that’s been there for at least two weeks, but maybe longer due to the corrosion? This is one of two HVAC systems we have, this one is the one for the master bedroom that was built as an addit”

“We installed a brand new AC unit last August. It works but our electricity bill jumped and it was struggling to keep us at 72. They came out and said our return was too small. They changed us from a 20 to a 25 inch return. The installer said that we also do not have enough returns and said we need to run new ducting in the whole house (about 10k). Does this sound reasonable or is it a cash grab of some kind? submitted by /u/ScrappyFog [link] [comments]”

“We have a ~3,900 sq ft house in the South East with three American Standard HVAC systems from 2008 . We plan to stay about 14 more years . All three have issues: refrigerant/coil concerns, drainage problems, high static/incorrect airflow, deteriorating electrical components, duct leaks/separated runs, and significant debris/biological buildup. Repair costs: Unit 1: $6,117 Unit 2: $3,414 Unit 3: $2,977 Repairs total: $12,508 Adding whole-home filtration + UV + air scrubber to all three would brin”

“Ok, so I don’t wanna sound like a pansy. I know it is actually very hot in other parts of the country. I had a new AC unit installed 2 years ago. It is warmer inside my house than outside and when I asked the company, they said the “heat” and “humidity” were to blame for the fact that while my unit is set at 75 Fahrenheit, my house doesn’t get any cooler. I don’t know if this is a scam in San Diego because our weather doesn’t ever get bad or maybe I just had the wrong company instal an underpowe”

“And wondering if I should run it until it dies or get quotes for a heat pump to replace it before it dies on a hot day and upsets the wife. Payne AC unit with R-22 installed in 2001 still chugging along and cooling our house. The cooling got a lot better when we insulated our attic Dec 2024. Prior to that on a hot day the AC would run all afternoon constant without stopping LOL. Sept 2024, our HVAC company did a health system check on our AC unit (pictures 3-5) and told me that it was low on ref”

“Indoor humidity reading for next is 59% and 61% Ac has been running non stop, even on 82. It’s a 2 story 2500 sqft house, in texas. My electric bill is 400 a month and gas is 200. Why is that despite running the AC all day, indoor humidity stays high? submitted by /u/Top-Plane-6556 [link] [comments]”

“What's is the going rate for a 80 percent 100k btu furnace 3 ton coil and 3 ton condenser? Seems prices jumped up dramatically since tariffs. During COVID I got a Lennox set up for 2500 submitted by /u/Glass-Percentage-402 [link] [comments]”

“Hi guys im purchasing a new construction house and the air handler is new but the ac was installed new (im told) but it was manufactured in 2017 its a HCG30V1P air handler and a Armstrong 4SCU14LE124P-7 just wanted to hear what you guys think submitted by /u/Icy_Vanilla5097 [link] [comments]”

“I have 1700 sq ft house and old unit that’s 2.5 tons and is not enough to cool the house properly in this heat. I think it’s time to replace it - it’s a package unit on the roof. Iv seen here some wild quotes people get so wanted to see if anyone has any good companies they recommend that can do this job. I know I will get multiple quotes but figured I ask if anyone has any experience and price range I can expect. I’m assuming I need 3 ton as my insulation is not good in the attic. Also would li”

“I bought my home 9 yrs ago it was a flip, which I learned I will never ever do again. I was cleaning out the dryer vent and I disconnected it. So I had to go into the dreaded crawl space to reattach it. usually I only I go in there it's to change the air filter on my ac so I dont go any deeper. To get to reattached the vent I had. to go deep into the crawl space and I pass the ac unit and then the water heater. By the water heater I see a small puddle and think oh crap. So. I go fix the vent”

“We discovered during inspections that the HVAC/furnace is almost 40 years old. It is routinely maintenanced and appears to be in fine working order, but is almost double its expected lifespan. Their energy bills must be atrocious. The seller thinks that this is unreasonable as the house is "older" (re: it was built in 1989, which is definitely not what I would consider old). I understand at the end of the day it's a negotiating game and either of us could walk away, but I don't”

