Answer four yes-or-no questions for each bid. The cheapest bid that skips the work is usually the expensive one.
4 checksManual J, models, ducts, commissioningA quote that is one number for “new system” hides the line that differs most between bidders. A complete bid still needs a license check.
The short answer
Compare HVAC quotes on scope before price. A complete bid includes a written Manual J load calculation, the model numbers of every unit, ductwork as its own line, and commissioning readings in writing.
Score each bid 0 to 4 below. Once two bids score the same, the price gap means something. A cheap bid missing these usually costs more later.
Completeness is not an endorsement. Check the license. HyreHVAC does not rank contractors.
Why is the cheapest HVAC bid usually incomplete?
What goes wrong at installation, and how often: Each bar sits at the midpoint of DOE’s reported range, with the range printed on it.HyreHVAC presentation of figures from DOE, Residential HVAC Installation Practices. The full study →
Because it leaves work out. Three bids on the same house often differ by thousands of dollars, and the gap is usually scope, not profit. The cheap bid skips something the others include, and an omission has no line on the page.
The evidence for why that matters is unusually strong. DOE’s review of 44 residential field studies found that 70-90% of installed systems carry at least one fault that hurts performance, rising to 90-100% once duct leakage is counted. One study measured installed air conditioners delivering 59-84% of rated SEER.
HyreHVAC analysis: those faults were mostly put in at installation, by licensed contractors, on equipment that was right on paper. The box on the proposal does not decide whether you get the efficiency you paid for. The work around it does, and that work is what gets cut to win on price.
What does each of the four checks protect against?
Check
What a complete bid shows
The fault it prevents
How often that fault occurs
Load calculation
A room-by-room ACCA Manual J, produced as a document
Permit, electrical, condensate, line set, disposal, warranty registration
The change orders that appear after the cheap bid is accepted
Not measured, but every omission is a later invoice
What each completeness check exists to catch, with the prevalence of the fault it addresses.
A bid with no Manual J scores zero on the first check. That is not pedantry: between a third and a half of installed systems are oversized, and sizing is decided once and cannot be corrected afterwards.
Which lines go missing from cheap HVAC bids?
Line
Typical status in a cheap bid
What happens if it is missing
Permit and inspection
Omitted
No independent check of the work, and a problem at resale. The clearest single signal of a bid cutting corners
Ductwork sealing or modification
Omitted
The most common fault in the literature goes uncorrected, and the new equipment underperforms from day one
Electrical upgrade
Omitted
Discovered on install day, priced as a change order with no competing quote
Line set replacement
Often omitted
Reusing a line set matters more with the refrigerant change; residue from the old refrigerant can contaminate the new charge
The most common cause of water damage from an air conditioner
Old equipment disposal
Sometimes omitted
A modest cost that appears afterwards
Warranty registration
Frequently omitted
Unregistered warranties are commonly shorter: five years instead of ten on parts
Commissioning measurements
Usually omitted
Nobody ever verifies the system delivers what was sold. This is why measured performance is 59-84% of rated SEER
The eight lines that separate a complete replacement bid from a cheap one.
A bid that is cheaper because it excludes five of these is not cheaper. It is a different job, and the difference arrives later as change orders or as a system that never performs.
What questions should you ask each HVAC contractor?
"Can I see the Manual J?"
A load calculation is a document. If one was done it can be produced. "We sized it like the old one" copies whatever mistake was made last time, and a third to a half of systems are oversized.
"What static pressure did you measure?"
This requires the contractor to have put a manometer on the system. It is the single question most likely to distinguish a survey from a sales visit, and it addresses the most common fault in the literature.
"How will you verify the charge at commissioning?"
Superheat for a fixed-orifice system, subcooling for a TXV. A specific answer is a good sign. "We use the gauges" is not an answer.
"Which state license class, and which EPA 608 type?"
License classes are not comparable between states. We hold 10,417 verified records across 8 authorities using 8 different taxonomies. EPA 608 is federal and the same everywhere. Type II or Universal covers residential work. See HVAC licensing by state.
"What is excluded?"
Ask directly and in those words. Permits, electrical, line set, condensate, disposal and warranty registration are the usual omissions, and each is a change order waiting to happen.
"Will you pull a permit?"
A bid that skips the permit is cheaper because it avoids inspection. That inspection is the only independent check on the work that you get.
What are the red flags in an HVAC proposal?
