Specifications, installed-cost drivers and energy performance across eight commercial mechanical equipment types.
Capacity ranges are typical published commercial product ranges for familiarity, not limits; efficiency benchmarks cite standard minimums at stated rating conditions, which change as DOE and ASHRAE editions update.
No universal installed-price range is verified here. Obtain dated, local quotations for the same capacity, duty, redundancy and complete installed scope. Equipment-only prices are not installed costs; dollar-per-ton comparisons are not interchangeable across heating, cooling and heat-rejection equipment.
Ratings use different tests and system boundaries. Compare like-for-like certified equipment at stated conditions, then model annual loads, climate, ventilation, tariffs and all auxiliaries. No equipment type is universally the most efficient or lowest cost.
| Comparison | Chillers | Boilers | VRF | Water-source heat pumps | Split systems | Packaged units | Rooftop units | Cooling towers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building role | Central chilled-water or process cooling. Heat-recovery models can also supply useful heat. | Heating hot water or steam for building or process loads; not a cooling system. | Zoned refrigerant heating and cooling; suitable heat-recovery configurations can serve simultaneous heating/cooling loads. | Local zone heat pumps exchanging heat with a shared building water loop or a designed ground/water-source loop. | Distributed DX cooling or heat-pump heating/cooling. Cooling-only splits require a separate heat source when heating is needed. | Self-contained air conditioning with selected heating options, serving a defined area. Heating capability depends on the model. | Usually roof-mounted packaged DX equipment with gas, electric or heat-pump heating options. | Reject heat from condenser water or a shared-loop system. Not a standalone refrigeration machine or occupied-space cooling system. |
| Specification checklist | Cooling capacity (tons or kW); supply/return fluid temperatures; flow and pressure drop; condenser conditions; refrigerant; compressor type; electrical input and sound. | Fuel or electric input; useful output (Btu/h or kW); hot-water temperatures/flow or steam pressure/output; turndown; venting; water quality and pressure rating. | Outdoor and indoor capacities; connected-capacity ratio; refrigerant/charge; pipe-length and elevation limits; heating capacity at design outdoor temperature; indoor-unit configuration. | Cooling/heating capacity; entering-water and air conditions; required loop flow and pressure drop; fan/external static pressure; electrical input; acoustic requirements. | Matched indoor/outdoor capacity; refrigerant; piping limits; cooling and low-ambient heating capacity; airflow/static pressure; electrical input. | Cooling capacity; heating fuel/type and output; airflow/static pressure; outdoor-air/economizer capability; filtration; electrical service; footprint and sound. | Cooling/heating capacity; airflow/static pressure; economizer/outdoor air; roof-curb dimensions; weight/structural loads; clearances; electrical and fuel connections. | Heat-rejection duty; water flow; entering/leaving water temperatures; design wet-bulb; approach/range; fan power; sound; drift and water-quality requirements. |
| Typical capacity range | Air-cooled scroll/screw: roughly 10–500 tons. Water-cooled screw: roughly 100–1,000 tons. Water-cooled centrifugal: roughly 150 tons to over 3,000 tons per machine; plants combine machines. | Commercial packaged boilers: 300,000 Btu/h to several million Btu/h per boiler (federal commercial category starts at 300,000 Btu/h). Plants often stage several modular units. | Outdoor modules roughly 6–30 tons each; modules combine into systems of about 40+ tons. Indoor units from about 0.5 ton (wall/cassette) to ducted units of several tons. | Console and small horizontal units about 0.5–1.5 tons; typical zone units 1–5 tons; large vertical units up to about 25 tons. | Ductless mini-splits about 0.75–3 tons per indoor unit; commercial ducted splits about 1.5–25 tons, with larger custom split DX available. | Light-commercial packaged units about 3–25 tons; large packaged and indoor self-contained units about 20–150+ tons. | Light-commercial RTUs about 3–25 tons; large RTUs about 25–150 tons, with some custom lines above 200 tons. | Factory-assembled cells roughly 50–1,500 nominal tons each; field-erected towers serve plants of thousands of tons. |
| Distribution & supporting equipment | Chilled-water pumps, piping and air-handler/fan-coil or process heat exchangers. | Hot-water pumps/piping or steam supply and condensate return. Domestic hot water requires appropriate separate heat exchange. | Refrigerant piping, indoor units and, where applicable, branch/heat-recovery devices. Designed ventilation and humidity control remain separate needs. | Shared-loop piping/pumps plus zone air distribution. Building loops may need supplemental heat and heat rejection; ground-coupled systems differ. | Indoor coil/air handler plus outdoor unit, refrigerant lines and ductwork or ductless indoor delivery. | Major components in one assembly; ducts connect equipment to occupied areas. Location can be ground, indoor or roof depending on design. | Roof curb and supply/return duct connections; outdoor-air intake and controls within the selected configuration. | Heat-rejection loop, pumps, piping, makeup water and treatment. Closed-circuit fluid coolers keep process fluid inside a coil and differ from open towers. |