“I have a 4 ton system that I had installed in May 2016, the warranty expired this past May. At the beginning of summer I had an AC guy come out and filled up my freon. I left my thermostat at 75 since then and it has been working great until last week and it wasn't cooling like it should. .I had another ac company came out and the guy put gauges on it and said my level was at 30 and should be at 120 and I probably have a leak. He didn't see any oil of what looked like signs of a leak on”

“This is in Cypress Texas. Let me know what else I should add for more context. First time post here. This is for a single unit downstairs. Does not include the upstairs unit. 4k sq feet total air conditioned space. 18 foot ceilings in parts of the downstairs. submitted by /u/175driver [link] [comments]”

“So my sytem conked out its 15 years old and about 1500ish in repair I dont want to do with this system I have gotten 3 quotes so far all within a few hundred of each other 1 was a lennox signature series back in the attic for about 9700 just an eyeball quote without coming out in the attic the second is 3 ton Bryant 14.5 Seer2 PREFERRED SERIES Single Speed Heat Pump relocating the evap to the laundry room from the attic 9400ish The 3rd is 3ton RUUD 3,0 14.3 seer2 split system heat pump evap relo”

“My 14-year-old HVAC system recently had the outdoor AC/compressor fail . Over the past 4 years, the system has also needed multiple maintenance/service visits, so the contractors I’ve spoken with are recommending a full system replacement rather than replacing only the outdoor unit as the gas (r410a) and equipment is no longer available in the market. Refrigerant leak, this year this gas costing at 200$+tax per pound. I received quotes through Home Depot’s referred contractor, Lowe’s and local c”

“Before shelling out $10K want to see if there are any other options ? this is quite expensive for me, so trying to see if there are any creative work around - what mechanic says is we need to replace outside and inside unit and rip the whole thing apart. This is a unit with old freon (R22). - Is it possible to get an old outside unit and just replace just the outside unit ? If yes, where can i get the old unit? (what I have is a Goodman CKL42-1L). - Did any one able to fix this type of issue wit”

“Moved into our beautiful 170k home with three bedrooms and a yard, have 7500 in an emergency fund and 18500 invested in a Roth. We found out we need a new ECM module in our AC unit, or we could replace the unit, the unit is 9 years old, we thought it was under warranty, but apparently the extended warranty does not transfer to us. Price quote for the part is 2,000 which to me seems like a reasonable fix with a check coming for a big job I did, the check will cover that, we keep our 7500 emergenc”

“2003 home 3200sqft with a 5 ton AC. This Texas summer I am seeing near continuous AC operation for 12 to 14 hours continuous daily with the set temperature of 78 degrees daytime and 76 degrees nighttime. Ac comes on at noon or 1pm and begins cycling at midnight or 1am. Unit refrigeration, filters, coolant and so forth all check out fine. Delta T is at 11 to 12 degrees although it is 21 to 23 at the air handler. I am sure I have issues with the ducting as I have repaired a full split in one trunk”

“I'm replacing our 19-year-old furnace and have gotten quotes from three local companies. The home does not currently have central AC and we’d like to take the opportunity to add that if we can during this project. Relevant details: Home is 4 bed/3 bath approx. 3200sqft (includes finished walkout basement) in northern MI, built in 2007. Existing furnace is 80k BTU with EWC Ultra-Zone NCM-300 zone controller and 3 zones The quotes I have are roughly as follows: Contractor #1 — $8,575 Heil 80k”

“Hello Every one... I have an issue with my house Condensing unit which is outside. The Brand is Lennox and I have attached the ID of the unit to this post. Few days ago, I felt my A/C outside goes off, and then on, and so... every 5 second. I have checked these items, Please let me know what do you thing is gone wrong: This model does not have cooling gas low pressure switch. So that is not a worry. I checked the Voltage I get from Brown wire which is coming from house to the unit is 28 volt sol”

“The equipment in my home is on borrowed time, it's about a 30 year old 3 ton lennox and forced air furnace. It does not heat the downstairs at all so we're closing off the trunk line capping it. I got a few quotes and this one seems best. It's a variable speed indoor blowers with a 2 stage furnace and a 2.5 ton single stage. I was wondering if anybody had any input on the price. Also was curious if asking about a 2 stage outdoor condenser is worth it? We live in NJ and most of our su”

