AC repair costs sure are higher than 5 year ago

[bayrooster]

Dayum. 3 quotes and all of them suck. That's all I have to say about that.

 

[Lurker123]

Dayum. 3 quotes and all of them suck. That's all I have to say about that.

Yeah. That particular product has ballooned in cost. Not fun.

 

[Piscis]

Thank Uncle Joe for that. The EPA mandated two changes in A/C equipment in his four years. Both of which caused the cost of equipment to skyrocket.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

1 week ago we were out shopping for new countertops. We made a selection, then made the measurement appointment. We got our estimate on Thursday. After reviewing the estimate we went back to the store to make final adjustments.
The price per square foot went up 50% as of Friday.

50%

 

[treyno2722]

A lot of people are going with Mini Split systems. They are ductless systems and seem to be more affordable. The new systems use the R454B refrigerant.

 

[gamecock stock]

Dayum. 3 quotes and all of them suck. That's all I have to say about that.

Inflation has accelerated throughout the economy. Obviously the Iran War, and before that, the tariffs and since then tariffs as well, have impacted the economy. Air fare, electricity, housing, clothing, grocery items (coffee, ground beef, sweets, poultry, veggies, mayonnaise @$7.75...sheesh ), gasoline, natural gas all are up. Got to leave right now to get some medicine for my dog. I dread to see what the price will be.

 

[DannyTree1]

Dayum. 3 quotes and all of them suck. That's all I have to say about that.

Yep - replaced 2 of my systems in the last 4 years.

I will say my electric bill has decreased about 25% on average (but this is hard to calculate since my oldest also moved out of the house which meant our hot water heater wasn't always empty in the mornings). But it was still not much fun. Replaced a 20 year old system and a 14 year old system. Both had started developing repeated problems- usually at the worst times. Thankfully, my local HVAC company provides really good service and we've not have any problems with the new units at all.

 

[DannyTree1]

another thing

Labor costs are much higher. Most HVAC companies have a heck of a time getting dependable techs.

My local guy- whose dad started the company- says he has a heck of a hard time hiring people that will show up each day. He also says no one wants to learn from the ground up anymore- so he has to try to compete with other companies to hire more experienced people- and that costs him more money.

Maybe it's my area but a year or two ago he told me all the younger people he use to might have hired were trying to go into welding jobs and didn't want to work outside or go to people's houses to work.

I am sure it's that way most everywhere. So it compounds and he has to charge more ultimately.

 

[treyno2722]

another thing

Labor costs are much higher. Most HVAC companies have a heck of a time getting dependable techs.

My local guy- whose dad started the company- says he has a heck of a hard time hiring people that will show up each day. He also says no one wants to learn from the ground up anymore- so he has to try to compete with other companies to hire more experienced people- and that costs him more money.

Maybe it's my area but a year or two ago he told me all the younger people he use to might have hired were trying to go into welding jobs and didn't want to work outside or go to people's houses to work.

I am sure it's that way most everywhere. So it compounds and he has to charge more ultimately.

Down here in Florida, it's impossible to find AC Techs. Not only is the job rough, the heat is impossible in the summertime (which is 7 months a year).

 

[Legal_fowl]

Dayum. 3 quotes and all of them suck. That's all I have to say about that.

I replaced a 4 ton unit and gas pack 4 years ago for $12,500. They also replaced some ductwork.

4 years before that my wife replaced 2 units in her house in Charleston (since sold) - an upstairs unit and a downstairs unit and gas pack for just over $10,000. Total of about 5 tons. That included the air handler in the attic.

I'm going to guess that you paid $4-5,000 a ton.

 

[bayrooster]

I replaced a 4 ton unit and gas pack 4 years ago for $12,500. They also replaced some ductwork.

4 years before that my wife replaced 2 units in her house in Charleston (since sold) - an upstairs unit and a downstairs unit and gas pack for just over $10,000. Total of about 5 tons. That included the air handler in the attic.

