HVAC Repair — Canada

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 $2,025–$10,125 CAD — a new unit runs $4,050–$20,250 CAD and typically lasts 15–20 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–$2,800 CAD
New heat pump (unit only)	$4,050–$20,250 CAD
The 50% line half a comparable new unit	$2,025–$10,125 CAD

Repair: min–max of every heat pump fault we price (sources on each linked problem page) · New unit: Carrier Canada · Lifespan 15–20 years: Natural Resources Canada · 50% rule: Hydro One · 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 $1,215–$6,075 CAD	Repair 30–50%$1,215–$6,075 CAD – $2,025–$10,125 CAD	Repair > 50%over $2,025–$10,125 CAD
Under 9 years first half of typical life	Repair likely	Repair likely	Compare quotes
9–20 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 (Hydro One) — 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 ($4,050–$20,250 CAD); the $2,025–$10,125 CAD and $1,215–$6,075 CAD thresholds are just 50% and 30% of that range. Rows use the midpoint of the expected life (about 9 years — halfway through a typical 18-year lifespan) and the top of the sourced 15–20 years range (20 years). Nothing here is a per-unit price or a recommendation — it is a transparent reading of the rule.

Federal-government lifespan figure, the most authoritative single lifespan in this file. The same NRCan page states ground-source (geothermal) heat pumps "generally have a life expectancy of about 20 to 25 years" because the compressor sees less thermal and mechanical stress and is protected from the environment, with the ground loop itself lasting roughly 75 years — ground-source is not a separate taxonomy type, so that figure is recorded here rather than given its own entry, and the 15-20 band above is the air-source figure only. WARRANTY (demoted): NRCan also states a federal consumer-guidance minimum on the same equipment class — most heat pumps carry a one-year parts-and-labour warranty plus an additional 5-to-10-year compressor warranty (parts only) — and identifies the compressor as the critical component, which is why a compressor failure once out of warranty is a classic replace-side trigger. That NRCan line is a general federal floor, NOT a statement of manufacturers' actual Canadian terms and NOT evidence that Canadian coverage is shorter than any other market: this repo's docs/hvac/gather/warranty-ca.json records Carrier/Bryant/Lennox Canadian arms publishing 10-year registered parts warranties (Quebec exempt from registration), the same structure as the US, so the prior 'Canada-shorter' comparison has been removed. new_unit_cad is Carrier Canada's own stated installed range, which is very wide because it spans ducted vs ductless, capacity and whether ductwork/electrical upgrades are needed; it is shown verbatim rather than narrowed without a source, and install_delivery_cad is null because it is a single bundled installed total.

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:

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).