| Installed-cost scope | Chiller, rigging, electrical infrastructure, piping, pumps, insulation and controls. Water-cooled plants also need condenser-water infrastructure and heat rejection. | Boiler, plant space, fuel/electrical service, combustion air, venting, pumps and piping. Condensing units need compatible flue and condensate management. | Outdoor/indoor units, refrigerant distribution, branch devices, controls, electrical work and ventilation. Routing, access and refrigerant safety can materially affect scope. | Zone units, loop piping/pumps, controls and ventilation. Include boiler/tower/fluid cooler or ground-loop scope where required. | Matched indoor/outdoor equipment, line sets, electrical work, condensate and ducts where used. Include ventilation and any separate heating source. | Equipment, foundation/support, ducts, electrical/fuel services, condensate, ventilation controls and access. Existing-duct compatibility affects replacements. | Unit, crane/rigging, curb adaptation, structural/roofing work, ducts and utility connections. Access, roof condition and occupied-space constraints affect cost. | Tower, support/rigging, condenser-water piping/pumps, electrical controls, makeup/blowdown and treatment equipment. Include access and water-management provisions. |
| Operating-cost drivers | Compressor electricity, pumping, fans and maintenance. Water-cooled plants add tower water, treatment and blowdown costs. | Fuel/electricity, pumping, standby/distribution losses, maintenance and water treatment. Steam systems add condensate and trap-management considerations. | Compressor and indoor-fan electricity, ventilation energy, service and refrigerant-circuit maintenance. | Zone compressors/fans, loop pumps, supplemental heat and heat rejection; water treatment and maintenance where applicable. | Compressor/fan electricity, auxiliary heating where applicable, filters, coil cleaning and service. | Cooling/fan electricity, selected heating energy, ventilation loads, filters, coil cleaning and maintenance. | Cooling/fan electricity, selected heating energy, ventilation loads and weather-exposed equipment maintenance. | Fan/pump electricity, makeup water, sewer/blowdown charges, chemicals, cleaning and water-management labor. |
| Energy-efficiency metrics | Electric chillers: full-load kW/ton or COP; IPLV/NPLV for defined part-load rating conditions. Lower kW/ton is better at the same conditions; higher COP is better. | Fuel-fired commercial boilers: thermal efficiency or combustion efficiency, as applicable to the rating. These are different measures; identify the test basis and fuel. | Cooling EER/IEER and heating COP, as applicable to the certified product class and rating standard. Check system combination, capacity class and test conditions. | Cooling EER or the applicable seasonal cooling metric, and heating COP, under the relevant test procedure and entering-water/air conditions. Unit ratings are not whole-loop performance. | SEER2/EER2/HSPF2 for applicable small unitary classes; EER/IEER and heating COP for applicable commercial classes. Identify the matched combination and standard. | EER/IEER for applicable commercial cooling classes; applicable heating COP or fuel-heating efficiency. Small unitary classes may use seasonal metrics instead. | EER/IEER for applicable commercial cooling classes; heating COP for heat-pump versions or applicable fuel-heating efficiency. Rating depends on the product class. | Thermal heat-rejection performance at stated flow, wet-bulb and water temperatures; fan power and water use. Chiller kW/ton and cooling COP do not directly describe tower performance. |
| Efficiency benchmarks | ASHRAE 90.1-2019 Path A examples: air-cooled under 150 tons, minimum 10.1 EER full load / 13.7 IPLV; water-cooled centrifugal 300–400 tons, maximum 0.560 kW/ton full load / 0.520 IPLV. Magnetic-bearing and VFD centrifugal machines often rate well below the IPLV minimum at part load. | Rated as thermal or combustion efficiency. Non-condensing gas hot-water boilers typically rate in the low-to-mid 80s percent thermal efficiency; condensing boilers commonly 90%+ when return water is cool enough to condense (roughly below 130°F). Verify the current DOE minimum for the size and fuel. | Rated by AHRI 1230 in EER/IEER (cooling) and COP (heating). Certified commercial systems commonly list IEER in the high teens to upper 20s; check the AHRI directory for the exact matched combination. | ASHRAE 90.1-2019 water-to-air, water-loop: 17,000–135,000 Btu/h minimum 13.0 EER cooling at 86°F entering water and 4.3 COP heating at 68°F. Ground-loop units are rated at different water conditions. | Under 65,000 Btu/h single-phase: SEER2/HSPF2 under DOE residential rules. 