Check your HVAC replacement quote
A complete HVAC replacement quote states the system size in tons and how that size was calculated, names both the outdoor and indoor units by model, includes the permit and the electrical and line-set work, splits the labour warranty from the manufacturer's, and ties payment to milestones — and this page checks yours against that list, one box at a time.
Ask before you sign
Nothing here matches a documented pattern, but the quote leaves questions open. Get the answers in writing before signing — a legitimate company will have no problem with any of them.
Price check
Enter the quote total to check the price against the published range.
Range: HomeGuide. Published national figures, the same ones our HVAC calculator runs on. Not our measurement, and not a quote.
Ask these 9 questions before signing
- “How many tons is this system, and did you run a Manual J load calculation or copy the size of the old one?”Replacing like-for-like repeats whatever mistake was made the first time, and the square-footage rule of thumb spans 16 to 30 BTU per square foot — nearly a factor of two. A company that ran the calculation can tell you in ten seconds; a company that guessed will change the subject.
- “What is the model number of the outdoor unit, the model number of the indoor coil or air handler, and the AHRI reference number for the pair?”The advertised efficiency rating only applies to a tested, matched combination — mixing a new condenser onto an old coil does not deliver it. The pairing is assigned its own AHRI reference number, so a quote naming only the outdoor unit is quoting a rating it has not committed to.
- “Are the technicians doing this install EPA Section 608 certified?”EPA requires that technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants be certified. It is the one credential that applies in every state, which matters because roughly a third of states do not license HVAC contractors at all.
- “Is the permit included in this price, and is your company pulling it?”The permit is what puts an inspector on the job at the end. A contractor who avoids the permit is avoiding the inspection, and the final payment should wait for it.
- “Are you replacing or flushing the line set, replacing the disconnect and whip, and setting a new pad — and are those in this price?”Modern refrigerants are not compatible with the residue left by older ones, so a reused line set has to be flushed or replaced and the quote should say which. These are the items that most often reappear as a change order on install day.
- “Did you inspect the ductwork, and does this price include any duct sealing or replacement?”Published guidance puts typical duct leakage in the 20 to 30 percent range. A quote that never mentions the ducts is quoting equipment, not comfort — and duct work priced after the sale is the most common way a number grows.
- “What is your labour warranty, what is the manufacturer's parts warranty, and does registration need to happen within a deadline?”Manufacturer parts warranties routinely require registration within a window after installation, and the long warranty quietly shortens if nobody registers it. The labour warranty is the installer's own, and it is the one that pays when the install is the problem.
- “Is this licence number yours, in this company's name, and active today?”Where a state licenses HVAC the database check is free and takes about five minutes: match the number on the contract to the database, match the name on the licence to the name on the truck, and confirm it is active. Insurance and bonding usually hang on that licence too.
- “What is the payment schedule, and does the final payment wait until the job passes inspection?”Keeping meaningful money on the table until the work is genuinely done is the best leverage a homeowner has. A schedule written as dollar amounts against milestones is what makes that enforceable.
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Sources last read on August 22, 2026. The verdict is about the quote in your hand, never about a person or a company.
What this checker actually checks
Three things, and it shows its work on all of them. First, completeness: whether the quote carries the elements a complete HVAC quote typically includes — the tonnage and how it was calculated, both units by model number, EPA Section 608 certification, the permit, the line set and electrical work, a position on the ductwork, the warranty split, the licence number, and a payment schedule. Anything missing becomes a question to ask, with the reason it matters.
Second, price: the quote total held against the published national installed ranges — the same HomeGuide figures our HVAC replacement calculator runs on, by tonnage and by home size, plus the published per-part ranges for a component repair. We have not measured HVAC prices, and this page never pretends to: the range is somebody else's published measurement, named and linked on every number.
Third, the deal terms: the patterns the Federal Trade Commission lists for home improvement work generally — full payment demanded up front, no written contract, no verifiable local address, cash only, and pressure to sign today. Every one of those flags cites its source in the result, because a claim like that should never be ours alone.
