Commercial AC Replacement Cost in Arlington, TX: What Drives the Price

A commercial air conditioner in Arlington is usually a packaged unit on the roof of a restaurant, a shop, an office, or a small industrial bay. It runs longer hours than a house system, it sits in full sun, and when it quits, the people downstairs notice within the hour.

The price to replace it is not a residential bid with extra zeros. Crane access, the roof curb, the electrical circuit, and whether you can be shut down on a Tuesday afternoon move the number as much as the tonnage does. The figures below are published industry ranges. They are not an Arlington price, and they are not a Boost Air quote. Your number depends on the unit, the building, and the install. A house system is a different price. The Grand Prairie AC replacement cost guide is the residential version. The commercial changeout itself, including heat and cooling on smaller Grand Prairie buildings, is commercial HVAC replacement in Grand Prairie.

The ranges published guides actually use

Guides disagree, which is useful information. A single "average commercial AC cost" hides the job.

For a small packaged rooftop unit around 5 tons, the size on many retail suites and small offices, recent national and regional guides commonly fall somewhere between about $7,000 and $15,000 installed. Some published tables go higher once a crane and a curb adapter are in the scope. A 10-ton unit, a common size for a larger shop or a full office floor, is often quoted from the mid-teens into the $20,000s, and complex roofs go past that. A 5 to 10 ton changeout is sometimes summarized as roughly $10,000 to $25,000.

Use those bands to tell a serious bid from a guess. Do not use them as the budget you hand a landlord. The written quote, after someone has been on the roof, is the number.

What drives the price

Tonnage and efficiency. The new unit has to cover the space as it is used now, not as it was used when the old unit was set. A restaurant that added kitchen equipment, or an office that closed in an open area, may not need the same capacity. Higher efficiency costs more up front. On a unit that runs all day, the operating cost is part of the decision. It is not a reason to oversize.

The curb. Packaged units sit on a roof curb. If the new cabinet matches the old curb, the changeout is simpler. If the footprint changed, you need a curb adapter or a new curb. An adapter is a metal transition. A new curb means opening the roof. Those are different prices. A leak at that joint is a roof leak on top of the equipment problem. The quote should say which curb option you are buying.

Crane and access. The condenser on a house rolls on a dolly. A rooftop unit needs a lift. Published crane and rigging figures are often in the low thousands, and they climb when the truck cannot set close to the building, the roof is high, or the street needs a permit for the lift. Look at where a truck can actually park before you accept a bid that left the crane off.

Electrical. The disconnect, the whip, and the wire size have to match the new unit. An older panel may not have the breaker the new equipment needs. That work belongs on the quote. It is not something to discover after the unit is on the curb.

Gas heat, economizer, and controls. Many packaged units heat as well as cool. A gas section means gas piping and venting have to be reconnected and checked. An economizer brings in outside air when the weather allows and is easy to leave disconnected, which wastes the feature you paid for. A simple commercial thermostat is one price. Tying the unit into a building controller is another. Say which one the space uses.

Ducts at the curb. A new unit does not fix crushed, leaking, or undersized ductwork in the ceiling. If the old unit was loud and the rooms were uneven, look at the ducts while the curb is open. Commercial HVAC repair and installation should call that out before the equipment is ordered.

When the work can happen. A retail space that can go without cooling on a mild morning is a different labor cost from a restaurant that can only be down after close. After-hours and Sunday work is a line. Tell the contractor the hours the doors are locked.

Permit. Arlington requires a permit for this kind of mechanical replacement. The city sets the fee. It should be on the quote, and the contractor who pulls it should be named.

Repair or replace

A contactor, a capacitor, or a fan motor on a younger unit is a repair. A compressor can still be a repair when the cabinet, the heat section, and the coils are sound and parts are available.

Price a replacement when the unit is around 15 years old and a major part has failed, when the coil or the heat exchanger is leaking, when the cabinet is rusted through, or when the same refrigerant leak has been repaired more than once. Commercial equipment that runs all day does not get the long idle season a house furnace gets. Maintenance is what keeps a unit on the long end of its life. Commercial HVAC maintenance is the ongoing work after a repair or a replacement, and it starts with a look at the equipment you already have. If the failure is the gas heat section rather than the cooling side, see commercial furnace repair in Arlington and commercial furnace replacement cost in Arlington. A heating check before the season is commercial furnace tune-up in Irving.

The logo on the cabinet matters less than the install. A new unit on a curb that does not seal, with the economizer unplugged and the charge set by feel, will disappoint in the first summer. Ask who is doing the startup: charge, airflow, drain, economizer, and a combustion check if the unit heats with gas.

What this guide does not cover

This is packaged rooftop units and commercial split systems on the smaller buildings we serve. It is not chillers. If the equipment on the roof is a packaged unit or a split, commercial HVAC in Arlington is the right page. Tell us the tonnage if you know it, whether the unit is on the roof, and whether the space is open to customers.

How to read the bids

Line the quotes up.

• Make and model, tonnage, and efficiency
• Curb adapter or new curb
• Crane, and where the truck sets
• Electrical changes
• Economizer, thermostat, or building controls
• Gas reconnection, if the unit heats
• Permit and who pulls it
• Hours the work will happen
• What is hauled away, and what is left on the roof
• A labor warranty in writing

A low bid that skips the crane, the curb, or the permit is not finished. The number will move on the day of the lift.

Free replacement estimates

Talk with a knowledgeable North Texas comfort advisor about your replacement options. Free estimates, no pressure.

Boost Air And Plumbing replaces packaged rooftop units and commercial split systems for smaller buildings in Arlington and nearby North Texas communities. See our commercial HVAC repair and installation service and HVAC service in Arlington. Call (817) 612-9107 or book online. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 8am to 7pm, with after-hours and Sunday emergency appointments available.

Frequently asked questions

How much does commercial AC replacement cost in Arlington? Published guides do not agree on one number, and a shop roof is not a national average. For a small packaged rooftop unit around 5 tons, recent guides often land somewhere between about $7,000 and $15,000 installed, and some go higher once crane and curb work are included. A 10-ton unit is often quoted from the mid-teens into the $20,000s or beyond. A 5 to 10 ton changeout is sometimes summarized as roughly $10,000 to $25,000. Those are industry ranges, not an Arlington price and not a Boost Air quote. The building, the unit, and the install set the final number.

Why is one rooftop quote so much higher than another? Tonnage is only the start. A curb that does not match the new cabinet, a crane that cannot set from the parking lot, electrical work, an economizer, gas piping, and after-hours labor all move the price. Two bids for "a 7.5 ton unit" are not the same job until you match those lines.

Does the business have to close for a rooftop replacement? Not always. Many changeouts are scheduled before open or on a day the space can run without that zone. A restaurant or a clinic may need the work overnight or on a Sunday so customers are not in the building while the curb is open. After-hours labor is a real line on the quote. Say which hours the space can be down before the price is written.

Is a compressor replacement cheaper than a new rooftop unit? On a younger unit with a sound cabinet, heat exchanger, and coil, a compressor repair is often the better spend. On a unit around 15 years old with a leaking coil, a rusted cabinet, or parts that are no longer available, the repair can be a large share of a new unit. Get both numbers before you approve the compressor.

Do you replace chillers? No. Boost Air And Plumbing does not install or repair chillers. Commercial replacement work here is packaged rooftop units, commercial split systems, and the related curb, duct, and electrical connections.