$49 Online Review Checks HVAC Replacement Quotes Against Federal Efficiency Minimums

HVAC Bid Check, an online service from Archieboy Holdings, LLC of Marlborough, Massachusetts, is offering homeowners a $49 one-time review of their HVAC replacement quotes before anything is signed. The service, at https://www.hvacbidcheck.com, lines up as many as five contractor quotes side by side, shows the price spread, and converts each price to dollars per ton where the quotes are for the same capacity. It checks the efficiency rating entered for each system against the federal minimum for that equipment class and the homeowner's state, flags missing details, and produces a list of questions to ask each contractor. It is aimed at homeowners replacing a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump. The company takes no referral fees from contractors.

The company describes a furnace and air conditioner replacement as an $8,000 to $25,000 decision made in a week, by someone who buys one twice in a lifetime. Homeowners often collect several quotes and then have trouble comparing them, because the documents rarely describe the same job.

The differences are practical. One quote includes the permit and a new line set, while another does not say. One contractor proposes a 3-ton system and another a 4-ton system for the same house. One lists a model number, and another offers only the phrase "high-efficiency system." HVAC Bid Check was built to put those quotes into one table and turn the gaps into specific questions.

Federal rules add a second layer. Equipment installed new must meet a federal minimum efficiency, and the floor depends on the product class, since a packaged heat pump and a split heat pump are different, and on capacity. For air conditioners it also depends on region (10 CFR 430.32). The Department of Energy has also said that 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 the quotes disagree about capacity, the company says that is the finding that matters most.

The review works in three steps. The homeowner types in what each quote says: contractor, total price, capacity, efficiency rating and what is included. Up to five quotes can be entered. Anything a quote does not state can be left blank, and a missing capacity, efficiency rating, warranty or model number each produces its own finding. The service then does the arithmetic and the lookups. Efficiency is checked against the federal minimum for the equipment class, capacity and region. Prices are compared only where they can honestly be compared.

The output is a Quote Review Report and a one-page questions sheet, delivered instantly in Word and PDF. The report puts totals, capacity, dollars per ton, efficiency, warranty and inclusions in a single table, along with the spread between the highest and lowest quote in dollars and percent. The efficiency check covers the SEER2, AFUE and HSPF2 values the homeowner enters, matched to the class selected for each row. It does not check EER2, which southwestern states also require. Red flags are triggered by rules, not opinion, and the questions sheet is built from what the homeowner's own quotes left out. According to the site, no AI language model is involved: every number in the report is either something the homeowner typed or arithmetic performed on it, plus the published federal minimums.

A sample report on the site shows how this plays out. It covers three quotes for one Texas house, priced at $9,800, $14,700 and $11,250, all for 3-ton systems. Those work out to $3,267, $4,900 and $3,750 per ton. The review notes that the second quote's SEER2 rating of 13.9 is below the 14.3 federal minimum for a 3-ton split system in Texas, and that the same quote names no equipment and states no warranty. The sample is based on a house where no load calculation was done, which the report raises as a point to ask about.

HVAC Bid Check takes no commissions, no advertising and no referral fees from HVAC companies, and the site says it has no relationship with any contractor and never passes a homeowner's details or quotes to one. It does not recommend a contractor and does not tell a homeowner what size system to buy. It also declines to show a dollars-per-ton figure when quotes are for different capacities, because a larger system always looks cheaper per ton and that is a poor reason to buy one. Its flags are framed as questions, not verdicts, since a contractor who has inspected the house may have good reasons for choices the review highlights.

"A replacement is an $8,000 to $25,000 decision most people make only a couple of times. Our job is to turn three confusing quotes into questions worth asking," said Bo Bennett, spokesperson, HVAC Bid Check.

The service is built for homeowners in the middle of a replacement who already hold quotes and cannot reconcile them. When quotes disagree on capacity, the report says the figures are not comparable on price; the site notes that correct sizing allows a range, so differing figures do not prove anyone wrong, but the homeowner should be able to hear the reasoning behind each. A missing model number is flagged because, without one, the buyer cannot verify the efficiency, the warranty or that the installed equipment matches what was sold. A homeowner with only one quote still gets a report, but it says plainly that a single quote cannot be assessed on price.

The company is explicit about what the review is not. It is an informational check of quotes the homeowner supplies. It is not a load calculation, not an ACCA Manual J, not an engineering report, and not something a permit office will accept. HVAC Bid Check never sees the house, the ductwork, the insulation or the electrical panel. For a real sizing answer, it tells homeowners to ask their contractor for the Manual J calculation, and the report is designed to prompt that request.

The review costs $49, paid once, with no subscription. That covers one review of up to five quotes, plus the report and the questions sheet in Word and PDF. Homeowners can correct their entries and rebuild the review up to ten times at no extra cost. Homeowners sign up with an email address at https://www.hvacbidcheck.com, answer the questions about their quotes, and pay only when they are ready to generate the review. The site also publishes the full sample report and a sample questions sheet as PDFs.

HVAC Bid Check operates online at https://www.hvacbidcheck.com and is part of the Archieboy Holdings, LLC network of websites, based in Marlborough, Massachusetts. The service reviews homeowners' HVAC replacement quotes side by side, shows dollars per ton where quotes are for the same capacity, and checks each system's efficiency against the federal minimum for the homeowner's state. It lists red flags and the questions to ask before signing. The review costs $49 one time, and the company takes no referral fees from contractors. It provides information only, not engineering advice or contractor recommendations.