Why the tonnage question is the one that separates the quotes
Almost every HVAC quote a homeowner collects will name a size. Very few will say where the size came from. The two honest answers are a load calculation on the actual house — insulation, windows, orientation, ceiling height, climate — or a frank admission that the size was carried over from the old equipment. The second answer is not automatically wrong, but it repeats whatever sizing decision was made decades ago, and oversized equipment short-cycles, dehumidifies badly and wears out early.
The square-footage rule of thumb people quote is real and published, and it is also nearly useless on its own: HomeGuide puts it at 16 to 30 BTU per square foot, which for a 2,000 square foot house spans a two-ton difference. That is the whole argument for asking the question. A company that ran the calculation will hand you the output; a company that did not will tell you the rule of thumb.
The certification check that works in every state
Roughly a third of states do not license HVAC contractors at all, and the advice to “check their licence” quietly fails in those states. There is a check that does not: U.S. EPA Section 608 requires that technicians who maintain, service, repair or dispose of equipment that could release refrigerants into the atmosphere be certified. It is federal, it applies everywhere, and asking for it costs you one sentence.
Where a state licence does exist, this page links you straight to that state's own database — but only where we fetched the lookup and confirmed it is the real one. Several plausible state URLs blocked our check without ever confirming what they were, and rather than guess we left those states with honest text and no link. A tool that invents a lookup is worse than no tool.
What a green result does and does not mean
Green means the quote in your hand carries the elements a complete quote typically includes, and the price sits inside a published national range. It does not mean the install will be good, the crew will show up on time, or the price could not be better. It means the document is complete enough to compare, and comparison is the whole game: get three quotes that all pass this page, and you are choosing between real offers instead of guessing between pieces of paper.
Questions people ask next
- How do I know if my HVAC quote is too high?
- Hold the total against the published national installed range for that equipment. HomeGuide publishes a by-tonnage table for a whole new air conditioner installed, and a separate by-home-size table for readers who do not know their tonnage. A number far below the range usually means missing scope — the permit, the line set, the disposal. A number above it should be explained on the quote by efficiency tier, ductwork, zoning or access, not explained by you.
- What should an HVAC replacement quote include?
- The system size in tons and how it was determined, the model numbers of BOTH the outdoor unit and the indoor coil or air handler with their AHRI reference, the permit and who pulls it, what happens to the line set and electrical disconnect, a position on the ductwork, the labour warranty and the manufacturer's parts warranty separately, the licence number where the state has one, and a payment schedule tied to milestones.
- Do I need to check an HVAC contractor's licence?
- Where the state issues one, yes, and it takes about five minutes: match the number on the contract to the state database, match the name on the licence to the name on the truck, and confirm it is active. Roughly a third of states do not license HVAC at all — Illinois leaves it to cities, Colorado and Missouri have no state contractor licence of any kind. In those states, ask instead for EPA Section 608 certification, which is federal and applies everywhere.
- Why do two HVAC quotes for the same house differ by thousands?
- Usually because they are not quoting the same job. Different tonnage, different efficiency tier, a heat pump versus straight cooling, ductwork included or excluded, a new line set versus a flushed one, permit in or out, and different warranty terms all move the number legitimately. That is why the checklist matters more than the total: once both quotes state the same scope, the totals become comparable.
- Is it normal for an HVAC company to want full payment up front?
- No. A deposit sized to the equipment order is ordinary, because the equipment is ordered for your specific job. Full payment before the work starts removes the only leverage you have if the install goes wrong, and demanding it is on the federal list of home-improvement-scam warning signs.
- Does this tool tell me if my HVAC company is ripping me off?
- No, and it never will. It checks the quote — the document and the deal terms — against published figures and published consumer-protection guidance. A yellow or red result means ask more questions and verify, not that anybody is dishonest.
Built for homeowners by Most Recommended HVAC, which measures which HVAC companies AI assistants actually recommend across U.S. metros. The checklist logic here is ours; the prices, the deal-terms guidance and the licence databases belong to the sources named above, in the copy, where you can check them. How we measure.