The short answer
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Window AC unit, small, under 8,000 BTU | $87 |
| Window AC unit, large, 8,000 BTU and up | $109 |
| Portable AC unit | $85 |
| AC condenser or heat pump, outdoor unit | $115 |
| Dehumidifier | $77 |
| Space heater | $33 |
| Ceiling fan | $41 |
| Furnace | $131 |
The minimum for a visit is $75, so a single small window unit at $87 clears it on its own and a $33 space heater on its own does not. Refrigerant-bearing units are handled properly. There is no refrigerant fee, no environmental fee and no disposal surcharge.
Chicago runs on window units
A large share of this city's housing was built before central air was a thing anyone expected. Three-flats, courtyard buildings in Rogers Park and Edgewater, graystones in Logan Square, bungalows in Portage Park and Jefferson Park: many of them cool with window units, and they always have.
That produces a very specific Chicago object, the dead window unit in the basement. The ritual is the same everywhere. In May it goes into the window, in October it comes out and goes down to the basement or the back of a closet. Somewhere around year eight it stops cooling properly, a new one gets bought, and the old one does not leave. It just joins the others.
By the time anyone calls, there are usually two or three of them. Two large units is $109 + $109 = $218 in a single stop.
Getting a window unit out of a Chicago building
The removal itself is short. Getting it down is the part worth planning.
A large window unit is genuinely heavy and it is sitting in a window above a gangway that is three or four feet wide, with a neighbor's walkway, a downspout and a meter directly below it. That is not a place to improvise. Two people, from inside, both hands, and nothing goes out the window.
From there it goes down whatever the building gives you, which in most of this city is a back staircase off a rear wooden porch with a turn at each landing. That is fine and it is not an extra charge. If the unit is already out of the window and sitting in the basement with the others, even better, and it is still $87 or $109.
One safety note specific to vintage buildings: a lot of older window installs are held by a bracket screwed into a wooden frame that has been weathering since the Carter administration. Do not lean on it.
Portable units and the hose
Portable ACs have multiplied in Chicago apartments over the last decade, mostly in buildings where the windows are the wrong shape for a standard unit, or where a lease or an association prohibits units hanging outside the building line.
A portable unit is $85. Send the hose, the window kit panel and the manual with it, because the panel is useless to anyone else and it will otherwise live in a closet for another five years.
The other thing worth checking before you decide it is dead: a portable that stopped cooling is often a portable with a full condensate tank or a kinked exhaust hose. Worth five minutes before you spend $85.
Outdoor condensers, gangways and flat roofs
An outdoor condenser or heat pump is $115. In Chicago these show up in three places and each is a different afternoon.
- In the gangway. The most common. Tight, often fenced at both ends, sometimes with a gate that has not opened since the pad was poured. Unlock it ahead of time.
- In the back yard by the garage. The easiest, because the alley is right there.
- On a flat roof. Common on three-flats and on rehabbed two-flats where the condenser was put up top to save the yard. That one needs to be said when you book, because roof access is the whole job.
Condensers must be disconnected electrically and the refrigerant circuit properly evacuated by an HVAC tech before removal. That is a licensed task, it happens before the day, and it is the one thing you cannot skip.
Dehumidifiers, which is really a basement story
A dehumidifier is $77, and in this city they are not an optional appliance. Chicago basements are damp for structural reasons that no amount of running a machine fixes, and a dehumidifier in a two-flat basement works essentially continuously from May to September.
They die accordingly. A unit that has run four summers is usually a unit with a failing compressor, and it goes to the corner next to the last one. If you are already having a basement cleared, put them on the list. A dehumidifier at $77 and a small junk pile at $82 comes to $77 + $82 = $159.
When to book it
The honest advice is October. The units come out of the windows anyway, the weather is still workable, and you are not carrying anything down an iced back staircase. That is also the moment you can see clearly which of them actually earned another summer.
Spring works too, and late April is when a lot of people discover that the unit they stored in the basement in October does not turn on. If that is you, the replacement is going in the window regardless, so send the dead one out the same week rather than adding it to the pile.
Mid-winter is possible but pointless unless something else is going at the same time.
Worked totals
Edgewater courtyard building, end of season. Two large window units and a dehumidifier: $109 + $109 + $77 = $295.
Logan Square two-flat going to central air. Three small window units and the old outdoor condenser the HVAC contractor left behind: $87 + $87 + $87 + $115 = $376.
Lakeview apartment, one portable and a space heater. $85 + $33 = $118.
If you are clearing a basement that has collected a decade of this, the truck-fill steps are usually the better answer: $241 for a quarter truck, $431 for a half.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to dispose of a window air conditioner in Chicago?
$87 for a unit under 8,000 BTU and $109 for 8,000 BTU and up. That includes the carry-out and correct handling of the refrigerant. There is no separate refrigerant or environmental fee.
Do you take the unit out of the window?
Yes, from inside, with two people. Nothing goes out the window over a gangway. If the unit is already down in the basement with the others, the price is the same.
What about the outdoor condenser?
$115. It has to be disconnected electrically and the refrigerant circuit evacuated by an HVAC tech beforehand, which is a licensed task. If the condenser is on a flat roof, say so when you book.
Is one small unit enough to book a visit?
A small window unit at $87 clears the $75 minimum on its own. A $33 space heater does not, so pair it with something else. Most Chicago basements have two or three dead units waiting anyway.
Do I pay more because it has to come down a back staircase?
No. There is no stair charge and no walk-up fee. Back porches and basement stairs are the standard route in this city.
When is the best time to do this?
October, when the units come out of the windows anyway and the back stairs are not iced. Late April is the other natural moment, when the stored unit turns out not to work.