Why this changeout calculator works in cooling tons
Tonnage is the number every changeout already starts from. Your load calculation gives it, the distributor prices the condenser and coil by it, and the line set, disconnect and pad follow from it. So the calculator asks for tons, then turns your equipment and hours into a per-ton figure that grows with the job.
In the example, $4,260 of furnace, coil, condenser and install kit divides into $1,420 a ton. With the 30% markup on equipment, that is $5,538.00 of the price before profit, far more than the labour. That is why the markup box matters more on an HVAC install than on almost any other trade: change it from 30% to 20% and you move hundreds of dollars.
Counting the crew hours a 3-ton install really takes
The example puts two installers on the job for most of one long day: shut down and recover, pull the old system, set the furnace and coil, fit the plenum and transitions, set the condenser on its new pad, run the gas line, flue and drain, braze and pressure test, pull a vacuum and commission. One tech does the start-up readings alone.
Then come the hours outside install day. The estimate takes time to measure airflow, size the system and build the options. The crew loads the van and drives there and back. A missed fitting means a run to the counter, and the permit brings an inspector back. Altogether the job is 26.76 labour hours, or 8.92 a ton. If you skip those outside hours, the example loses about $580 at $80 an hour before profit.
Pricing a 2-ton or a 4-ton on the same settings
Drop the size to 2 tons and the price becomes $6,721.50, about $3,360.75 a ton. Raise it to 4 tons and it becomes $13,120.50, about $3,280.13 a ton. The per-ton figure barely moves because the permit, the disposal and the $118 for the van, recovery machine, gauges, torch gas and nitrogen are the only fixed lines.
Real life is less tidy. A furnace's price doesn't double from 2 tons to 4, and your crew doesn't take twice as long to set a bigger condenser. For any size other than 3 tons, get the distributor's price for that system, divide it by the tons, type it into the equipment box, and set the hours from your own installs.
From $9,921 here to $10,164 in the changeout spreadsheet
The $80 break-even rate is the example shop's $79.81, rounded. It has to carry the techs, the vans, the office and every unbilled hour, so build yours with the free true hourly rate calculator. A 25% profit added on top keeps 20% of the price, as the markup vs margin guide explains.
The spreadsheet prices each part from your price list, costs the van and test gear by the running hour, adds a cushion and sales tax, walks through the install costs shops forget, prints the homeowner's proposal and tracks each install in a job log. Its price for the same changeout is $10,164 before tax. The line-by-line build sits in the HVAC pricing guide.