© Red Barn Media Group 2026
For the light-commercial rooftop units most Lancaster County businesses run, replacement typically lands between roughly $7,000 for a small 3-5 ton unit and $30,000 or more for a 15-ton system, according to industry-published national cost research - with crane time, curb adapters, and ductwork modifications added on top. Boro Mechanical installs, repairs, and maintains rooftop and packaged units for businesses across the county. Here's how the numbers break down and when replacement beats another repair.
| RTU size | Typical replacement cost range |
|---|---|
| 3-5 ton | $7,000 - $12,000 |
| 6-10 ton | $12,000 - $20,000 |
| 12.5-15 ton | $20,000 - $30,000+ |
| Add: crane / rigging | $500 - $2,500 |
| Add: curb adapter | $400 - $1,200 |
| Add: ductwork modifications | Varies by site |
Ranges reflect industry-published national cost research, not Boro Mechanical quotes. Your actual price depends on the unit, the roof, and the site - call 717-517-6120 for a site-specific estimate.
Budgeting a replacement? We'll inspect the unit, the curb, and the ductwork, then give you a firm site-specific quote - and tell you honestly if another repair season makes more sense.
Call 717-517-6120The repair-vs-replace call on an RTU comes down to age, failure type, and downtime cost. Repair usually wins for units under 10-12 years old with an isolated fault - a contactor, a fan motor, a capacitor. Replacement starts winning when a unit is past 15 years, needs service every season, or suffers a major failure like a compressor or heat exchanger, where the repair bill buys a large share of a new, more efficient machine.
For a business, the hidden line item is downtime: a restaurant dining room or retail floor without cooling loses more than the repair costs. That's why we pair replacements and repairs with preventive maintenance agreements - contract customers get guaranteed response times and their units get caught before they fail. See our commercial HVAC services and maintenance plans.
Boro Mechanical's commercial work focuses on light-commercial buildings - storefronts, restaurants, offices, shops, and small industrial spaces in Lancaster and across the county. We install and service rooftop units, packaged units, and split systems, and we schedule commercial work around your business hours where possible. One local company, from the first assessment to the crane pick to the seasonal maintenance visits after.
One inspection, one itemized number, and a maintenance plan that keeps the new unit off the emergency list. Light-commercial HVAC from a local, family-owned company.
© Red Barn Media Group 2026