What belongs in a heat pump quote, and what a thin one leaves out

Most heat pump quotes lead with a manufacturer and a tonnage. Neither tells you whether the system fits the house.

The number that matters is the heat loss calculation: an estimate of how much heat your specific house loses on a cold day, built from its size, insulation, windows and air tightness. Capacity is chosen from that. A contractor who sized the system from the old furnace has copied someone else's guess from twenty years ago, and furnaces were routinely oversized.

So the first question on any quote is simple. Can I see the heat loss calculation this size is based on? A contractor who has done one can show it. A contractor who has not will change the subject to the brand.

The second question is about output where you live. Ask which model and capacity are being quoted and what its heating output is at our design temperature, which is the cold outdoor condition the system is meant to cover. Rated capacity is measured in milder conditions than a Toronto January, and the gap between the two is the whole argument about whether a heat pump works here.

A heat pump is a large new electrical load, and older GTA houses were not wired with one in mind. This is the most common source of a price that moves after the quote.

Ask whether an electrical load calculation was done and whether the panel needs upgrading. If the answer is vague, treat the quoted price as provisional. On Imperial Heating's 2026 Toronto figures a panel upgrade runs $1,000 to $3,000 as an add-on to the project, which is enough to change which quote is actually cheapest.

Ontario regulates this part. The electrical work has to be carried out by a licensed electrical contractor and the job has to be notified to the Electrical Safety Authority. Any work on gas appliances requires a TSSA-certified gas technician. Ask who files the ESA notification, when you receive the certificate of inspection, and whether permits are inside the quoted price. Megacity HVAC's 2026 Toronto figures put permits and the ESA inspection at $200 to $400.

Below a certain outdoor temperature a heat pump alone stops covering the whole heat loss of the house. That crossover is the balance point, and what happens below it is a design decision somebody has to make on purpose.

There are three honest answers. Electric backup heat inside the air handler. The existing gas furnace kept as a second stage, which is what dual fuel means. Or nothing, because the system was sized to carry the house on its own.

All three can be right. What is not right is a quote that does not say which one you are buying, because the choice changes your winter running cost, your electrical load and sometimes whether the old furnace stays in the basement. Ask what carries the house below the balance point, and ask what the switchover is set to.

A heat pump is not finished when it turns on. Airflow has to be measured and set, and the refrigerant charge has to be checked against the manufacturer's figures for the line length actually installed. A system that runs but was never commissioned can miss its rated efficiency by a wide margin, and nothing on the thermostat will tell you.

Ask whether commissioning is included and whether the measured airflow and refrigerant charge are written down and handed to you. It is a small ask that separates crews who do it from crews who do not, because the ones who do it already have the form.

While you are asking, get the warranty terms in writing from the contractor rather than from a brochure. Manufacturer coverage on parts and a contractor's own labour coverage are two different things with two different lengths, and the brochure only describes one of them.

Three written, itemized quotes is the standard advice and it is right, but only if the three describe the same job. A cheaper number usually buys a smaller scope: no panel work, no permit, no commissioning, a smaller unit sized from the old furnace.

Lay them side by side on scope rather than on the total. Model and rated capacity. Output at the design temperature. What carries the house below the balance point. Whether electrical work and the ESA notification are inside the price. Whether commissioning is included and documented. Warranty on parts and on labour, separately.

If one quote is dramatically lower and matches on all six, that is a genuine price difference and worth taking. If it is lower because three of the six are missing, the difference will reappear later as a change order.