Three quotes.
Three different sizes.
Now what?
A furnace and air conditioner is an $8,000 to $25,000 decision made in a week, by someone who buys one twice in a lifetime. Enter what your contractors quoted and get an instant review — the numbers lined up, an efficiency check against the federal minimum for your state, and the questions worth asking before you sign. $49.
Review my quotes See what you getWhat the review looks like
| Quote | Total | Size | $/ton | SEER2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lone Star Air & Heat | $9,800 | 3 tons | $3,267 | 14.3 |
| Bluebonnet Comfort | $14,700 | 3 tons | $4,900 | 13.9 |
| Hill Country HVAC | $11,250 | 3 tons | $3,750 | 16.0 |
Quote 2's SEER2 is below the 14.3 federal minimum for a 3-ton split system in Texas.
Quote 2 names no equipment and states no warranty.
Straight out of the sample review — three quotes, one Texas house, no load calculation. Read the full sample report (PDF) · and the questions sheet
Type in what the quotes say
Contractor, total, capacity, efficiency rating, what's included. Up to five quotes. Leave blank anything a quote doesn't say — a missing capacity, efficiency, warranty or model number each produces its own finding.
We do the arithmetic and the lookups
Efficiency checked against the federal minimum for that equipment class, capacity and region. Prices compared where they can honestly be compared. Red flags fired by rules, not opinions.
Walk in with questions
A one-page sheet of exactly what to ask, built from what your own quotes were missing. Word and PDF, instantly.
What the review actually checks
Your quotes against each other
Totals, capacity, dollars per ton, efficiency, warranty and what's included, in one table. Plus the spread — how far apart your highest and lowest actually are, in dollars and per cent.
The federal efficiency minimum
Equipment installed new has to meet a federal minimum, and the floor depends on the product class — a packaged heat pump and a split heat pump are different — on capacity, and for air conditioners on region (10 CFR 430.32). We check the SEER2, AFUE and HSPF2 you enter against the floor for the class you pick on each row. We do not check EER2, which the southwestern states also require.
Whether anyone measured
The Department of Energy says rules of thumb are what produce oversized systems, and that contractors should use ACCA Manual J to size equipment. If nobody did one — or if your quotes disagree about capacity — that's the finding that matters most.
Why quotes are so hard to compare
They aren't describing the same job. One includes the permit and a new line set, another doesn't say. One quotes a 3-ton system, another a 4-ton, for the same house. One lists a model number, another says "high-efficiency system". Put side by side and normalized, most of the confusion resolves itself — and what's left turns into a question.
- Quotes for different capacities are not comparable on price — and we say so instead of showing a dollars-per-ton figure, because a bigger system always looks cheaper per ton and that is a bad reason to buy one.
- Capacity disagreement is worth understanding before you choose. Correct sizing allows a range, so differing figures do not prove anyone wrong — but you should be able to hear the reasoning behind each.
- Missing model numbers mean you can't verify the efficiency, the warranty, or that what gets installed is what you bought.
What this is not
This is an informational review of quotes you supply. It is not a load calculation, not an ACCA Manual J, not an engineering report, and not something a permit office will accept.
It does not tell you what size system to buy and it does not tell you which contractor to hire. We never see your house, your ductwork, your insulation or your panel — a contractor who did may have good reasons for choices this review flags. A flag is a question, not a verdict.
If you want a real sizing answer, ask your contractor for the Manual J. That is exactly what this report is designed to get you to do.
One review, up to five quotes. Report and questions sheet in Word and PDF. Correct your entries and rebuild up to ten times at no extra cost.
Review my quotesOn a decision this size, the cheapest hour you can spend is the one before you sign.