I'm going to guess that you paid $4-5,000 a ton.

I too, have two units. The upstairs alone, $13K. The cadillac model goes for $19K... I don't have a swimming pool of money, so that was a no!

 

[Lurker123]

Inflation has accelerated throughout the economy. Obviously the Iran War, and before that, the tariffs and since then tariffs as well, have impacted the economy. Air fare, electricity, housing, clothing, grocery items (coffee, ground beef, sweets, poultry, veggies, mayonnaise @$7.75...sheesh ), gasoline, natural gas all are up. Got to leave right now to get some medicine for my dog. I dread to see what the price will be.

All these are true, but this industry is very vulnerable to new regulations as well. No law even needs to be passed and we can be required to upgrade the entire unit because our current coolant is out of date.

Had it happen on more than one occasion. I even bought a system a few months prior to installation a few years back.

If the system was officially sold prior to Dec 31 of the year, it could be installed any time afterwards. So I bought a system and sat on it for a while.

 

[bayrooster]

All these are true, but this industry is very vulnerable to new regulations as well. No law even needs to be passed and we can be required to upgrade the entire unit because our current coolant is out of date.

Had it happen on more than one occasion. I even bought a system a few months prior to installation a few years back.

If the system was officially sold prior to Dec 31 of the year, it could be installed any time afterwards. So I bought a system and sat on it for a while.

My brother does HVAC repair among other things and he said the latest recommendation for refrigerant is crap compared to the prior "bad" options... much less efficient, and you need more of it.

 

[Lurker123]

My brother does HVAC repair among other things and he said the latest recommendation for refrigerant is crap compared to the prior "bad" options... much less efficient, and you need more of it.

I have heard much the same, but anecdotally. But they get to sell a while new system instead of repairing a broken one. The govt can oretend to be saving the environment, and drive up costs immensely at the same time! Win/win!

 

[DannyTree1]

Down here in Florida, it's impossible to find AC Techs. Not only is the job rough, the heat is impossible in the summertime (which is 7 months a year).

Yep- my guy who is the co-owner with a family member said he cant hire guys to work outside, and he also has an awful time finding people that can go up a homeowner when they arrive and be professional, and handle complaints without getting upset.

He says the few HVAC techs he's hired out of school are usually good at the tech stuff but they want to make top pay right away and he can't do that and be fair to his more experienced techs.

 

[gamecock stock]

All these are true, but this industry is very vulnerable to new regulations as well. No law even needs to be passed and we can be required to upgrade the entire unit because our current coolant is out of date.

Had it happen on more than one occasion. I even bought a system a few months prior to installation a few years back.

If the system was officially sold prior to Dec 31 of the year, it could be installed any time afterwards. So I bought a system and sat on it for a while.

I agree with you. I have experienced something similar myself. I am currently having a sunroom being built enclosing my patio. The City inspector did not come back to us with the answer we were looking for that would have saved us money. Oh well. There are costs and benefits to regulations.

 

[18IsTheMan]

You really get screwed in MD b/c state law restricts the retail sale of a/c equipment to licensed professionals. That means no shopping around for a deal or price compare.

 

[DannyTree1]

You really get screwed in MD b/c state law restricts the retail sale of a/c equipment to licensed professionals. That means no shopping around for a deal or price compare.

Is there a reason why a homeowner would want an unlicensed HVAC repair company or person installing thousands of dollars worth of equipment in their home?

or do you mean buying the equipment yourself and hiring a licensed person to install it?

 

[18IsTheMan]

Is there a reason why a homeowner would want an unlicensed HVAC repair company or person installing thousands of dollars worth of equipment in their home?

or do you mean buying the equipment yourself and hiring a licensed person to install it?

The latter. I believe almost every state requires a licensed professional to install, which is sensible. However, as it is structured in MD, there is zero transparency with pricing. Can't shop around, can't compare. And, of course, like mechanics charging more for parts, a/c repair companies will always jack up the price a bit.