Comparisons
HVAC comparisons, each resolved to a number
Four decisions, costed from federal data, with the assumptions on the page and the answer stated.
Written by HYRE HVAC Research Desk Primary-source research and analysis
The short answer
Each comparison here takes one real HVAC decision and computes where it flips, using EIA 2024 energy prices, EIA’s RECS 2020 consumption data and DOE field studies. Every page states an answer and its assumptions. None asserts an equipment price: HyreHVAC sells no equipment, so we publish the threshold your own quote has to beat.
Which HVAC comparisons are there?
21/51 Running cost Heat pump vs gas furnace: the running-cost crossover The jurisdictions where a heat pump is cheaper to run, and the purchase premium each one can justify. Read the comparison Usually wait Timing Replacing early vs running it into the ground What the efficiency gain from a new system is actually worth against the only published service-life horizon. Read the comparison Per visit Servicing Maintenance plans vs paying per visit DOE puts a tune-up at about 5%. Once costed, a maintenance plan is a decision about visits, and here is the break-even. Read the comparison 28% Equipment Does the brand matter more than the installer? The certified spread between the best and worst model in a capacity band, set against DOE’s measured range for installing the same machine well or badly. Read the comparison
More HVAC comparisons
Comparison 14 vs 16 SEER 14 vs 16 SEER: a 16 SEER unit uses about 12.5% less cooling electricity for the same cooling. How to work out whether that pays back where you live. Read the comparison Comparison Carrier vs Trane Carrier vs Trane: compare AHRI-certified ratings for the exact models quoted and each brand’s warranty registration terms. No rankings, no tests: the facts. Read the comparison Comparison Compressor vs condenser in an AC Compressor vs condenser AC: the condenser is the whole outdoor unit; the compressor is the pump inside it. What each part does and why the difference matters. Read the comparison Comparison Difference between a boiler and a furnace The difference between a boiler and a furnace: a furnace heats air and blows it through ducts; a boiler heats water and pipes it to radiators. Read the comparison Comparison Dual fuel vs heat pump Dual fuel vs heat pump: dual fuel pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace that takes over in deep cold. How the switchover works and which setup fits. Read the comparison Comparison Ductless vs ducted heat pump Ductless vs ducted heat pump: same heat pump idea, different delivery. How the ducts in your home, the number of rooms and duct losses decide which fits. Read the comparison Comparison Electric furnace vs heat pump Electric furnace vs heat pump: both run on electricity, but a heat pump moves heat instead of making it, so it gives more heat per kWh. Read the comparison Comparison Evaporator coil vs condenser coil Evaporator vs condenser coil: the evaporator absorbs heat indoors, the condenser releases it outside. What each coil does and how each one fails. Read the comparison Comparison Furnace vs air handler Furnace vs air handler: a furnace makes heat by burning fuel; an air handler moves air for a heat pump and may add electric strips. Which one fits. Read the comparison Comparison Gas vs electric furnace Gas vs electric furnace: an electric furnace turns nearly all its power into heat, but gas usually costs less per unit of heat. How to compare them. Read the comparison Comparison Geothermal vs air source heat pump Geothermal vs air source heat pump: both move heat, but geothermal draws on steady ground temperatures through buried loops. What that changes. Read the comparison Comparison Goodman vs Trane Goodman vs Trane: compare AHRI-certified ratings for the exact models quoted and each brand’s warranty registration terms. No rankings, no tests. Read the comparison Comparison Heat pump vs AC Heat pump vs AC: in summer they are the same machine. A reversing valve lets a heat pump heat too. When each one makes sense, and what to check. Read the comparison Comparison Heat pump vs boiler Heat pump vs boiler: a boiler heats water for radiators; a heat pump moves outdoor heat inside. What changes if you switch, and where each one wins. Read the comparison Comparison Heating with electricity vs gas Heating with electricity vs gas: compare the cost of delivered heat, not the price of fuel. The method, the equipment options and the safety points. Read the comparison Comparison Home warranty vs maintenance plan Home warranty vs maintenance plan: a warranty pays toward covered repairs; a maintenance plan buys scheduled tune-ups. What each one covers. Read the comparison Comparison HVAC financing vs a personal loan HVAC financing vs personal loan: contractor financing is quick but may carry deferred interest; a personal loan is separate from the contractor. Read the comparison Comparison Lennox vs Carrier Lennox vs Carrier: compare AHRI-certified ratings for the exact models quoted and each brand’s warranty registration terms. No rankings, no tests: the facts. Read the comparison Comparison Mini split vs central air Mini split vs central air: the deciding factor is usually your ductwork. How each one delivers air, where each wins, and the questions to ask before choosing. Read the comparison Comparison Packaged vs split system Packaged vs split system: a packaged unit holds every part in one outdoor cabinet; a split system divides them between indoors and outdoors. Read the comparison Comparison R-454B vs R-32 R-454B vs R-32: both replaced R-410A in new AC and heat pumps under EPA’s 700 GWP limit. How they differ, what it means for owners, and what never to mix. Read the comparison Comparison Repair vs replace a furnace Repair vs replace furnace: weigh the repair against the furnace’s age, its safety condition and the rest of its likely life. When a repair is the right call. Read the comparison Comparison Repair vs replace an air conditioner Repair vs replace AC: weigh the repair against age, refrigerant, coil match and history. ENERGY STAR suggests a look at replacement past about 10 years. Read the comparison Comparison Rheem vs Goodman Rheem vs Goodman: compare AHRI-certified ratings for the exact models quoted and each brand’s warranty registration terms. No rankings, no tests: the facts. Read the comparison Comparison Single vs two stage furnace Single vs two stage furnace: a two-stage burner runs on low most of the time for steadier heat and less noise. When the upgrade pays off. Read the comparison Comparison Split air conditioner vs window unit Split air conditioner vs window unit: a window AC cools one room and installs in minutes; a split system is quieter, with the noisy parts outside. Read the comparison Comparison Variable speed vs single stage AC Variable speed vs single stage AC: a variable-speed compressor matches output to the load for better humidity control. Where the upgrade pays off. Read the comparison
What rules are these comparisons written to?