65,000 Btu/h and above: commercial IEER under AHRI 340/360 (federal minimum around 14.8 IEER for 65,000–135,000 Btu/h air conditioners with electric or no heat). | Air-cooled units 65,000 Btu/h and above rated in IEER under AHRI 340/360 (federal minimum around 14.8 IEER for 65,000–135,000 Btu/h with electric or no heat). Water-cooled self-contained units rated in EER/IEER at condenser-water conditions. | Same commercial unitary metrics as packaged units: IEER for cooling and COP for heat-pump heating. High-efficiency variable-speed RTUs commonly rate several IEER points above the federal minimum. | ASHRAE 90.1 rates tower fan efficiency in gpm per fan horsepower at standard conditions: open-circuit axial-fan towers minimum 40.2 gpm/hp; centrifugal-fan towers 20.0 gpm/hp. CTI certification confirms thermal capacity. |
| Real-world performance | Compare at the same temperatures, flow and load. Chiller-only ratings exclude much of the plant; evaluate pumps and heat rejection. Absorption needs separate thermal-input analysis. | Condensing performance depends on sufficiently low return-water temperatures and operating conditions. Rated efficiency does not include all distribution and standby losses. | Part-load operation and heat recovery can help under suitable loads. Piping, ambient temperature, defrost and simultaneous load balance affect actual performance. | Shared-loop heat transfer can offset simultaneous heating/cooling loads. Loop temperature, pump energy and supplemental plant operation determine system results. | Do not compare SEER2 directly with IEER. Duct losses, airflow, climate, defrost and auxiliary heat affect operating costs. | Fan power, economizer operation, outdoor-air loads, controls and duct losses matter beyond the rated cooling value. | Economizers can reduce mechanical cooling when conditions permit. Climate, humidity, sensors, fan control and commissioning govern benefit. | Lower condenser-water temperatures may help a chiller, within its limits; optimize the combined plant rather than tower fan power alone. |
| Selection caveat | Water-cooled and air-cooled arrangements have different water, space, sound and service requirements. | Fuel type, heating-water versus steam duty, venting, redundancy and existing emitters govern selection. | Heat-pump and heat-recovery VRF are not identical. Check refrigerant safety, low-ambient performance, service expertise and outdoor-air strategy. | A water-source heat pump loop is not automatically a chilled-water system. Boiler/tower loops and ground-coupled loops are different designs. | Split describes separated components, not a universal capacity or efficiency level. Ductless splits are not necessarily VRF. | Packaged is an assembly description. It includes many RTUs; do not count packaged equipment and RTUs as universally separate alternatives. | An RTU is commonly a packaged unit. Roof installation does not establish an efficiency ranking or guarantee suitable ventilation. | Compare heat-rejection duty, not chiller evaporator tons. Evaporative towers and dry coolers have different water and temperature limitations. |
Rooftop units commonly belong to the packaged-unit category. Boilers provide heat; cooling towers reject heat; neither is a standalone replacement for a cooling system.
Request capacity at design conditions, certified ratings, installed scope, annual energy modeling, maintenance and replacement allowances before comparing proposals.
Educational comparison, not a project estimate or equipment selection. Sources checked October 22, 2026; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.
DOE: commercial HVAC equipment and systems — Chillers, splits, packaged equipment and rooftop applications
Trane: VRF system types — Heat-pump versus heat-recovery VRF
Trane: water-source heat-pump system — Shared-loop heat transfer and supplemental heating / heat rejection
EPA WaterSense: cooling towers — Evaporative heat rejection and tower water management
DOE: purchasing energy-efficient electric chillers — Relevant full- and part-load performance comparisons
DOE FEMP: energy-efficient boilers — Fuel, capacity and thermal-efficiency distinctions; federal acquisition guidance, not a universal private-project mandate
AHRI 340/360: commercial unitary ratings — Rating scope for covered commercial packaged and split equipment; verify the currently applicable test procedure
AHRI: VRF certification program — VRF cooling EER/IEER and heating COP; a listed standard does not establish certification for every model
DOE: water-source heat-pump test procedure — Category-specific rating conditions and seasonal cooling metric
DOE FEMP: heating and cooling efficiency categories — Seasonal versus commercial rating metrics and capacity bands; federal purchasing requirements are not universal code requirements
CTI: thermal certification — Conformity with published thermal ratings, not a standalone electrical-efficiency ranking
Equipment knowledge supports service, project delivery and controls careers. Gulfstream recruits for commercial mechanical contractors; directory references do not identify clients or project assignments.
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