A price with no scope
A number on its own cannot be compared with anything. Two bids are only comparable once you know they describe the same work.
Sizing taken from the existing unit
The old unit may itself have been oversized, and the house may have been insulated or re-glazed since. Copying it forward preserves the mistake for another twenty years.
Urgency built on the refrigerant rules
The widely-reported January 1, 2026 installation deadline for R-410A stock was removed, and no rule requires replacing working equipment. Urgency on that basis is misinformation, whether deliberate or inherited.
A discount that expires today
Replacement systems last fifteen to twenty years. A decision that long should not be made against a deadline of today, and a fair price does not vanish overnight.
No mention of the ductwork at all
Duct leakage is present in 90-100% of systems tested. A proposal that does not mention ducts has either not looked or is not planning to touch them.
Equipment brand as the entire pitch
Installation quality dominates brand in every field study we have found. A bid that competes only on the badge is competing on the least important variable.
What can this worksheet not tell you?
The worksheet scores completeness, not price. It has no national cost data, because we could not find any traced to a measurement. The figures that circulate come from vendor pages and paid reports with no public method.
It also cannot judge workmanship. A bid can score four out of four on completeness and still be installed badly, and no paper exercise catches that. What it does is remove the most common way homeowners are misled, which is comparing two numbers that describe different work.
HyreHVAC analysis: if the scores come out level and the prices differ materially, that is the point at which price is actually informative. Until then it is not.
The check almost nobody makes
Does the efficiency rating belong to one unit? No, to the matched pair
A quote that names one model number has not yet told you what the system is rated at. This is the most checkable claim on the page, and the check takes about four minutes.
The federal floor and the ENERGY STAR threshold for air-source heat pumps. Both are published thresholds; neither is a measurement of an installed system.HyreHVAC presentation of 10 CFR 430.32(c)(5) and ENERGY STAR key product criteria, retrieved September 5, 2026. The certified-catalogue study →
A certified rating belongs to a specific combination of outdoor unit, indoor coil and, where present, air handler or furnace. Each certified combination carries its own AHRI Reference Number. Change the coil and the rating changes with it.
Leave the coil off the proposal and there is no rating to verify at all.
Source fact: This is not an industry courtesy, it is how the regulation is drafted.
The regulation itself is written in the same terms: 10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)(ii) speaks of an outdoor unit "that has a certified combination", not of an outdoor unit rating.
The regional standard at 10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)(ii) reads: "Any model of outdoor unit that has a certified combination with a rating below the applicable standard level(s) for a region cannot be installed in that region." — the subject of that sentence is a combination, not a condenser.
Source fact: The regulation goes further, and this is the provision that catches people.
The least-efficient combination of each basic model, which for single-split-system air conditioners with a single-stage or two-stage compressor (including space-constrained and small-duct high-velocity systems) must be a coil-only combination, must comply with the applicable standard.
In other words the model on the box has to clear the bar in its worst certified pairing, not in the flattering one a brochure shows.
HyreHVAC analysis: this changes what "high efficiency" means on a proposal. A homeowner is usually shown one number, attached to one model, and asked to compare it with a different number attached to a different model.
If the indoor half is unnamed, neither number is a property of anything that will be installed in the house. It is a property of a pairing the contractor has not yet committed to.
The failure mode is rarely fraud. It is a salesperson quoting from a condenser price list because that is what the price list contains, and an installer later fitting whichever coil is on the van. The system that results may be perfectly good.
It may also be a rating you were never sold, and there is no way to tell after the fact — which is precisely why the question belongs in the quoting stage, in writing.
The useful next step: ask for the outdoor model number, the indoor model number and the AHRI Reference Number together, and ask for all three on the proposal rather than in an email.
A contractor who intends to install a specific matched combination can produce that reference number without difficulty. One who cannot has not yet decided what they are selling you.
HyreHVAC analysis: the gap between the legal minimum and the ENERGY STAR label is narrower than the marketing around it suggests — 0.9 SEER2 points and 0.3 HSPF2 points on a split heat pump.
The label is a real filter, but it is not the difference between an ordinary system and an exceptional one, and it is not a substitute for the installation checks on this page.
What does each model number on a proposal tell you?
Four identifiers decide whether a proposal describes a specific system or a category of systems. The last column is the one to read.
