HVAC estimate template — and a generator that fills it in

What a complete HVAC estimate contains, and a way to produce one from a plain description of the job in about 30 seconds.

Generate this estimate now

Describe the job in plain words. No email needed to see your first estimate — about fifteen seconds for a small job, a little longer for a big one.

What you get — see the format first

A complete estimate you can send to the customer, built from the rate you enter:

Description	Qty	Unit	Unit price	Total
Labor — itemized by task	hrs	hour	your rate	—
Materials — with your markup applied	qty	ea / sq ft	cost + markup	—
Permits, disposal, access	—	—	—	—

Plus a plain-English scope summary, assumptions (what had to be guessed), exclusions (what you are not doing — the section that prevents most change-order arguments), and a validity period. Printable, or send the link.

Every figure comes from the rate and markup you supply. We never fill in a market price for you.

3 free HVAC estimate and bid templates

An estimating spreadsheet that opens in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets, or prints to PDF. Pre-filled with the line items a HVAC estimate should contain, plus a checklist of what HVAC estimating most often leaves out — so you price it before you send, not after.

Blank — the line items, ready to price by hand.
Auto-calculating — same sheet with the maths built in; type a quantity and a rate and it totals itself. Formulas work in Excel and Google Sheets.
Printable — a clean one-page layout to fill in on site or save as PDF.

Blank (Excel / Sheets) Auto-calculating Printable PDF

How HVAC jobs are bid

HVAC bids are built around equipment plus the labor to make it work in this particular house. Tonnage or BTU sets the equipment line; the rest is ductwork, line sets, electrical, condensate and the commissioning time that never appears on a spec sheet. Replacement work carries the risk that the existing duct or electrical service will not carry the new unit, which is why load calculation and a look at the panel belong before a price, not after.

What a HVAC estimate should contain

Equipment by model and capacity — condenser, furnace or air handler, with the tonnage or BTU stated
Refrigerant line set, and whether existing lines are reused or replaced
Thermostat, plus any low-voltage wiring
Electrical: whip, disconnect, breaker sizing if the new unit differs
Duct modifications, plenum or transition work
Permit and mechanical inspection
Crane or rigging for rooftop and attic placements
Startup, charge and commissioning time
Haul-away and disposal of the old equipment
Labor as crew hours × rate — two techs is normal on a changeout

What gets left out of HVAC estimates

Refrigerant beyond the factory charge on long line sets
Electrical upgrades when the new unit's MCA exceeds the existing circuit
Attic or crawlspace access difficulty — the same unit is not the same job at 6am in a 130° attic
Condensate routing and a secondary pan where code requires one

What the labor actually costs

$29.33/hour — US median wage for heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers, May 2025 ($61,010/year).

That is a wage, not your billing rate. It excludes payroll burden, insurance, the hours you spend driving and quoting, overhead and profit. Billing at or near it means working the job for free once those land — which is where underpricing starts. What your multiplier should be depends on your business, so put the rate you actually bill into the generator and every line prices from your number.

Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — national median, May 2025. Wages vary widely by metro.

Your prices, not internet averages

Generic AI quotes national averages. BidWand builds a price book from every estimate you send and every rate you correct, so by the fifth bid it prices like you do — your labor rate, your markup, your exclusions.

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