A stated answer, or the page does not ship
Every comparison ends in a recommendation with the conditions attached. Where the evidence favors one option for a particular household, we say so — and both options are recommended somewhere, because both are right for someone.
No price we have not observed
We hold no quote or invoice data. Equipment and service prices are therefore never asserted: the pages compute the threshold and you supply the price.
Fact, calculation and analysis are labeled separately
A figure from EIA or DOE is a source fact. Arithmetic we performed on it is a HyreHVAC calculation. An interpretation is a HyreHVAC analysis. They are marked in the prose so you can discount ours without discarding theirs.
Assumptions are on the page, not in a footnote
Seasonal COP, furnace efficiency, consumption basis, service life and the discount rate — or its deliberate absence — appear in the section that uses them, and the sensitivity is shown where it changes the answer.
Attribution is organizational
The analysis is the HYRE HVAC Research Desk’s. No individual byline is attached to research on this site.
Questions
Do these HVAC comparisons include equipment prices?
No. HyreHVAC does not install, service or sell HVAC equipment and holds no dataset of quotes or invoices, so no page here asserts a price. Each comparison computes the threshold your own quote has to beat and you supply the price, which is also why the assumptions sit in the section that uses them rather than in a footnote.
What data are the comparisons computed from?
EIA 2024 residential energy prices, EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey 2020 consumption data, and the Department of Energy’s field-study literature. A figure taken from one of those is labeled a source fact; arithmetic performed on it is labeled a HyreHVAC calculation; an interpretation is labeled a HyreHVAC analysis.
Does every comparison end in a recommendation?
Yes. A comparison that ends in "it depends" has not been finished, so every page states an answer with the conditions attached, and says where the evidence favors one option for a particular household. The payback on any of them has to fit inside a 15-year service-life horizon.
Who writes the comparisons?
The HYRE HVAC Research Desk. Attribution on this site is organizational: no individual byline is attached to research or comparison work here.
Written and audited by
HYRE HVAC Research Desk
Primary-source research, data analysis and fact checking
We are a research desk, not a sales floor. We read the federal microdata file, the statute or the manufacturer data sheet ourselves, and we publish the figure with the document it came from and the date we retrieved it.
Where a number cannot be traced to a primary source, we publish the shorter page and say what we could not verify.
The counts below are generated from the published pages themselves, last counted November 12, 2026, and they are what we have actually published rather than what we intend to.
- 18
- studies published
- 15
- federal sources read and cited
- 15
- studies published with their full dataset as CSV
- 51
- jurisdictions reproduced against EIA’s own tables
How this desk works
- Primary sources only. Federal data comes from the agency that collects it, in the file that agency publishes. We do not cite an article that cites a source; we download the source and compute the figure ourselves.
- We validate against the agency before we publish. First, we use each federal microdata file to reproduce the agency’s own published tables. Our cooling research reproduces EIA’s state estimates and standard errors for all 51 jurisdictions. That check caught a variance formula that was off by a factor of four.
- Every estimate carries its uncertainty. These are survey figures, not counts. Standard errors are computed from the replicate weights the federal file supplies and printed beside the estimate. An estimate too imprecise to publish is reported as such rather than printed.
- Nothing is typed by hand. Prose, tables and charts all read from one dataset built by script, so a number in a sentence and the same number in the table below it cannot disagree.
- We publish the data, not just the conclusion. 15 of our 18 studies offer the full computed table as a CSV download on the page, so you can check the analysis or disagree with it. A study without a row-level dataset gets no download link and claims none in its structured data.
- We correct in public. Where we have published a figure wrongly we fix the figure, rewrite any analysis that rested on it rather than patching the number underneath it, and leave a dated correction note on the page.
- We do not install or sell HVAC equipment, and we take no payment for placement, ranking or a favorable mention. Nobody buys a position on this site.
Data as of EIA 2024 prices, RECS 2020 consumption. Authorship on this site is organizational: the analysis belongs to the desk rather than to a named individual, and we do not publish credentials we do not hold. Our editorial policy sets out how we source, date and correct what we publish.
Run the numbers, then compare real quotes
Each comparison gives you the threshold. A quote for your own house tells you which side of it you are on.