On the proposal
What it is
What it is really testing
What its absence means
Outdoor unit model number
The condenser or heat pump outdoor section
Whether a specific piece of equipment has been selected at all
Nothing has been selected. You are being quoted a tonnage and a brand, which is a category
Indoor coil or air handler model number
The other half of the matched combination
Whether the rating quoted to you belongs to the system that will be installed
The quoted SEER2 is unverifiable, because a rating exists only for a combination
Furnace model number, where present
The appliance the coil sits on, with its own AFUE and blower
Whether the blower can deliver the airflow the coil was rated with
The airflow assumption is not stated, and low airflow appears in more than 50% of systems tested
AHRI Reference Number
The certificate identifier for that exact combination
Whether the combination is certified as a set, and at what ratings
There may be no certified combination behind the numbers you were quoted
Region and capacity
Where the system is being installed, and its Btu/hr rating
Which federal minimum the installation has to clear on the day it is fitted
Neither you nor the inspector can check the installation against the standard that applies
The five identifiers that turn a proposal into something checkable. A bid may score four out of four on completeness and still leave the third row blank.
The useful next step: ask for these five items on every bid before you compare any prices. They cost the contractor nothing to supply and they are the difference between comparing two systems and comparing two adjectives.
How do you check a quoted SEER2 rating yourself?
Checking a quoted rating is a homeowner-side job that needs no tools, no technician and no permission. It is the highest-value four minutes available on an HVAC purchase.
01
Collect the model numbers from the proposal
Outdoor unit, indoor coil or air handler, and the furnace if one is part of the job. If any is missing, stop and ask for it. The check cannot be done without it, and that is itself the finding.
02
Ask for the AHRI Reference Number in writing
One number identifies one certified combination. It belongs on the proposal, not in conversation. A contractor who has selected a matched system has this to hand.
03
Look the combination up in the AHRI directory
The AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance is public and free at ahridirectory.org. Search by reference number, or by the outdoor and indoor model numbers together. You are looking for the certified SEER2, EER2 and, on a heat pump, HSPF2 for that pairing.
04
Compare the certified rating with the one you were told
These should match exactly. If the certificate reads lower, the proposal describes a different pairing, usually a better coil than the one being fitted. Ask about it calmly, before you sign.
05
Check the rating against the standard for your region
In the Southeast and the Southwest the minimum is enforced on the installation date, not the manufacture date. The table below carries the figures. A combination below the applicable level cannot lawfully be installed there.
06
Repeat for every bid before you look at any price
The useful next step: do this for all three quotes in one sitting. If the ratings match, the comparison comes down to scope and workmanship, where the real differences were all along.
HyreHVAC has no commercial relationship with AHRI and receives nothing if you use the directory. We point at it because it is the only free public record of what a given combination is actually rated at.
A legal fact with a homeowner-side consequence
Where is the efficiency standard enforced on installation day?
Regional split-system air conditioner minimums, expressed as their distance above the national floor of 13.4 SEER2. The bar length is the difference; the printed figure is the actual required SEER2.HyreHVAC presentation of 10 CFR 430.32(c)(5) and (c)(6), retrieved through the eCFR content API on September 5, 2026.
Source fact: Federal minimum efficiency standards for central air conditioners are not the same across the country. More importantly, they are not all enforced at the same point in the supply chain.
DOE’s Office of the General Counsel states the split plainly: in the North the standard is enforced by date of manufacture; in the Southeast and the Southwest it is enforced by date of installation.
That distinction has a consequence most homeowners never hear. In the North, an air conditioner lawfully built before a standard changed can be lawfully installed afterwards.
In the Southeast and Southwest it cannot: the unit going onto your pad has to meet the regional level on the day it is fitted, regardless of when it was made or how long it sat in a warehouse.
Source fact: The Southeast comprises Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, the District of Columbia and the US territories. The Southwest comprises Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico.
The Southwest is the only region that also carries an EER2 requirement, which is a hot-day efficiency measure rather than a seasonal average — a sensible design given the climate, and a real constraint on which combinations qualify.
HyreHVAC analysis: this is where old stock goes. A regional standard that bites at installation creates a strong incentive to move equipment that no longer qualifies into a region where it still does, or to install it quickly and quietly where it does not.
We hold no data on how often that happens and we will not guess at a number.
What we can say is that the rule exists, that it is enforced at the point a homeowner is present, and that it is the one federal HVAC provision an ordinary buyer is positioned to check.
