Heat Pump: Repair or Replace? (2026 cost comparison)
The rule of thumb, from Consumer Reports: don't spend more than 50% of a comparable new unit on fixing the old one. For a heat pump, that 50% line is about $600–$3,000 AUD — a new unit runs $1,200–$6,000 AUD and typically lasts 9–20 years. If a repair quote lands under that line and the heat pump is not yet past its expected life, repair usually wins. Reviewed July 2026.
Repair vs. replace, side by side Estimated
| Cost | Estimated range |
|---|---|
| Typical repair (this heat pump, all faults we price) | $140–$2,900 AUD |
| New heat pump (unit only) | $1,200–$6,000 AUD |
| The 50% line half a comparable new unit | $600–$3,000 AUD |
Repair: min–max of every heat pump fault we price (sources on each linked problem page) · New unit: Canstar Blue, Quick Air · Lifespan 9–20 years: Canstar Blue · 50% rule: Quick Air · Reviewed July 2026 · Estimated
Age × repair-cost worksheet Estimated
Find your heat pump's age down the side and your repair quote across the top. The cell is the way the 50% rule points — Estimated guidance, not advice.
| Age of unit | Repair < 30% of a new heat pumpunder $360–$1,800 AUD | Repair 30–50%$360–$1,800 AUD – $600–$3,000 AUD | Repair > 50%over $600–$3,000 AUD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 7 years first half of typical life | Repair likely | Repair likely | Compare quotes |
| 7–20 years second half, under typical lifespan | Repair likely | Compare quotes | Replace likely |
| Over 20 years at or beyond typical lifespan | Compare quotes | Replace likely | Replace likely |
How this is built: we apply the 50% rule (Quick Air) — spend no more than half a comparable new unit's cost on a repair — with its lifespan corollary (replacement is favored once the unit is past the midpoint of its expected life and the quote tops 50%). Columns are your repair quote as a share of a new heat pump ($1,200–$6,000 AUD); the $600–$3,000 AUD and $360–$1,800 AUD thresholds are just 50% and 30% of that range. Rows use the midpoint of the expected life (about 7 years — halfway through a typical 15-year lifespan) and the top of the sourced 9–20 years range (20 years). Nothing here is a per-unit price or a recommendation — it is a transparent reading of the rule.
MARKET-STRUCTURE NOTE, not a cross-applied foreign figure: in Australia the domestic space-heating heat pump IS the reverse-cycle air conditioner — the same appliance, sold and serviced as an air conditioner — so it shares the split/ducted sources above rather than having a separate Australian evidence base. Sustainability Victoria describes reverse-cycle units as heat pumps in exactly these terms: they "use electrically powered heat pumps to shift heat from the outside air to inside rather than burn gas to generate heat". PRICE and LIFESPAN are therefore deliberately identical to the ductless-mini-split (split-system) type: a residential 'heat pump' a homeowner weighs repairing or replacing in Australia is, in the overwhelming majority of cases, a reverse-cycle split. Whole-home ducted reverse-cycle pricing (the more expensive form of the same appliance class) is carried separately under the central-ac type; it is not folded into this figure to keep the 50%/replacement threshold meaningful. The figures are Australian; the equipment class is Australian; only the type-id split between 'heat-pump' and the air-conditioning types is a taxonomy artefact carried over from the US taxonomy.
One more thing before you replace
A newer heat pump can cut energy and water use, which shifts the math on an older unit even when a repair is cheap: ENERGY STAR notes clothes washers over ~10 years and refrigerators over ~15 years are common efficiency-driven replacements.
Energy note: · Reviewed July 2026 · Estimated · Informational only
Price the repair first
Before you decide, get the likely repair figure for the exact fault — each page localizes to your metro:
- Full heat pump cost guide
- Not heating
- Not cooling
- Stuck in defrost / frozen outdoor unit
- Reversing valve replacement
- Defrost control board replacement
- Capacitor replacement
- Refrigerant leak repair / recharge
- Compressor replacement
- Outdoor fan motor replacement
- Short cycling (turns on and off)
Estimated ranges — see the methodology for how we build the repair figures and their named sources. This page is informational and is not repair, purchasing, or financial advice.
Reviewed by a Red Seal–certified appliance technician who also holds a Technical Safety BC gas ticket (Gas-C) and an ODS/halocarbon refrigerant ticket (CFC/HCFC/HFC).