How Much Does HVAC Installation Cost in Utah in 2026
Zonda Media’s Remodeling 2025 Cost vs. Value Report (www.costvsvalue.com) sets its HVAC electrification conversion at $17,886 across Mountain markets that include Salt Lake City. Utah HVAC mechanics averaged $28.85 an hour in May 2025 (U.S. $31.14). Under Utah Code § 58-55-308, gas-furnace work needs a certified natural gas technician, with narrow exemptions.
The report’s HVAC conversion figure
For the Mountain division, the report’s HVAC Conversion | Electrification job cost is $17,886, with $14,248 of resale value, a 79.7 percent recoup. Across all 119 markets the figures are $19,484 and $14,053, or 72.1 percent. Salt Lake City is the lone Utah entry among the eight cities on the division page; the others sit in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico. What equipment the report’s defined conversion removes and installs is not in the captured pages, so do not read it as a furnace-swap or mini-split quote.
© 2025 Zonda Media, a Delaware Corporation. Complete data from the Remodeling 2025 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com.
What Utah pays the people who install it
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025 count 5,580 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers employed in Utah. Mean pay: $28.85 an hour, $60,000 a year. Median: $28.24, $58,730. Nationally the occupation’s mean is $31.14 ($64,780) and its median $29.33 ($61,010). Self-employed installers are not in these numbers, and pay per hour is not a price for your job.
The H100 HVAC contractor license
The HVAC contractor is one of the classifications DOPL issues under § 58-55-301(2)(l). Section R156-55a-301g of DOPL’s rule (whole rule last changed August 7, 2026) calls it the H100 and says the scope covers “fabrication and installation of complete warm air heating, air conditioning and ventilating systems,” refrigeration equipment, and “attaching a condensate drain to a preexisting draining receptacle.” The same rule excludes electrical and plumbing trade work and “gas line work unless the qualifier for the H100 licensee and technician engaging in such gas line work is a Certified Natural Gas Technician.” Anyone holding an active S350 HVAC Contractor license in good standing on January 1, 2026 is deemed an H100 holder for the licensing period ending November 30, 2027.
Other routes exist. General building (B100) and residential and small commercial (R100) contractors building homes of up to four units may “perform the mechanical work” (§ 58-55-102(26)(a), (42)); the B100 rule, R156-55a-301c(2)(b)(viii), adds that this does not waive the requirement “that all HVAC work relating to natural gas be performed by a Certified Natural Gas Technician.” And § 58-55-305(1)(j) exempts “owners and lessees of property and persons regularly employed for wages by owners or lessees of property or their agents for the purpose of maintaining the property” when doing work upon the property; the rest of § 58-55-305(1) and § 58-1-307 list further exemptions. A handyman is not a route: the under-$7,000 exemption in § 58-55-305(1)(h) says HVAC “installation, repair, or replacement” on such a project “must be performed by an HVAC contractor licensed by the division.” Verify a number on DOPL’s license lookup.
Gas furnaces and the altitude adjustment
Utah Code § 58-55-308(2) covers “the installation, repair, maintenance, cleaning, or replacement of a residential or commercial gas appliance or combustion system.” It applies to any licensee whose license authorizes that work and to any “person exempt from licensure under Section 58-55-305,” who must “first receive training and certification.” DOPL may waive the training for adequate experience, and may exempt from certification a person who passed an equivalent test or completed a gas-appliance apprenticeship approved by the Federal Bureau of Apprenticeship Training, or who works “under the immediate one-to-one supervision of a certified natural gas technician or a person exempt from certification.” Rule R156-55a-102(1) lists what that technician is qualified for: gas piping, combustion air vents, exhaust venting “or derating of gas input for altitude.”
Code editions in force since July 1, 2026
Chapter 47 of the 2026 General Session amended § 15A-2-103, effective July 1, 2026. The State Construction Code it adopts includes the 2021 International Residential Code, the 2024 International Mechanical Code, the 2024 International Fuel Gas Code and the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code, as modified by the statewide and local amendment chapters of Title 15A. Permits come from what § 15A-1-202(7) calls a “compliance agency”: a state or local body that issues permits or enforces the codes, a third-party inspection firm, or another state agency that elects to enforce them.
Federal credits: 2025 was the last year
Public Law 119-21 of July 4, 2025 (§§ 70505 and 70506) put end dates on both residential credits. Under 26 U.S.C. § 25C(i), the energy-efficient home improvement credit “shall not apply with respect to any property placed in service after December 31, 2025.” Under § 25D(h), the residential clean energy credit “shall not apply with respect to any expenditures made after December 31, 2025.” A heat pump put into service in 2026 earns no § 25C credit. We print no utility rebate amounts because we could not confirm a current official program page.
Utah HVAC questions
Does my furnace installer need a Utah license?
Yes, an H100 HVAC contractor license, unless a general or residential contractor is doing the mechanical work on a home of up to four units, or an exemption in § 58-55-305 or § 58-1-307 applies, such as an owner or lessee, or a person regularly employed by one to maintain the property, working on that property. Under § 58-55-308(2), the licensee or § 58-55-305-exempt worker doing gas-appliance work needs gas certification unless one of that section’s exemptions applies.
Can a handyman replace my AC because the job is under $7,000?
No. Section 58-55-305(1)(h)(ii)(F) keeps HVAC installation, repair and replacement with licensed HVAC contractors even on jobs below the $7,000 line.
Is there still a federal tax credit for a heat pump installed this year?
No. Section 25C stopped covering property placed in service after December 31, 2025, and § 25D stopped covering expenditures made after that date.
Which code edition applies to my new system?
The editions § 15A-2-103 lists as of July 1, 2026: the 2021 residential code and the 2024 mechanical, fuel gas and energy codes, as Utah amended them.
Related reading: full-system HVAC pricing, home renovation cost in Utah, and water heater pricing.