Here's the number first. A central heat pump costs $3,800 to $5,500 installed with us. A single-zone ductless mini-split is $3,800 to $4,500, and each extra indoor head adds about $1,000. Every install is done by a G2-licensed technician from a TSSA-registered contractor, and every one gets a surge protector.
If someone quotes you a lot less than this, ask what they're leaving out. Heat pumps are more sensitive than a furnace or a plain A/C. The shortcuts don't show on day one. They show up as a leak or a dead board a couple of winters in.
Central (ducted) heat pumps
A central heat pump replaces the A/C condenser outside and uses your existing ductwork. It cools in summer like an air conditioner and runs in reverse to heat in winter.
If you have a gas furnace in good shape, you usually keep it. We replace the outdoor unit and the coil that sits on the furnace, and the two work together. If the furnace is also worn out, we'll say so, but there's no need to replace a good furnace just to add a heat pump.
For the coil, we recommend a box coil over a standard A-coil. It gets better efficiency and makes sure the air actually moves through the coil properly.
If your home has an electric air handler or a hydronic coil instead of a furnace, that usually has to be changed along with the heat pump so the indoor and outdoor sides match.
What moves the price
- Tonnage and brand. A bigger house needs a bigger system.
- Cold rating. Heat pumps are rated to keep heating down to a certain outdoor temperature, usually -15°C or -30°C. A -30°C unit costs more.
- Thermostat and wiring. A heat pump needs at least six thermostat wires (R, W, C, G, Y and B), sometimes more. If the wire in your wall doesn't have enough, we run new wire, and the thermostat usually gets replaced too.
- Snow stand. The outdoor unit has to sit up off the ground in a Toronto winter.
- Electrical. Some homes need a breaker panel upgrade for the extra amps.
- Line set. Whether the refrigerant lines can be reused or need to be changed.
- Surge protector. Not optional on our installs. More on that below.
Ductless mini-splits
A mini-split is a heat pump with no ductwork. An outdoor unit feeds one or more indoor heads mounted on the wall. It's the usual answer for homes with no ducts, like older houses on hot water radiators, additions, basements and finished attics.
A single zone is $3,800 to $4,500 installed. Each extra head is about $1,000 more for the head, the line set, the communication wire and the labour.
The price depends on the brand, how many heads, and the cold rating. Kepler's multi-zone units, for example, are all rated to -30°C. It also depends on how long the line set run is, whether the outdoor unit goes on a snow stand or a wall bracket, and whether we need to run a new disconnect box and breaker.
Why every install gets a surge protector
A heat pump runs on an electronic control board. A power surge can kill it, and a board costs a lot more than the protector. We've replaced boards on heat pumps other companies installed without one. That's why it's on every heat pump we put in.
Heat pump repair
A diagnostic is $149, same as any residential service call.
On the heat pumps we've installed ourselves, we've had very few callbacks. Mostly we come back for maintenance. Most of our repair calls are on systems someone else put in, and two problems come up again and again:
- Leaks at the flare connections. The refrigerant lines connect to the unit with flare fittings that have to be torqued to spec. When they aren't, they leak. On ductless systems we also find bad flares or loose connections at the indoor head.
- Dead control boards. Usually on a unit that was installed without a surge protector.
Both come down to the install. That's the same reason we say the installer matters more than the brand.
Heat pump or furnace?
For a lot of Toronto homes the answer is both: keep a good gas furnace and add a heat pump in place of the A/C. If you're weighing the two, we laid it out in Heat Pump vs Furnace: Which Is Right in Toronto?. Condo owners with a water-source heat pump in a closet should see our condo HVAC page instead. That's a different kind of system.
Where we install
Toronto and the GTA, including Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, East York, Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Aurora and Newmarket. If you're on the edge of that, call and ask. See our service area for more.
Heat pump questions we get in Toronto
How much does a heat pump cost to install in Toronto?
A central (ducted) heat pump runs $3,800 to $5,500 installed with Epsilon Mechanical. Where you land depends on the tonnage, the brand, whether it's rated to -15°C or -30°C, and what else the house needs, like new thermostat wire, a snow stand, or a breaker panel upgrade. A surge protector is included on every install.
How much does a ductless mini-split cost in Toronto?
A single-zone ductless mini-split heat pump is $3,800 to $4,500 installed. Each additional indoor head adds about $1,000 for the head, the line set, the communication wire and the labour. Line set length, a snow stand or wall bracket, and running a new disconnect and breaker all move the price.
Do I have to replace my gas furnace to get a heat pump?
Usually not. If your gas furnace is in good shape, we keep it and replace the outdoor unit and the indoor coil, so the heat pump and the furnace work together. If the furnace is also in rough condition, we'll tell you. Homes with an electric air handler or a hydronic coil usually need that changed too, so it matches the heat pump.
What's the difference between a -15°C and a -30°C heat pump?
It's the outdoor temperature the heat pump is rated to keep heating at. A -30°C unit costs more than a -15°C unit. Which one makes sense depends on whether you're keeping a gas furnace as backup and how much of your heating you want the heat pump to carry.
Why does a heat pump need a surge protector?
Heat pumps run on an electronic control board that a power surge can destroy. We have replaced boards on heat pumps that other companies installed without one. A surge protector is cheap next to a board, so we put one on every heat pump we install.
Do you repair heat pumps someone else installed?
Yes. A diagnostic is $149. The most common problem we find on other installs is a refrigerant leak at the flare connections because they were never torqued properly, at the outdoor unit and, on ductless systems, at the indoor head. The second most common is a dead control board on a unit that was installed without a surge protector.
Thinking about a heat pump? Call (647) 269-9704 or send us a message with a photo of your furnace or air handler, your thermostat, and your electrical panel, and we'll tell you where you land in the range.