Source fact: DOE publishes an address and a telephone number for reporting an air conditioner it believes was installed in breach of a regional standard. The address is EnergyEfficiencyEnforcement@doe.gov and the number is 202-287-6997.
We are not suggesting most installations warrant a report; the overwhelming majority do not. We are noting that the mechanism exists and is published, which is unusual, and that almost no consumer-facing HVAC page mentions it.
The useful next step: if you are in one of the states listed above, ask which certified combination is being installed and confirm its rating clears the regional level in the table below.
It is a fair question, an installer in good standing answers it in one line, and it is the only part of the federal standards regime you can personally verify.
Federal standards are federal, but permitting and inspection are local. Whether an inspector checks the certified combination against the regional level varies by jurisdiction, and you should confirm what your own building department does rather than assume it is checked for you.
What minimums must a 2023-or-later installation meet?
Read from the Code of Federal Regulations rather than from a manufacturer summary. The national column is enforced at manufacture; the regional columns are enforced at installation.
Product class
National, by manufacture
Southeast, by installation
Southwest, by installation
Split-system air conditioner, under 45,000 Btu/hr
13.4 SEER2
14.3 SEER2
14.3 SEER2, plus EER2 11.7 (or 9.8 where the certified SEER2 is 15.2 or higher)
Split-system air conditioner, 45,000 Btu/hr and over
13.4 SEER2
13.8 SEER2
13.8 SEER2, plus EER2 11.2 (or 9.8 where the certified SEER2 is 15.2 or higher)
Single-package air conditioner
13.4 SEER2
National level applies
10.6 SEER2
Split-system heat pump
14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2
National level applies
National level applies
Single-package heat pump
13.4 SEER2 and 6.7 HSPF2
National level applies
National level applies
Small-duct, high-velocity system
12.0 SEER2 and 6.1 HSPF2
National level applies
National level applies
Space-constrained air conditioner / heat pump
11.7 SEER2 / 11.9 SEER2 and 6.3 HSPF2
National level applies
National level applies
Minimums for equipment manufactured, or in the two southern regions installed, on or after January 1, 2023. Source: 10 CFR 430.32(c)(5) and (c)(6).
Source note: Retrieved through the eCFR content API. The eCFR and Federal Register web front ends both redirected automated requests to an unblock page on the same date; the API returned the section text in full.
The current test procedure is 10 CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix M1, which is why a SEER2 figure and an older SEER figure are not interchangeable and cannot be converted with a fixed factor.
We do not quote the appendix’s test conditions here because we were not able to retrieve the appendix text itself, and we would rather leave a gap than paraphrase a test procedure we have not read.
What does a good HVAC quote say?
These sentences appear on complete proposals and are missing from incomplete ones. If four of these are present, the bid was written by somebody who surveyed the house.
"Manual J attached, room by room"
ANSI/ACCA 2 Manual J - 2016 is the residential load calculation standard, and ACCA states of it: "A proper load calculation, performed in accordance with the Manual J 8th Edition procedure, is required by national building codes and most state and local jurisdictions."
Manual S: Residential Equipment Selection selects equipment against the Manual J load at the design conditions. It is the step between the load and the box, skipped when a system is sized from the old one. Manual J without Manual S is half the math.
"Ducts checked per Manual D; static pressure recorded"
Manual D: Residential Duct Systems sizes the duct system to deliver the airflow the equipment needs. A static pressure reading, taken with an instrument, is the best evidence someone surveyed instead of sold. Duct leakage appears in 90-100% of systems tested.
"Outdoor model, indoor model and AHRI Reference Number", all on the page
The check described at the top of this page. Three identifiers, printed on the proposal, that make the quoted rating verifiable by you in four minutes.
"Commissioning readings will be recorded and handed over"
Charge verified by superheat or subcooling, airflow set and written down. Undercharge appears in 29-78% of systems and overcharge in 4-50%; a system nobody measured is a system nobody knows about. Measured performance across the field studies was 59-84% of rated SEER.
"Permit will be pulled; inspection scheduled"
The inspection is the only independent check on the installation that a homeowner gets. A bid that omits the permit is cheaper for a reason that is not in your favor.
"EPA 608, Type II or Universal"
Section 608 is federal and the same in every state (40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F, under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act). Residential split systems are high-pressure equipment, so Type II or Universal applies. Certification does not expire, so a card proves a passed test, not current skill.
A price with no scope attached
One number for "new system" cannot be compared, because you do not know what the other bidder included. It is the most common defect in quotes, and the easiest to fix: ask for the scope in writing.