“Hi - I was recently quoted ~$10K to replace my air handler and condenser box. Does this quote make sense? I’m based in San Diego. I’m currently on a military deployment so it’s hard to take a look at the system myself. It’s still working but I guess it has refrigerant leakage. Quote attached. Thank you for any pointers! submitted by /u/blackmoon0114 [link] [comments]”

“Thinking of buying a house with a 25 year old HVAC system that, on inspection was working well. This is a 1.8 million dollar house. Should I asked for a discount or expect to be shelling out 20-30k as soon as I move in. submitted by /u/daironshiek [link] [comments]”

“The house I am potentially purchasing has a furnace and ac system from 2001. The inspector said to expect to budget to replace the hvac system. Is the AC, furnace and HVAC all separate entities? Like because they’re all old if they all break down would we have to replace each one separately? I’m just trying to figure out how much it would cost in case all of those or one of those broke down soon after we bought the home. I hope this question makes sense! Pls explain in pop terms if possible 😫😭”

“Need advive for getting 3 units replaced on my house. Recent lighting strike took out 2 of my 3 ac units and got the electrical board of a 3rd. I’m being recommended to replace the 3 units vs trying to put parts on older systems and try to mix and match the systems. Everyone of the 3 so far amc companies has said while something might be working now, the type of damage to the electrical components could be a headache in the future. It’s crazy how far apart the estimates have been for 2 two ton a”

“I just got a quote from a family owned hvac company in town. Does this seem reasonable for a 3 bed 1 bath 1 story house? 1180 sqft. All new duct work, install gas line and condensation drain. They’d also need to drop the unit on my roof with a crane. SCOPE OF WORK: - Install a New 2.5-Ton BRYANT Dual Packaged Unit (15 SEER / R410A / 208-230/ Single-Phase/ 90,000 BTU For Heat) Model #: 575CNWB30040N WARRANTY: 10 YEARS ON COMPRESSOR, 20 YEARS ON HEAT EXCHANGER, 10 YEARS ON ALL PARTS, AND 3 YEARS O”

“Our home is 3 years old an one of the ac units wasnt blowing because flex duct was getting pinched. They want like $600 to fix that and im ok with that. After inspection our other AC which as two zones, has high static pressure, and they want to replace a bunch of stuff because the stuff the original company used isnt good they said. im not doubting the honeywell component this new company wants to switch to, but is all this necessary? Can this be done down the road while still putting my ac in”

“New homeowner not sure if this is fair or not. AC went out yesterday after a storm $150 for diagnostic ($100 +$50 for weekend) $289 for one dual run capacitor outside which was reading 0 (Already paid) Being told the outside board is bad and not transferring power over, and could be 400-500$ will know tomorrow. Recommended evap coil clean ($399), blower motor clean ($425), and inside motor run capacitor replacement (running at 6mfd out of 7.5 +/-5, $225) $300 electricity bill 3br ~1600 sq ft hou”

“My AC bill hit 2k last month. We’ve added 1,200 sqft. Some stuff was after thought. I just bought brand new systems but need variable so I’m told. So basically brand new install I have to trash. Just tired of wasting money. If I’m going to rip everything out and redo duct work, any advice or questions I should be asking? I’m in north Dallas btw My main complaint is adding to the house messed up duct work. Don’t want baffles. Thermostat down stairs controls some vents upstairs. Uneven cooling. So”

“Hello, I hope my questions aren't too redundant. I have a central air unit that is about 16 years old I believe, but could possibly be older. I inherited the house from my grandmother earlier this year. When she had it, the unit had to be refilled with refrigerant once a year. Now it's going up to multiple times a year and it costs a lot each time. The last technician said it was a leaking coil and said the unit is old enough that parts are hard to find and extra expensive. He quoted us”

“Last August my rental's AC stopped working and an HVAC company said I needed a replacement. I hired them and it was an ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE with tech visit after tech visit over the next year. One thing the company DID do very well is document everything they did in writing AND pictures. I finally tried uploading all of that to Claude AI and asked it to figure out the problem and write a letter to the company on my behalf. In less than a minute it produced the letter below (which I made minor”

