Costs
AC replacement cost in Longwood, FL
Orlando-metro pricing guides put a full AC replacement at $5,800–$15,500, and $7,500–$10,500 for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home — the band Longwood's 1,594 sq ft median living area falls inside. Add the City permit at $246.61, then subtract any Duke rebate. Researched third-party ranges, not quoted prices.
Published ranges
What the guides actually say
These are researched market estimates, not a quote
Every money figure on this page is a published third-party range, compiled in September 2026 from the pricing guides listed in the sources at the foot of the page. They are here so you can sanity-check what a contractor offers you before you sign, not so you can hold anyone to a number they did not write. The one exception is the City of Longwood permit fee, which is the City's own published figure and is linked to its fee schedule.
| What is being priced | Researched range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Whole-system replacement, all types | $5,800–$15,500 | Whole-system replacement across the Orlando metro, everything from a small straight-cool swap to a high-efficiency variable speed heat pump with new duct. |
| Typical 1,500–2,500 sq ft home | $7,500–$10,500 | What Orlando-metro guides call typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home — the band Longwood's 1,594 sq ft median living area sits inside. |
| Central AC, 15.2 SEER2 | $5,500–$8,000 | Central air conditioner at the 15.2 SEER2 mark, installed. |
| Heat pump, 15.2 SEER2 | $5,800–$9,500 | Heat pump at 15.2 SEER2, installed — the configuration the Duke tiers are written around. |
| Heat pump, 18+ SEER2 variable speed | $8,000–$13,500 | Heat pump at 18+ SEER2, variable speed, installed. |
| Full system, 2,000–2,500 sq ft home | $7,000–$12,000 | Full system for a 2,000–2,500 sq ft home. |
| Statewide, typical 3–4 ton system | $8,000–$13,000 | Statewide sources for a typical 3–4 ton system, installed. |
| Single-zone ductless mini-split | $3,500–$7,000 | Single-zone ductless mini-split, installed. |
| Duct replacement, added to the above | $2,500–$6,000 | Duct replacement, added to a changeout rather than instead of one. |
The Longwood anchor
1,594 sq ft, median build year 1979
Longwood's improved residential parcels have a median living area of 1,594 sq ft and a median build year of 1979, from the Seminole County Property Appraiser's CAMA extract for tax district L1. That places the typical house here at the lower end of the $7,500–$10,500 band rather than the middle of it — and it also means the equipment is going into a house designed around 1970s duct practice, which is where the quotes separate.
Two houses of the same size on the same Longwood street will not price the same. The variables that move a changeout here, roughly in order: whether the air handler is in the attic and how the access is; whether the return air is a single central grille or several; whether the flex duct is original; whether the electrical panel can carry the new equipment; and whether the outdoor unit needs relocating out from under canopy.
- Median living area
- 1,594 sq ft
- Median build year
- 1979
- Built 1970–1989
- 66.5% of 4,962 parcels
- City permit
- $246.61
- NOC threshold
- $7,500
- Plans examination
- Waived for equipment replacement
What the City adds to the total
Permit, Notice of Commencement, and the $7,500 line
The permit is a real line on the quote, and in Longwood it is a hard number rather than an estimate: $246.61 for a residential mechanical change-out under Resolution 26-1724, effective 1 July 2026. Against a typical $7,500–$10,500 changeout that is between two and three per cent of the job. If your address is west of I-4 or anywhere in ZIP 32779 you are not in the city and the fee is Seminole County's instead.
There is a second reason the total matters. Longwood requires a Notice of Commencement recorded with Seminole County, with a certified copy delivered to the City at application or before the first inspection, and states that if no NOC is on file when an inspection is scheduled “the inspection will not be completed and all work must remain open.” A mechanical permit to repair or replace an existing heating or air conditioning system valued under $7,500 is excepted, per §713.135(d), Florida Statutes. Read those two numbers together: the typical Orlando-metro changeout of $7,500–$10,500 straddles the $7,500 line, so on a mid-size Longwood job whether you have to record a document at the county courthouse can come down to whether the duct work is in the contract.
