At some point, every furnace in the Lower Mainland gives up. Maybe it's the pilot light going out for the third time this winter. Maybe your energy bills have been creeping up for years and you're starting to wonder if the furnace is the reason. Maybe a technician just told you the heat exchanger is cracked and the repair costs more than the unit is worth.
Whatever brought you here, you want to know what it's going to cost to put a new one in. Here's what furnace replacement actually looks like in Metro Vancouver right now.
A furnace replacement in the Vancouver area typically runs $5,000 to $9,000 installed. That includes the furnace itself, standard installation materials and labour, Technical Safety BC gas permits, and removal of your old unit.
Where you land in that range depends on the efficiency rating of the furnace, the size of the unit your home needs, the condition of your existing venting and ductwork, and whether anything needs to be modified or upgraded during the install. A straightforward swap in a home where the existing setup is in good shape lands at the lower end. A job that requires venting changes, electrical work, or ductwork modifications pushes toward the upper end.
The range is wide because no two homes are the same. The only way to get an accurate number is a free in-home estimate where one of our technicians evaluates your specific situation.
Efficiency rating. Modern gas furnaces are rated by AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency), which measures how much of the gas the furnace consumes actually becomes heat. High-efficiency furnaces (95% AFUE and above) cost more upfront but use significantly less gas over the life of the unit. Lower-efficiency models still exist and cost less to purchase, but the energy savings from a high-efficiency unit usually make up the difference within a few years, especially with Metro Vancouver's gas rates.
Home size and layout. Furnace capacity is measured in BTUs. A larger home needs a higher-capacity unit, and higher-capacity units cost more. But it's not just square footage. Ceiling height, insulation quality, window area, and how many floors your home has all affect how much heating capacity you actually need. A 1,600 sq ft rancher in Delta and a 1,600 sq ft split-level in North Vancouver can need very different sized furnaces despite having identical floor area.
Existing infrastructure. If your home already has a modern furnace and the ductwork, gas line, and electrical are all in good condition, the install is simpler. If your ductwork is deteriorating, your gas line needs resizing, or your electrical panel needs attention, those add to the scope. Homes built in the 1970s and 1980s across Burnaby, Coquitlam, and Port Coquitlam often have original ductwork that's reaching end of life around the same time the furnace does.
Accessibility. A furnace sitting in an open basement mechanical room is easy to access and swap. A furnace wedged into a crawlspace, tucked into a tight closet, or located in an attic requires more labour to remove and replace. This is common in older homes across East Vancouver and parts of New Westminster where mechanical rooms were an afterthought in the original design.
This is the one that catches people off guard. If your current furnace is a mid-efficiency unit (typically 80% AFUE or lower), it vents exhaust through a metal chimney liner that runs up through the roof. When you upgrade to a high-efficiency furnace (95%+ AFUE), the venting system changes completely. High-efficiency furnaces use PVC piping that vents through a side wall instead of a chimney.
That means your old chimney liner gets abandoned and the new PVC venting gets routed to an exterior wall. In most homes this is a straightforward part of the install, but in some cases the location of the furnace relative to exterior walls, or obstructions in the venting path, can add complexity. Your technician evaluates this during the free in-home estimate so there are no surprises on install day.
If you're replacing a high-efficiency furnace with another high-efficiency unit, the PVC venting is already in place and this isn't a factor.
Not every furnace problem means replacement. Sometimes a $300 repair gives you another 5 years of reliable heat. Here's how to think about it:
Lean toward repair if:
Lean toward replacement if:
The 50% rule is a reasonable guideline: if the repair costs more than 50% of what a new furnace would cost, replacement usually makes more sense. You're putting significant money into equipment that's already near end of life.
If you're not sure, book a free estimate. Our technicians will tell you honestly whether repair or replacement is the better call for your situation. We do both, so we don't have a financial incentive to push you toward one over the other.
If your furnace is due for replacement, it's worth knowing that a heat pump is also on the table. A heat pump handles both heating and cooling in one system, runs on electricity instead of gas, and typically costs less to operate over the course of a year. Provincial rebate programs can also significantly reduce the installed cost of a heat pump for qualifying homeowners.
That said, a heat pump isn't automatically the right answer for every home. Gas furnaces produce stronger, warmer-feeling heat, the equipment is simpler and easier to repair, and the install is typically faster and less complex. Both options have real advantages.
We wrote a full comparison of heat pump vs furnace plus AC that covers installed costs, rebates, and the situations where each option makes the most sense. If you're on the fence, start there or bring it up during your in-home estimate and we'll walk through both options with pricing for your specific home.
Every gas furnace installation in British Columbia requires a gas permit through Technical Safety BC. This is a legal requirement, not optional. The permit covers the gas fitting work, and a licensed gas fitter must perform the installation.
We include the cost of the Technical Safety BC permit in every quote. You don't need to arrange it separately. If a contractor quotes you for a furnace install and doesn't mention permits at all, that tells you something about how they run their jobs.
For homes with secondary suites, rental properties, or strata units, homeowner gas permits are not permitted under Technical Safety BC rules. A licensed gas contractor must pull the permit. This applies whether you're installing a new furnace, boiler, or water heater.
1. Did you do a free in-home estimate? No contractor should be quoting you a final number without visiting your home and evaluating your furnace, venting, ductwork, gas line, and electrical panel. If someone quotes you over the phone, they're guessing. We do free in-home estimates on every installation.
2. Is the permit included? The Technical Safety BC gas permit should be part of the quote, not an add-on you find out about later. All of our quotes include permit costs.
3. What warranty comes with the job? Ask about the manufacturer warranty on the equipment and make sure your contractor registers it on your behalf. We register every furnace for the full manufacturer warranty at the time of installation so your coverage is maximized from day one.
Gas furnaces typically last 15 to 20 years with proper maintenance. Some well-maintained units push past 20 years, but efficiency drops noticeably in the later years and the risk of heat exchanger failure increases. If your furnace is approaching 15 years, it's worth getting it inspected even if it's still running.
Most furnace replacements are completed in a single day. A straightforward swap where the venting and ductwork are in good shape typically takes 4 to 6 hours. Jobs that require venting changes, ductwork modifications, or electrical work can take a full day.
Switching from gas to electric or vice versa is possible but adds significant cost because the infrastructure changes are substantial. For most Vancouver homeowners, replacing a gas furnace with another gas furnace is the simplest and most cost-effective path. If you're considering moving away from gas entirely, a heat pump is usually the better option than an electric furnace.
Not always. If your ductwork is in good condition and properly sized for the new furnace, it stays. If it's deteriorating, leaking, or undersized, your technician will flag it during the estimate. Ductwork replacement is a separate scope of work and is only recommended when there's a real problem.
For most Lower Mainland homeowners, yes. The energy savings from a high-efficiency unit (95%+ AFUE) compared to a standard unit add up over the 15 to 20 year lifespan of the furnace. The upfront difference in cost is typically recovered within a few years through lower gas bills.
If your AC is also aging, combining both replacements in one job saves on labour and avoids the hassle of two separate installations. We cover this in detail in our AC installation cost guide. If your AC is relatively new and working fine, there's no reason to replace it alongside the furnace.
We've been replacing furnaces across the Lower Mainland for over 20 years. As Technical Safety BC licensed gas fitters and certified Trane dealers, every job includes proper permits, a written warranty, and equipment sized to your home by an experienced technician.
Estimates are free, in-home, and no-pressure. We serve homeowners across Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, Richmond, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, and across Metro Vancouver.
Book a free furnace estimate or call us at (604) 535-8434.
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