Heat pump installation cost
A heat pump can replace an air conditioner, a furnace or both at once. What it replaces, and what the house already has, decide the price.
Updated September 2026 by the Air Cove HVAC team
What a heat pump costs depends mostly on whether it replaces a furnace and an AC, and whether the ducts and the panel can take it.
A heat pump is an air conditioner that can also run in reverse to heat the house. So the job can be as simple as swapping an old air conditioner for a heat pump and keeping the furnace as backup. Or it can mean taking out the gas furnace and the AC and putting one electric system in their place.
Those are different jobs with different prices. We price heat pump installation once we know which of these jobs your house needs.
What moves the price
These are the things we check before we give you a number.
| Factor | What it does to the price |
|---|---|
| What it replaces | The AC only, or the AC and the furnace together. Replacing both means a new outdoor unit and a new air handler inside. |
| Ducted or ductless | A ducted heat pump uses the ducts you have. A ductless heat pump uses wall or ceiling heads, priced by the number of rooms. |
| The size the house needs | We size from a load calculation that covers both summer heat and winter nights. |
| The electrical panel | A heat pump and its air handler run on electricity. An older panel may not have the room, and panel work can be a real part of the cost. |
| The gas furnace | It can be removed, capped and hauled away, or kept as backup heat in a dual-fuel setup. |
| The ducts | Ducts that leak or are too small hurt a heat pump more than a furnace, because a heat pump delivers gentler, longer heat. |
| Location of the indoor unit | An attic, a closet or a garage each take different time and parts. |
| The permit and the Title 24 test | Both come with a proper changeout in California. |
Replacing a gas furnace and an AC with one heat pump
This is the bigger job, and the usual route for a house that wants to move off gas. Here is what it involves in a Los Angeles house.
- The outdoor unit. The old AC condenser comes out and the heat pump goes in its place, often on the same pad.
- The indoor unit. The furnace comes out and an electric air handler goes in, in the same closet, attic or garage spot where it fits.
- The gas line. Where the furnace is removed for good, the gas line to it is capped safely.
- The electrical. The air handler and the heat pump each need the right circuit. We check the panel before we quote, because this is where surprises hide.
- The ducts. We check them for leaks and size. Title 24 usually requires a duct leakage test after the change.
- The permit and the test. A mechanical permit from your city's building department, and an independent HERS test when the work is done.
If the house has no ducts, a ductless heat pump is the other route. Our guide to mini split installation cost covers how those are priced.
Why the answer is different in Los Angeles
Los Angeles winters are mild, which suits a heat pump well. It heats without burning gas and cools the same way an air conditioner does. In the coastal areas and across the basin, a heat pump can usually carry the whole house through winter without backup heat.
The rules here add steps. Replacing the outdoor unit, the coil, the air handler or the furnace counts as an altered system under Title 24. That usually brings an independent HERS test. The rater checks the ducts for leaks, and depending on your climate zone, the refrigerant charge. Heat pumps made since 2025 mainly run on the newer refrigerants, R-454B or R-32. The permit goes through your city's building department, and in the City of Los Angeles most changeouts use an express permit. We pull it as part of the job.
Check the rebates before you buy. LADWP, SCE and SoCalGas each run rebate programs, and they change. Look at your utility's current offer before you sign anything, so you know what applies to your house and what the paperwork asks for.
The decision you are making
Pricing a heat pump usually comes down to one of three choices. Whether to replace just the AC now and keep the furnace. Whether to replace both and go all electric. Or whether ductless heads suit the house better than ducts.
To help you decide, we look at the age of the furnace and the AC, the panel, the ducts, where the indoor unit can go and how warm you like the house on a winter night. If the furnace still has years in it, keeping it as backup can make sense. If both are old, replacing them together often saves a second visit and a second permit later. Our guide to heat pump or AC goes further into that choice.
When you want a number, our page on heat pump installation explains how we size, install and test the system. We are licensed and insured, and we answer the phone seven days a week.
Heat pump cost questions
How much is a heat pump for a 2000 square foot house?
Square feet is only the start. A 2,000 square foot house can need different sizes depending on insulation, windows, sun and the ducts, and on whether the heat pump replaces the AC only or the furnace too. Panel work and duct sealing can be a real part of the price. We size it from a load calculation and price your house after we have seen it.
Do I have to remove my gas furnace?
No. You can keep it as backup heat and let the heat pump do the work most of the year. Or you can replace it with an electric air handler and go all electric. We explain what each option means for your house.
Will my electrical panel handle a heat pump?
Sometimes it will and sometimes it needs work. It depends on the size of the panel, what else runs on it and whether the heat pump replaces a gas furnace. We check it before we quote so it does not turn up later.
Pricing a heat pump? Tell us what heats and cools the house now.
Get a heat pump priced for your house
Call us, or send the form and we will call you back to set up a visit anywhere across Los Angeles.