A rating quoted with only a condenser model number
Covered at length above. It is not necessarily a bad system and it is not necessarily bad faith. It is simply an unverifiable claim, and it stays unverifiable until the indoor half is named.
Real blind spots, not a disclaimer
What can this worksheet not do?
The worksheet cannot tell you whether a certified combination will be installed correctly. Every fault in the DOE studies (duct leakage in 90-100% of systems, low airflow in more than 50%, charge errors in a large share) occurred on correctly certified equipment.
Certification governs the paperwork and the laboratory. It says nothing about the braze joint, the return duct or the charge on the day.
It cannot price anything: HyreHVAC does not install, service or sell HVAC equipment, and holds no data on quotes, invoices or finished jobs. Nothing here is a price we observed.
That is also why these tools can tell you to keep the system you have.
A completeness score is not a value judgment, and a bid that scores four out of four can still be expensive for what it is.
The worksheet deliberately shows price beside the scores rather than combining them, because combining them would imply a trade-off rate we have no basis to set.
It cannot check a license: License classes are set by each state authority and are not comparable across state lines. The only way to check one is with the issuing authority, using the license number the contractor gives you, and that is a step this page cannot take on your behalf.
It cannot tell you which region a borderline address is in: The DOE region lists are by state, which makes most cases unambiguous, but a homeowner near a state line should confirm rather than infer. The applicable standard follows the installation address.
It cannot see the AHRI certificate for you: We do not mirror the directory, we do not cache ratings, and we do not hold a copy of any certificate. The check in step three of this page is one you perform, on a public site, with the numbers your contractor supplies.
It has no opinion about who should do your work: We do not rank contractors, and this worksheet favors no bidder. So it can conclude that the cheapest bid is the right one, or that all three should go back for model numbers before anyone talks about money again.
Questions this calculator answers
How do I compare HVAC quotes?
Check scope first: a written Manual J, model numbers for every unit, ductwork as its own line, commissioning in writing, and a permit. Once bids cover the same work, compare the prices.
Why is one HVAC quote so much cheaper than the others?
Usually because it leaves something out. The missing line is often ductwork, a matched indoor coil, the permit or the electrical work. Those come back later as change orders.
What is a Manual J and why should a quote include one?
It is ACCA’s room-by-room load calculation for sizing a system. DOE field studies found 31% to 48% of systems are oversized. Sizing from the old unit copies any past mistake.
How do I check the efficiency rating on a quote?
Ask for the AHRI Reference Number, then look up the outdoor and indoor model pair in the free AHRI directory. The certified SEER2 should match the quote exactly.
Does HyreHVAC rank contractors?
No. HyreHVAC does not rank or endorse contractors. This worksheet scores what each bid includes. Check each contractor’s license with the state that issued it.
Sources and methodology
Figures dated August 23, 2026. Last reviewed .
10 CFR 430.32, energy conservation standards and their compliance dates (eCFR (Office of the Federal Register / GPO), retrieved 2026-09-05. Retrieved through the eCFR content API; the eCFR and Federal Register web front ends redirected automated requests on that date. Source of every SEER2, EER2 and HSPF2 minimum quoted.)
Regional Standards Enforcement (US Department of Energy, Office of the General Counsel, retrieved 2026-09-05. North enforced by date of manufacture; Southeast and Southwest by date of installation. Also publishes DOE’s reporting address for illegally installed units.)
How to use the AHRI directory (Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, retrieved 2026-09-05. The page returned 403 to automated retrieval on that date. The matched-combination requirement is carried here by 10 CFR 430.32(c)(6)(ii) and 10 CFR 429.16, which are quoted directly.)
Manual J: Residential Load Calculation (ANSI/ACCA 2 Manual J - 2016) (Air Conditioning Contractors of America, retrieved 2026-09-05. Source of the ANSI designation and of ACCA’s statement that a Manual J 8th Edition calculation is required by national building codes and most state and local jurisdictions. Code adoption is local.)
Residential HVAC Installation Practices: A Review of Research Findings (US Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, retrieved 2026-09-04. A systematic review of 44 field-study reports. Source of every fault-prevalence range and of the tune-up and combined-repair savings figures.)
Section 608 technician certification requirements (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved 2026-09-04. 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart F. Certification types and the refrigerant sales restriction, which has covered HFC substitutes since January 1, 2018.)