A quote of a central air conditioner consists of the following prices: equipment (outdoor unit & indoor unit) + materials + installation cost + maintenance cost.
1. Equipment (Outdoor Unit & Indoor Unit)
The price of equipment is the basis of the total price of a central air conditioner. Other costs include the duct fan, coils, and labor costs. The ducted type central air conditioner is cheaper than the multi-split type. And the number of indoor units of multi-split type central air conditioner is decided by the number of bedrooms and living rooms.
Other factors that affect the price of central air conditioners include: fixed speed & variable speed - usually air conditioner of fixed speed is cheaper, and different capacities - of course that of bigger capacities will be more expensive.
Here’s the prices of several top brands central air conditioners for reference.
|
Brand |
Logo |
Capacity |
Installed Cost |
|
1. Goodman |
|
2-5 ton |
$3,100 – $6,600 |
|
2. Trane |
|
2-4.5 ton |
$5,500 – $13,000 |
|
3. Rheem |
|
2-5 ton |
$3,900 – $6,400 |
|
4. Daikin |
|
0.75-4.5 ton |
$2,400 – $7,200 |
|
5. Lennox |
|
2-5 ton |
$3,400 – $7,200 |
|
6. Carrier |
|
2-5 ton |
$3,400 – $7,100 |
|
7. Bryant |
|
2-5 ton |
$3,300 – $5,800 |
|
8. Mitsubishi |
|
0.75-3 ton |
$2,900 – $6,100 |
|
9. Coleman |
|
2-4.5 ton |
$3,100 – $5,800 |
Table 1: Price and capacity of top 9 central air conditioners in the U.S. (Source from: https://learnmetrics.com/)
2. Material Costs
2.1 Coils
The total coil costs includes costs of refrigerant coil, insulation cotton, nylon coil clips, branch coil and condensation drainage coil.
Unit price or reference: $15 / meter
Figure 1: Central air conditioner pipes fastened on the ceiling.
Note: Generally, each central air conditioner equipment contains about 5-8 meters of copper tube, and you will be charged for the part exceeding this length.
2.2 Air Outlet Panels
Price: $45 / meter
Note: Your panel length is determined by the capacity of your air conditioner. Here’s the data for reference: 1 ton = 0.7m, 2 tons = 0.9m, 3 tons = 1.3m-1.5m.
Figure 2: A finely decorated room with an air outlet panel of a central air conditioner on the ceiling.
2.3 Outdoor Unit Stand
Reference price:
Iron bracket: $20-40 / pair
Stainless steel bracket: $50-80 / pair
Figure 3: The outdoor unit of a central air conditioner is placed on a pair of stands.
Note: If you can put the outdoor unit on the ground, you don’t need to pay for this.
2.4 Power Cable
Price: $2-3 / meter
2.5 Other Supplemental Materials
Other supplemental materials may include composite duct materials, outdoor unit damping pad, communication line and PVC line pipes.
Figure 4: Various types of ducts, coils and pipes used for installation of central air conditioner.
Tip:
The cost of materials required in the installation of central air conditioner is quite opaque, i.e, it’s often kept only to the contractors themselves.
You can understand the composition and general quote of the costs of materials from the information above. At least to avoid to be deceived.
3. Installation Cost
30% of the quality of central air conditioner depends on the equipment itself and 70% depends on its installation. Good installation sometimes makes up for the shortcomings of the equipment itself. Therefore, if the installation is not in place, it may bring you unnecessary trouble and loss.
Central air conditioner is not like traditional split air conditioners hanging directly on the wall with exposed pipelines, it requires professional air-conditioning designers to tailor the installation scheme according to the customer's needs and house structure.
Figure 5: A worker looking at the pipe of central air conditioner in a room under refurbishing.
Installing a central air conditioner requires higher technology and more complicated skills compared with the installation of traditional air conditioners. You will need a professional installation team to ensure its use. Here comes the labor costs, and it may vary greatly according to your house specifications.
Estimated labor cost for your reference: $1000 - 1500.
4. Maintenance Cost
As we all know, if the central air conditioner goes wrong, it is very troublesome to fix it. Therefore, it is necessary to purchase extended warranty services. Generally speaking, extended warranty services include:
* Mechanical component failure;
* Failure of electronic components;
* Voltage instability;
* Dust, heat, internal moisture, condensation removal;
Figure 6: Two technicians are inspecting and maintaining the outdoor unit of a central air conditioner.
It is worth noticing that when you purchase a central air conditioner, a contractor may usually provides a package price and say that you don’t need to worry about anything. But you should still understand the cost, materials and services behind the price, so as to get the satisfactory products.
