Toronto Commercial HVAC plans and delivers end-of-life commercial HVAC replacement for Toronto and GTA buildings that are 15 years old or more. We replace rooftop units, split systems, furnace sections, unit heaters, boilers, make-up air units and chillers, either one unit at a time or as phased building-wide programs.
Replacement decisions usually get forced by a failure. A 21-year-old rooftop unit loses its compressor in July. A boiler heat exchanger cracks in January. An R-22 chiller develops a leak nobody can afford to recharge. When that happens, the replacement gets ordered in a rush, often copying the old nameplate size, and the rest of the ageing equipment keeps waiting for its turn to fail. A planned program avoids all of that.
Single-unit replacements typically cost $12,000 to $45,000. Building-wide programs run $85,000 to $680,000. Every unit we audit or replace gets reserve-fund ready documentation, and all replacement work carries a 2-year labour warranty.
What Does a Commercial HVAC Replacement Program Include?
Per-unit condition audit
We record nameplate data, refrigerant type, age, heat exchanger and coil condition, repair history and current performance for every unit. Photos and a condition score go into a single spreadsheet.
Ranking and budgeting
Units are ranked by failure risk and repair-cost ratio. You get replacement costs per unit, grouped into phases that fit your capital plan.
Right-sizing
Each space gets a load calculation before ordering. Buildings that changed use or were oversized from day one often drop tonnage, which lowers both the capital and operating cost.
Phased execution
Crane days, road permits and swaps are scheduled around tenants. For rooftop unit installation, we fabricate roof adapters so new units drop onto existing openings without roof rework.
Types of Commercial HVAC Replacement
| Equipment | Typical replacement trigger | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Packaged rooftop unit | Year 18-22, compressor or heat exchanger failure | $12K-$45K per unit (larger units to $95K) |
| Boiler plant | Year 25-35, cracked sections or heat exchanger | $60K-$280K |
| Chiller | Year 25-30, R-22 or major compressor failure | $85K-$450K |
| Make-up air unit | Burner section or casing failure | $14K-$45K |
| Unit heaters | Heat exchanger failure, Red Tag | $3K-$9K each |
When Is It Time to Replace?
- Age. RTUs past 18-22 years and chillers past 25-30 years are on borrowed time.
- Repair-cost ratio. One repair costs more than half of a new unit.
- Refrigerant. R-22 systems with leaks are costly to keep alive.
- Safety. Cracked heat exchangers and failed venting on gas equipment.
- Comfort and energy. Units that cannot hold setpoint, or energy use climbing year over year.
Repair vs Replace: A Worked Example
A 22-year-old 15-ton RTU needs a $5,200 compressor. A new right-sized 12.5-ton unit installed costs about $38,000. The repair buys maybe two to four more years on a unit with an ageing heat exchanger and R-22 refrigerant. The replacement comes with a 2-year labour warranty, current refrigerant, better efficiency and 15 to 20 years of life. In most cases the replacement wins, but the numbers are in writing so you can decide. If you just need the immediate fault fixed, our commercial HVAC repair team can quote both.
Replacement Across Toronto and the GTA
We have run phased RTU programs in Mississauga industrial parks, Etobicoke QSR portfolios and Vaughan retail, and boiler and chiller replacements in downtown and North York towers. The Etobicoke QSR program started with a 32-store age audit and a $385,000 phase 1. Property managers with several buildings can fold replacement planning into our property manager programs.
