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I compared a heat pump quote from a local guy to one from a big chain in Des Moines and the difference was $4,200
When my furnace died in January, I got two quotes for a cold climate heat pump. The big chain from Des Moines wanted $14,500 and pushed a maintenance plan I did not ask for. A local guy in Ames quoted $10,300 for the same sized unit, and he actually ran a load calc instead of eyeballing my square footage. The chain guy sized my house off the sticker on the old furnace, which was put in before we finished the basement. That one number change meant a smaller unit, less electric backup, and a system that does not short cycle at 10 degrees outside. I think people default to the big name because it feels safer, but in my case the smaller shop did better work. Has anyone else found the local quote was both cheaper and more careful, or did I just get lucky?
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wyattrobinson8d ago
Man, a buddy of mine went through almost the exact same thing last fall. Furnace quit in October, and the big company out of the city quoted him around 13 grand and sized it off the old unit, never even looked at the addition he put on the back of the house. A small shop two towns over came in almost 4 grand less, and the guy spent an hour in the attic measuring rooms and checking windows before he picked anything. His new system runs way less backup heat and his winter bills dropped instead of jumping like he was scared they would. The big chain tried to sell him some service plan too, and when he said no they got pushy about it. So no, you did not get lucky, that is just what happens when somebody actually does the math instead of guessing.
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