HVAC Estimate Template

What goes on an HVAC estimate

An HVAC estimate has to let a homeowner compare you against two other contractors, and it has to put every part of the job in writing before the old equipment comes out. The job-specs strip under the header handles the comparison: system type, capacity in tons and BTU, efficiency ratings (SEER2 for cooling, AFUE for a gas furnace, HSPF2 for a heat pump), home size and zones, and the thermostat. The line items are grouped by phase:

• Equipment: the outdoor unit, the furnace or air handler, and the matched coil.
• Installation and ductwork: removal and refrigerant recovery, plenum and return sheet metal, line set, added refrigerant, venting, condensate drain and any duct changes.
• Controls, startup and permits: the thermostat and wire, startup and commissioning, and the mechanical permit and inspection.

Upgrades the customer might choose, such as a heat pump in place of the AC, go in the optional-items table, priced but outside the total.

Sizing and takeoff: load calculation first

Equipment size comes from a room-by-room load calculation, which for homes means ACCA Manual J, with the equipment selected against those loads under Manual S. It does not come from square feet per ton or from the size of the unit you are replacing. Some building departments ask for the load calculation with the permit application. Put a copy with the estimate, because it explains why your tonnage differs from the other bids.

The HVAC Takeoff sheet records the loads and the selected capacity, then takes off the rest. Duct runs are entered by size, count and average length, which gives the footage, elbows, takeoffs, boots and grilles. The line set drives the added refrigerant: most outdoor units ship charged for a set line length, and the installation instructions give ounces per foot beyond it. With 15 feet in the factory charge and 0.6 oz per foot, figures the sheet leaves editable because they vary by unit:

Past the manufacturer’s long-line limit, its long-line guideline applies instead. The sheet also totals condensate drain pipe and thermostat wire.

Pricing an HVAC replacement line by line

Price the equipment as matched systems, because the efficiency rating belongs to the combination of outdoor unit, coil and furnace, not to the condenser alone. Carry the added refrigerant on its own line at a per-pound price, and state in the terms that anything beyond it is weighed and billed at the same rate. Build every unit price from cost on the Unit Price Builder: material, plus labor hours at your fully loaded rate, plus consumables, then overhead, then profit as a margin on price rather than a markup. Overhead on residential replacement work is higher than most contractors assume once sales time, trucks and callbacks are counted.

The completed example replaces a 100,000 BTU furnace, AC and coil in a Columbus-area ranch with a 3-ton, 15.2 SEER2 air conditioner and a 60,000 BTU, 96% AFUE furnace, downsized after a Manual J load calculation. Equipment comes to $8,855. Installation and ductwork come to $4,336, including a 35-foot line set, 0.75 lb of added refrigerant at $78 per pound, PVC venting, two new supply runs and a bedroom return. Controls, startup and the permit add $825. The total is $14,016.00, with no tax line because the contractor pays tax on equipment and materials and includes it in the prices. The 40% deposit is $5,606.40, and $8,409.60 is due on completion.

Static pressure, venting and change orders

The surprises on a change-out are rarely the equipment. Measure total external static pressure on the existing system before you quote. If the return is undersized, the fix goes on the estimate, as the example’s added return does. When a condensing furnace replaces an 80% furnace that shared a chimney with the water heater, the water heater is left venting alone into a flue sized for two appliances. Whether it needs a liner is a question for the venting tables and your local code, so the example prices a liner as an option rather than leaving it out. Anything found after the old equipment comes out, such as a failed circuit or damaged duct, gets a written change order signed before the work. Bill the balance on an invoice that references the estimate number.

HVAC estimate, quote or proposal?

For a residential replacement, this estimate is the whole sale: a price, the terms and a signature. Many contractors call the same document an HVAC proposal, and a signed copy serves as one. On commercial mechanical work bid to a GC against drawings and specs, build your cost on the construction estimate worksheet and send a bid proposal with inclusions, exclusions and alternates, or a fixed-price quote for smaller scopes. Our page for HVAC contractors covers how that contract work runs in BuildWorkPro, from the bid through pay applications.

Common mistakes on HVAC estimates

• Sizing by square feet per ton, or matching the old unit, instead of a load calculation.
• Quoting new equipment on the old duct without measuring static pressure.
• Listing only the condenser’s SEER2. The rating belongs to the matched system.
• Leaving refrigerant, venting and the condensate drain out of the price, then adding them on installation day.
• No valid-until date. Equipment prices move, and an open-ended estimate can be held to old ones.