Heat pump quote checklist

A heat pump quote that is just a model number and a price is a catalog page. You cannot compare it to the next bidder. Use this list at the kitchen table. We have not run a load calculation on your house.

1. The load, in writing

Ask for a Manual J (or a named equivalent) for heating and cooling. Square-footage rules of thumb are how people buy a 5-ton machine for a 3-ton house.

If the house is leaky, the right next step is often air sealing and insulation, not a bigger condenser. The weatherization guide is live — treat envelope work as in-scope or explicitly out.

2. Ducts, or a ductless plan

Ducted: leakage, sizing (Manual D or equivalent), and whether returns are actually in the rooms that get cold. Ductless: head count, which rooms, line-set routes, and condensate.

A “changeout” that reuses bad ducts will feel like the old system with a new logo.

3. Capacity at your design temperature

SEER2 and HSPF2 are nameplate weather. You want capacity at the outdoor temperature your climate actually hits. Cold-climate equipment exists; a quote that only lists cooling efficiency is incomplete.

4. Electrical scope, in or out

Breaker space, wire size, disconnect, and whether a panel upgrade is included, excluded, or “TBD after we open the panel.” TBD is a change order waiting to happen. Put a number or a hard exclusion on it.

5. What the number includes

Permits, pad, line-hide, thermostat, old-equipment haul-away, startup, and refrigerant. If labor warranty is separate from parts, say so. Factory labor coverage often requires a factory-trained installer — get that in the bid, not a handshake.

6. Rebate paperwork

Who files the utility rebate. What “placed in service” date they will document. Do not bake a dead federal credit into 2026 math; the IRS 25C window for qualifying property ended for installs placed in service after December 31, 2025.

IRS: Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit

7. Two more bids

If one number is 40% cheaper, find the missing line. If one is 40% higher, find the extra line. Same load, same duct plan, same electrical exclusions.

How to use this

Print it. Check boxes on each bid. The first article in this desk — heat pump vs furnace — is the whether. This is the is this bid real.

A worked comparison (fictional bids, real failure modes)

Bid A — $11,900. “3-ton 18 SEER2 heat pump, changeout, existing ducts.” No Manual J. No winter capacity. Electrical “as needed.” Rebate “we’ll help.” This bid is not cheap. It is unfinished. The change order will be the panel, the duct repair, and the extra head for the addition nobody measured.

Bid B — $17,400. Manual J attached (heating 34 kBTU at 10°F, cooling 28 kBTU). Duct leakage test quoted as an add. Capacity table at 10°F. Panel upgrade excluded at $0 with a sentence that the existing 200A has two spaces and the load calc fits. Labor warranty 2 years if they install; parts 10. This is the bid you can argue with.

Bid C — $24,800. Four ductless heads, no ducts. Looks like Bid B lost until you notice Bid B assumed ducts that dump 30% into the attic. If the ducts are that bad, C might be the honest number — or weatherize and stay with two heads.

The point is not the dollar. It is that A cannot be compared to B.

Red flags that are not subtle

• “We always put in 3-ton for this square footage.”
• SEER2 without a heating capacity at design temperature.
• Mitsubishi vs Carrier as a personality test instead of a spec sheet.
• A line that says “utility rebate included” without a program name.
• A same-day price if you sign before they see the attic.

After you pick a bidder

Ask for the equipment list with AHRI numbers. Ask who pulls the permit. Ask what happens if the load calc was wrong after install (who pays to add a head). Get the lockout temperature in writing if there is backup heat.

Then stop shopping for a week. A heat pump is a 15-year decision. The checklist exists so the pause is informed, not anxious.