HVAC
HVAC Estimate Calculator
Build an estimate from equipment, labour, materials and the items a changeout usually needs but rarely gets quoted.
Result
Labour is burdened here, not waged: payroll taxes, workers' comp, insurance, PTO and benefits ride on top of the hourly rate, and 25–35% is a common range. Calculate yours from last year's payroll rather than assuming. This model recovers overhead in the whole-job margin, so do not also load overhead into the labour rate. That recovers it twice and prices you out of the market.
Read how to estimate an HVAC jobWhat moves the number
- Equipment and the accessories it requires rather than the bare unit.
- Labour hours by crew, including the second visit if commissioning is separate.
- Permit, disposal, pad, disconnect, whip and thermostat, all routine and all easily missed.
Where this one goes wrong
Presenting a single total. A customer comparing three quotes at one number each cannot see that yours includes the electrical work and the others do not, so the cheapest wins on a comparison that was never like for like.
Questions
About this calculator
Should an estimate itemise or total?
Show enough detail that a customer can see what is included, particularly the items others omit. A single figure loses every comparison against a quote that excluded half the work.
How long should an HVAC estimate hold?
Long enough for a considered decision and short enough that equipment pricing has not moved. Put the date on the document and apply it.
What should be excluded explicitly?
Electrical upgrades, duct modification, asbestos or other hazardous material handling, and anything discovered once the old equipment is out. Naming them prevents the argument.
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How to use this calculator
- Equipment cost (net after rebates) ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $3,150.
- Materials: lineset, pad, whip, plenum, drain, misc ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $620.
- Lead installer hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.
- Lead installer wage per hour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $28.
- Helper hours. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 8.
- Helper wage per hour ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $18.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to selling price, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Equipment cost (net after rebates) | $3,150 |
| Materials: lineset, pad, whip, plenum, drain, misc | $620 |
| Lead installer hours | 8 |
| Lead installer wage per hour | $28 |
| Helper hours | 8 |
| Helper wage per hour | $18 |
| Labour burden | 30% |
| Permits, inspection and disposal | $180 |
| Subcontractors | $0 |
| Target gross margin | 40% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Selling price main result | $7,381 |
| Total job cost | $4,428 |
| Gross profit | $2,952 |
| Equivalent markup | 66.67% |
This job costs $4,428 to deliver. $478.40 of that is burdened labour across 16 hours. At a 40% target margin it sells for $7,381, leaving $2,952 of gross profit. Applying a 40% markup instead would price it at only $6,200, $1,181 less on the same job.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only equipment cost (net after rebates), this is what happens to selling price. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Equipment cost (net after rebates) ($) | Selling price |
|---|---|
| $1,575 | $4,756 |
| $2,363 | $6,069 |
| $3,150 example above | $7,381 |
| $4,725 | $10,006 |
| $6,300 | $12,631 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Equipment cost (net after rebates) ($)
- A money amount, starting at $3,150.
- Materials: lineset, pad, whip, plenum, drain, misc ($)
- A money amount, starting at $620.
- Lead installer hours
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 8.
- Lead installer wage per hour ($)
- A money amount, starting at $28.
- Helper hours
- A number, between 0 and 500, starting at 8.
- Helper wage per hour ($)
- A money amount, starting at $18.
- Labour burden (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 120, starting at 30%.
- Permits, inspection and disposal ($)
- A money amount, starting at $180.
- Subcontractors ($)
- A money amount, starting at $0.
- Target gross margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 40%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Selling price | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Total job cost | A money figure. |
| Gross profit | A money figure. |
| Equivalent markup | A percentage. |
Before you rely on this number
Sizing, capacity and load figures here are planning estimates. A real installation depends on the manufacturer's data for the specific equipment, the duct system it is going into, and a proper load calculation for the building. Use this to sanity-check a number or price a job, not to select equipment.
Keep going
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