“Just got a quote to possibly replace my AC unit for my 1.200 sq ft property for 9-10k from Paradise Plumbing. They also quoted to clean the AC out for 4.5k. Does this seem reasonable or does anyone have any recs for AC companies? I use them since they’re easy to get a hold of but should probably look somewhere more local and less of a big name company. Any advice greatly appreciated. submitted by /u/captainlewi [link] [comments]”

“It was quite some time before i realized the system was working too hard for my house and its now crapping out. I dont know that ill sue for $3700, so im trying to work it out with them. They said they can switch the compressor from a 3 ton to a 3.5 or 4 ton because i have a 3.5 ton air handler and so its work. From what ive read that doesnt work but hes swearing he can do it right. If this is the only way i can get him to make good, should i try it? What do i have to lose if im going to have to”

“Hi all, I recently got this HVAC quote in Tulsa, OK and would love to get some opinions. For the past two years we’ve lived in this house, our AC hasn’t been able to keep up with the heat in the summer. Once it gets above 90°F outside, the house typically hovers around 76–78°F. On days like today, when it’s around 100°F, the house reaches about 80°F around 2 PM and stays there until around 7 PM when temperatures finally start coming down. We had our insulation in the attic topped this spring FYI”

“Hello All, Would like to get your opinion/ feedback on this quote. Total is $17,150 Located in Houston, TX House is one story 1,700 Sqft System Specs: Outdoor Unit #RA14AY48AJ1NA [240048} Indoor Evap-Coil RCFY4821STANMC [245Y4821] Furnace # R801V0755A21UHSCAP [243EZ07] T-Stat- Honeywell Wi-fi AHRI # is 215241096 Number of supply duct {11} 3 New returns -12x12x8 Feedback is much appreciated. submitted by /u/DTinc [link] [comments]”

“Installed complete new AC system in 2019 and since have only used the same hvac company. Throughout the years, i’ve had leak in my kitchen ceiling and spare bedroom which required multiple visit and resulted in them requiring me to replace condensate pump in my unit thats in attic which i paid around $500. I made sure they check and confirm that fail switch would work by shutting off the unit in event that unit starts leaking and fail switch detects water. I also have yearly membership maintenan”

“was quoted over 40k to install a air handler on the first floor and 3 splits upstairs and this was the cheapest I’ve gotten, one guy quoted significantly cheaper and he is a solo contractor it he said he Weill not be able to do the air handler and run duct work. so I did my research and I can do the ductwork and have a friend that is a licensed electrician that will do my wiring for a 6 pack of beer and I can get away with the Mr cool setup exactly how I want for around 12k. so all the bad revie”

“3 bed 2 bath 1300 sq ft house, my unit is almost dead. Quote from {redacted} for $12,000 for 3.5 ton Carrier unit. This is actually a bit cheaper than expected, but never done this before. Will definitely call around for quotes, but is $12k fair? Worth it to call around? submitted by /u/Gnomedeplum99 [link] [comments]”

“16-year old Goodman 13 SEER A/C won’t start. HVAC technician came out and quoted $900 Canadian for new contractor and capacitor. He showed me the diagnoses and his assessment makes sense but he’s advising a full replacement because of the cost of the repair. $900 Canadian for parts, labour, and tax seems incredibly steep. I know these parts aren’t that expensive. Its an old unit and owes us nothing but if I can avoid replacing for a couple more years I’d prefer that route — for $900 that wouldn’”

“I’ll try to keep this as short as possible, but I’d really appreciate some outside opinions on this situation. We hired Frank Gay to install a new AC system and ductwork. We originally had a 2-ton unit, but it was not cooling our home properly. Our house was reaching around 83 degrees. When the sales representative came out, we specifically requested a 2.5-ton unit because we did not believe the existing 2-ton unit was properly sized for our home. They advised against it and recommended doing a”

“Location: Central Texas (Waco area). climate zone 2A. Home specs: ~3,000 sq ft single story ranch, built 1968, full home renovation four years ago. HVAC setup: We have two HVAC systems. One was installed 2021/2022 as part of the reno and was a complete end-to-end replacement. It's doing fine. The other is an old unit that's starting to struggle: Lennox CB30M-41-1P air handler S/N 5899E 47380, which I read as a May 1999 build. Please correct me if I am decoding that wrong. Attic: A-frame”

