AC replacement cost in Casselberry, Florida
A Florida cost guide puts installed AC replacement at $5,800 to $12,500, with a typical 3-ton system near $8,500; the 2026 national average for an installed HVAC system is $8,209. Add the City of Casselberry's flat $200 mechanical permit, and $1,500-$5,000 if the ductwork has to be replaced.
These are researched market ranges, not our prices and not a quote.
The dollar figures below come from published third-party cost guides — named and linked at the foot of the page — and from the City of Casselberry’s own published permit fee. They are here so you can tell whether a quote you have been handed is in the ordinary range for this work. They are not an offer, and no two houses in Casselberry cost the same to do.
What a replacement costs by system size
| Size | Roughly fits | 14–15 SEER | 16–17 SEER | 18+ SEER |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 ton | up to about 1,000 sq ft | $5,800 | $6,900 | $8,400 |
| 2.5–3 ton | roughly 1,200–1,600 sq ft | $7,200 | $8,500 | $10,400 |
| 4 ton | roughly 1,800–2,200 sq ft | $8,900 | $10,200 | $12,500 |
| 5 ton | 2,400 sq ft and up | $10,500 | $12,000 | $14,800 |
That guide quotes SEER, not SEER2 — and its cheapest column may not be legal to install in Florida.
The 14–15 SEER column sits at or below the 14.3 SEER2 minimum the U.S. Department of Energy enforces on split systems installed in the Southeast region, which includes Florida. SEER2 is a different, harder test than SEER, so a 14–15 SEER unit does not convert cleanly into a compliant SEER2 number. Treat that column as a historic price point, not as a quote you should be able to get today.
The guide is also reader-supported and does not publish its methodology. It is the only Florida-specific table we found that breaks price out by size, so it is here with its weaknesses stated rather than laundered.
The middle of that table is where most of Casselberry sits. The median improved residential parcel in the city has 1,442 sq ft of living area, which after a proper Manual J load calculation usually lands on 2.5 or 3 tons — not the 4 tons the old “one ton per 500 square feet” arithmetic gives you. In a climate whose real problem is latent load rather than sensible load, the oversized system is the expensive mistake: it satisfies the thermostat before it has pulled the water out of the air, and you get a house that is cold and clammy.
What the rest of the country pays
| System | Average installed cost |
|---|---|
| HVAC system, installed | $8,209 |
| Central air conditioner | $8,460 |
| Air-source heat pump | $8,007 |
| Ductless mini-split | $8,221 |
| Geothermal heat pump | $17,000 |
Those are national averages from a 2026 survey, useful only as a sanity check. Note that the air-source heat pump average is lower than the central-air-conditioner average. If someone tells you a heat pump conversion is inherently the expensive option, that is not what the national data says — and in a strip-heat house it is also the option Duke Energy pays up to $1,000 toward.
Before you compare any number on this page, read the rebate order of operations. Duke Energy requires a free Home Energy Check completed within the previous 24 months before the equipment is installed. Replace first and apply afterwards and the claim is denied — on a strip-heat house, which is most of Casselberry’s 1970s and 80s stock, that is up to $1,000 thrown away.
What else belongs on a Casselberry quote
Inside city limits the permit is a flat $200.00. Not a percentage. Not a guess.
The City of Casselberry publishes one flat fee for HVAC, grouped with Electric / Plumbing / Gas: $200.00. It does not scale with the contract, so it is the same $200 on a $6,500 changeout as on a $14,000 one. If a Casselberry-city quote shows a permit allowance of $450 “to cover permitting,” ask what the other $250 is.
If your address is in Deer Run or Fern Park (32730), this fee does not apply to you — those are unincorporated Seminole County and permit through the county Building Division in Sanford. Which desk is mine?
Two timing effects the Florida guide names, both of which we can confirm from the way this market behaves: October to February is the cheaper window, and a summer emergency replacement runs roughly 10–20% more than the same job booked in advance. In a city where 57.1% of the housing stock was built between 1970 and 1989, most replacements are foreseeable a season out. The homeowners who pay the emergency premium are almost always the ones who waited for the failure.
Two more Casselberry-specific line items worth asking about. Ductwork: the Florida guide puts leaky or undersized duct work at $1,500–$5,000 on top of the equipment, and in the 57.1% of this city built between 1970 and 1989 the attic trunk is very often original even though the equipment is on its third or fourth generation. Electrical: a Florida A/C contractor is licensed to replace, disconnect and reconnect the power wiring at the dedicated disconnect under s. 489.105(3), so on an ordinary changeout you should not be paying a separate electrical contractor to move a whip.
Getting replacement quotes?
Ask every bidder for the Manual J, the SEER2 rating of the exact model, and the permit line. Those three answers separate the quotes faster than the total does.
Phone: (689) 308-3675 · Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Where the facts on this page come from
Every figure above is either a primary-source document or a named third-party cost guide. All of it was checked in September 2026. Fee schedules, rebate amounts and market prices change without notice — if you are about to spend money on one of these numbers, open the source and check it.
- This Old House, HVAC replacement cost guide (updated 2 September 2026)
- I’m Moving to Florida, Florida AC replacement cost guide (reader-supported, methodology not disclosed)
- U.S. Department of Energy, 2023 central air conditioner standards FAQ (PDF)
- City of Casselberry Building Division
- Fla. Stat. s. 489.105(3) — contractor licence classes and scope
- Duke Energy, Home Energy Improvement HVAC replacement
- Seminole County Property Appraiser