Split System, VRF or PTAC? How Your New Condo Heats and Cools

Condo Book Research · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · 5 min read

Through-the-wall units and clanking radiators are nearly gone from new NYC condos. We read the heating and cooling specs in more than 1,600 offering plans to explain what's replacing them and what to ask before you buy.

Heating and cooling isn't the first thing you notice on a tour, but you'll live with it every day, and it affects your monthly costs. Every NYC condo offering plan includes an engineer's description of the building's mechanical systems. We read the heating and cooling specs in more than 1,600 of them.

The verdict: the electric heat pump has taken over.

The Short Version

• About 93% of plans filed since 2024 use some kind of heat pump for heating and cooling, up from about 40% before 2016.
• Split systems dominate small buildings; VRF dominates mid-size and large ones.
• PTACs (the hotel-style through-the-wall units) and radiators have almost vanished from new construction.
• Nearly half of recent plans that describe fresh air use an ERV, up from 7% before 2016.

Then vs. Now

What Each System Means for You

Split system

An outdoor condenser (on the roof, a balcony or the backyard) feeds one or more indoor units, either slim wall-mounted "heads" or air handlers hidden in the ceiling. It's the go-to in small buildings: about two-thirds of plans with under 10 apartments filed since 2022 use one. Each apartment typically has its own equipment, so you pay for the electricity and the upkeep.

VRF (variable refrigerant flow)

A more sophisticated heat pump system: outdoor condensers pipe refrigerant to indoor units in each room, with zones you control room by room. Depending on the building, each apartment gets its own condenser or several apartments share one (more on why that matters below). It's quiet and efficient, and it's the standard in larger buildings. About 64% of plans with 30 to 99 apartments filed since 2022 use VRF, like VITA in Hell's Kitchen, Centric in Woodside and The Greene in Long Island City.

Water-source heat pump

Each apartment has a heat pump connected to a building water loop with a central cooling tower. Common in big towers, like Claremont Hall and Monogram. The shared loop is usually a building cost, so some of your heating and cooling shows up in common charges.

PTAC and radiators

Once common, now rare. If you're looking at a resale unit or a conversion of an older building, you'll still see them. Radiator heat from a central boiler is usually paid through common charges, and you may not be able to control the temperature room by room.

Your Own Compressor, or a Shared One?

Every heat pump has an outdoor compressor, housed in the condensing unit on the roof, a terrace or a setback. It does most of the work, and it uses most of the electricity. Offering plans describe two setups:

• Individual compressors: each apartment has its own condensing unit. That's how almost every split system works, and many VRF buildings too. 109 East 79 on the Upper East Side gives each apartment "its own" VRF condensing unit, and 717 Grand in Williamsburg puts roof condensers in for each apartment.
• Shared compressors: one larger condensing unit serves several apartments, or a whole floor. At The Treadwell on the Upper East Side, apartments are served by common VRF condensing units.

You can see the difference in the budgets. Among plans filed since 2019, VRF buildings budget about three times as much common-area electricity per apartment as similar-size split-system buildings: about $120 to $130 a month versus $40 to $50. VRF buildings also tend to have more amenities, so not all of that gap is heating and cooling, but shared equipment on the house meter is part of it.

Tip: search the offering plan for "condensing unit" and read how many apartments each one serves. Then check the Schedule B electricity footnote to see whether the HVAC equipment is on the building's meter. A building with higher common charges and lower personal electric bills may cost about the same in the end. More in who pays which utilities.

Fresh Air: The ERV Boom

Modern buildings are sealed tight to save energy, so they need a way to bring in fresh air. An ERV (energy recovery ventilator) continuously swaps stale indoor air for fresh outdoor air, transferring heat and humidity so you're not paying to heat or cool the incoming air from scratch.

Among plans that describe how apartments get fresh air:

• Before 2016, 7% used an ERV. Most relied on central make-up air or simply on opening windows.
• Since 2024, 47% do. Radiant in Long Island City supplies all habitable rooms through an ERV; The Village West and One Park Row use dedicated ERV units too.

Good to know: ERVs have filters that need changing. Ask whether that's your job or the building's.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy

• Where is the condenser, and is it yours? If it's on your terrace, it takes up space and makes some noise. If it's shared, find out whose meter it runs on.
• Who maintains the equipment? In-unit systems are usually the owner's responsibility. Check the offering plan's maintenance section.
• Who pays for heat? With heat pumps, you usually pay through your own electric bill. With central systems, it's often in common charges. See who pays which utilities in NYC condos.
• Is there backup heat? Some heat pump buildings add electric baseboard or resistance heat for the coldest days.

Search "condos with VRF" or "condos with an ERV" on The Condo Book Project.

Common Questions

What heating system do new NYC condos use?

Mostly electric heat pumps. About 93% of plans filed since 2024 use split-system, VRF or other heat pumps, which heat and cool from the same equipment.

What's the difference between a split system and VRF?

A split system usually serves one apartment with its own outdoor unit. VRF links many indoor units to outdoor condensers, with room-by-room control; the condensers may belong to each apartment or be shared. VRF is more common in bigger buildings.

Do condo apartments have their own AC compressor?

Usually, yes, especially with split systems. In some VRF and central systems, one compressor serves several apartments, and its electricity is often paid through common charges instead of your own bill.

Do new condos still have PTAC units?

Rarely. PTACs appeared in about 17% of plans filed before 2016 and about 1% of plans filed since 2024.

What is an ERV in an apartment?

An energy recovery ventilator: a system that continuously brings in filtered fresh air and exhausts stale air, recovering heat and humidity along the way. Nearly half of recent NYC condo plans that describe ventilation use one.

Where this comes from: the heating and cooling systems described in about 1,660 NYC condo offering plans, and the fresh-air systems described in about 490, grouped by the year the plan was first filed, plus the common-area electricity lines in projected first-year budgets (Schedule B) filed since 2019. Percentages are of plans that describe the system. Updated October 2026.