Florida's CS/CS/HB 803 (2026), effective 1 July 2026, requires local governments to exempt single-family work valued under $7,500 from permitting. It does not help here. The exemption expressly excludes “any electrical, plumbing, structural, mechanical, or gas work performed on property containing a single-family dwelling,” and it does not apply in a flood hazard area either. An air conditioning changeout is mechanical work, so it stays permitted at any dollar value, in Longwood and everywhere else in Florida.
Money that comes back off the total
Book the Duke energy check before you buy anything
Duke Energy requires a free Home Energy Check completed within the previous 24 months before it will pay any Home Energy Improvement rebate, and the work has to have been recommended by that check. Replace the system first and apply afterwards and the claim is denied — there is no retrospective route. Duke also requires that the whole home is heated and cooled electrically, that the installer is a licensed and insured air conditioning contractor, and that the work is approved by a licensed city or county inspector. On a Longwood job that last condition is the City permit and the passed mechanical final, which makes the permit a rebate requirement and not just a legal one.
On Longwood stock the rebate argument is unusually strong. Two thirds of the city’s residential parcels — 66.5% of 4,962 — were built between 1970 and 1989, when an air handler with electric resistance strip heat was the default. Duke publishes its largest tiers, $600 and $1,000, for exactly that swap: strip heat to a heat pump. If your air handler still heats with strips, that is money on the table, but only if the Home Energy Check happens first. The rebate rules, in order.
Questions people actually type
Related questions
How much does it cost to replace an AC unit in Florida?
Published Orlando-metro guides put a whole-system replacement at $5,800–$15,500, with $7,500–$10,500 typical for a 1,500–2,500 sq ft home; duct replacement adds $2,500–$6,000. Statewide sources put a typical 3–4 ton system at $8,000–$13,000. Those are researched market estimates from third-party pricing guides, not quoted rates. The one hard local number is the City of Longwood permit line: a residential mechanical change-out permit is $246.61 under Resolution 26-1724, effective 1 July 2026.
Sources
- Airborne Tech Service, Orlando AC replacement cost guide (third-party pricing guide). https://airbornetechservice.com/ac-replacement-cost-orlando/
- Comfort Control Systems, “How Much Does AC Repair Cost in Florida?” 2026 price guide (third-party pricing guide). https://my-ccs.com/blog/how-much-does-ac-repair-cost-in-florida-2026-price-guide/
- Smart Home Air & Heating, Orlando AC permit and replacement guide 2026 (third-party guide). https://smarthomeairheat.com/our-blog/ac-permit-replacement-orlando-2026/
- City of Longwood Fee Schedule (Resolution 26-1724, effective 1 July 2026). https://www.longwoodfl.org/702/Fee-Schedule
- Florida Statutes §713.135 — Notice of Commencement, including the §713.135(d) exception for HVAC repair or replacement under $7,500. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/713.135
- Florida Statutes §553.79 — §553.79(1)(a) baseline permit requirement; §553.79(1)(g) the $7,500 single-family exemption and its carve-outs (created by s. 8, ch. 2026-63). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.79
- Florida CS/CS/HB 803 (2026), enrolled text. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/803
- Florida Statutes §553.791 — private provider statute; §553.791(1)(r) defines “single-trade inspection” and names HVAC replacements; §553.791(2)(a) the owner's election. https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.791
- Florida Statutes §553.792(1)(a)1. — permit decision deadlines, including the 5-business-day tier (created by s. 10, ch. 2026-63). https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/553.792
- Seminole County Property Appraiser CAMA extract (Parcels.csv, dated 5 September 2026), tax district L1 — Longwood; improved residential parcels, DOR codes 01 and 04. https://www.scpafl.org/
- Duke Energy, Home Energy Improvement — HVAC Replacement. https://www.duke-energy.com/home/products/home-energy-improvement/hvac-replacement
- Duke Energy Florida rebate application portal. https://www.dukeenergyrebates.com/florida/#/home
- Duke Energy news release, 9 June 2025 — expanded Florida home improvement rebates. https://news.duke-energy.com/releases/duke-energy-expands-home-improvement-rebate-program-to-help-florida-customers-save-energy-and-money-this-summer
Figures are dated. Permit fees, rebate amounts and code cycles change — re-check the primary source before you rely on a number here.
Get the quote itemised
Equipment, duct work, electrical, permit and rebate paperwork should each be their own line. That is the only way to compare two Longwood quotes that differ by three thousand dollars.