“Looking for advice from HVAC people/contractors because I'm trying to figure out what is actually necessary here before we spend another $10k. We had our HVAC replaced in March in Los Angeles. Original contractor installed a new 4-ton TCL heat pump for $9,350, upgrading us from a 3-ton system. His scope included connecting the new air handler to the existing ductwork/plenum, adding a return for the new 4-ton system, reusing/flushing the existing refrigerant lines, electrical work, condensate”

“i got a quote from the company that does regular maintenance on my a/c (the capacitor failed which i replaced and the pan under the evap coils is rusting on the air handler in the attic). The unit is ~23 years old American Standard. 4 ton. i was quoted a Ruud 15.2 SEER, 4 ton, with 100k BTU heat (gas) 92% efficient for 20k installed. no change to duct work, but dual stage blower motor w/ this one. the cheaper option was a Ruud 14.3 SEER at 18.5k. Google had me expecti”

“I have a 16 years old, 5 Tons Lennox. it gave me many problems over the years. the recent issue is that blow warm air. I think I can't no longer spend money on repairs and time to get new system. I need advise on best system that handle Florida heat/humidity. what is the average price for new installation nowadays. submitted by /u/jeffasadi [link] [comments]”

“2 floor house, 3000 sqft, currently 2 units, 3.5 Ton each. Horrible cooling on second floor. Literally runs 24/7 and stuck at 85 degrees. Gotta replace the unit. HVAC Technician says 3.5 should never have been installed. Should have been 4. Now perhaps I should just trust the expert... But all my research says 4 Ton would be oversized for 3000 sqft and could lead to the obvious issues that I don't need to go over in this sub. Only point in his favor is, he claims, a previous owner must have”

“Long story but want to get all the details in right. Have a membership with a local appliance repair company to cover all our HVAC. Had them come out to do a routine tune up on the system last Wednesday because we hadn't done it since we bought the house last July. Unit is only 2 years old. The day after the tune up the outside unit isn't turning on. System still moving air around but its not cold. Did some googling, checked the disconnect box next to the unit and it has 2 lights saying”

“I'm at work so I don't have my exact unit or size, but I have thw quote. Unit is roughly 5-7 years old. It heats and cools my downstairs, about 1200-1500 sq feet. Service call charge of $210, coil replacement cost of $4,678.50 plus $200 in shipping. That's over $5k all in. I knew coil replacement wasn't cheap, but this seems high to me? Would love some insight. submitted by /u/StKt1981 [link] [comments]”

Ok so both our heat pumps went out and we called a tech he came over and said if he fixed it it would break in a month or so so he…

“AC stopped working a few weeks ago. Had a local company with a good reputation come out late in the day. He tells us the thermostat is shot and he can bring one in the morning. Great. A different tech comes the next day. Says he installed the thermostat and it didn’t work. He spent 2+ hours in the attic, saying he was tracing wires looking for a short or rodent damage. Never found it. Ultimately ended up rewiring the thermostat using backup wires that were run by the builder. He tells me “we are”

“I don’t know jack about this stuff. Honestly this is my first time even seeing inside an HVAC closet, but this doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to look like this, right? If this isn’t fine, what specifically do I need to say to document my requests for maintenance and/or get them to send a professional out? submitted by /u/Squidd_Vicious [link] [comments]”

“Back in the early 2020s, I hired this company to do a rather extreme resi HVAC job. I felt like they did reasonably good work. My parents hired them to do some work/updates on their system as a result. Fast forward to now. Last month one of my systems had a board die. It's still under the manufacturer parts warranty, but was almost exactly one month out of the manufacturer labor warranty. They charged me $75 to diagnose the issue (took less than an hour), and then $388 to install the replace”

“[Southern California, SFV] I received a quote from a reputable company to replace two aging hvac units for $32500 in Southern California. Original systems are Lennox 4 and 5 tons. Installer is confident - without visiting - that their automated analysis is spot on and we only need two heat pump Midea "2 ton" units. Includes permits and disposal. Does not include changes to existing 28 year old duct work or tubing. No changes to electricals, placements or additional parts or components.”

“Goodman is a good brand. Get a quote from a small (one or two man) HVAC company. You won't be able to find that company through Google. A local Facebook contractor group is the best resource you'll ever find in regard to maintenance and repairs.”