Heat Pump Quote Template: Explain Options With AI, No Savings Promises

Give the AI your price book and the designer's heat-loss and design sheet, and let it write only three things: an option table in plain English, an assumptions list and an exclusions list. Add fixed lines saying running costs and incentives depend on things the quote does not control, and ban savings, payback and eligibility wording in the prompt.

The line the assistant never crosses is technical: heat loss, flow temperature, unit size and radiator sizing belong to the designer, and the assistant copies those figures instead of producing its own. It also fills gaps with plausible claims such as "should reduce your bills", so the prompt has to forbid them and a second pass has to scan for them. Everything priced below is an illustration, so replace it with your own price book.

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Who owns each number in the quote

Trouble in a heat pump quote often starts with a figure that nobody owned. Settle the owner of each one before any drafting starts:

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Whether AI can do the heat-loss calculation itself is a separate question, covered in the heat-loss calculation tutorial. For the quote, the answer is no: the designer's sheet goes in, and the same figures come out.

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Three options for one house, in one table

Take a three-bedroom house where a boiler is being replaced. The designer's sheet, which the assistant copies and never alters, says:

From it, three options that differ in scope, not in claims:

Each option then gets a short plain-English paragraph, which is where the assistant earns its keep. Option A: "Heat pump with your existing cylinder, if the survey finds it suitable, and your existing radiators. The designer's sheet lists three radiators as too small for the design flow temperature, and Option A leaves them unchanged. The designer's recommendation is Option B." Option B: "Heat pump, a new cylinder and three replacement radiators, as the designer's sheet specifies." Option C: "Option B, with controls that adjust the flow temperature according to the outdoor temperature and two heating zones, so the living and sleeping areas can run to separate schedules."

Read what those paragraphs do not say. They do not call any option the best or the most efficient, and they do not say anything about bills. They describe scope, point to the designer's own recommendation and stop. If you quote for other heating types as well, the good-better-best pricing tutorial and the boiler quote template tutorial show the same option structure for those jobs.

Assumptions written as statements a survey can confirm

A good assumption is one that a named person can prove or disprove. "Existing pipework is suitable" is vague; "the designer will confirm pipework size at the survey" is testable. Ask the assistant to convert your survey checklist into numbered assumptions, each with who confirms it. A set for the example house:

1. The quote relies on the designer's heat-loss and design sheet, version 3, dated [date]. Confirmed by: the designer's signature.
2. The design flow temperature is 45 degrees C. If the customer later asks for a different one, the design is re-run and the price may change.
3. The outdoor unit goes at the position marked at the survey, with the manufacturer's stated clearances. Confirmed by: the surveyor.
4. Existing pipework is suitable for the design flow rate, or the pipework allowance covers the changes. Confirmed by: the surveyor.
5. The existing electrical panel has spare capacity for the new circuit. Confirmed by: an electrician's check before work starts.
6. There is space for the new cylinder at the agreed location, with access for delivery. Confirmed by: the surveyor.
7. Condensate drains to the existing drain at the marked point. Confirmed by: the surveyor.
8. Working areas and parking are clear on installation days. Confirmed by: the customer.
9. The heating system's water is clean enough to flush once. Further cleaning, if debris is found, is a variation.
10. Prices are valid for 30 days, exclude any incentive, and assume work starts within 30 days of acceptance.

Each assumption should also say what happens if it turns out to be wrong: normally a written, priced variation that the customer approves before work continues. The sheet's version and date in assumption 1 matter more than they look. A quote that quietly refers to an old design sheet is how a unit size gets out of step with the design.

Exclusions and provisional items that stop disputes

Anything the option table does not list should read as excluded, and the quote should say so in words. A list for the example, with the items that most often start arguments:

• Electrical panel replacement or upgrade, and any supply upgrade.
• Structural alterations and new openings in walls or floors.
• Asbestos or other hazardous materials found during the work.
• Making good and redecoration beyond the immediate work area, including holes for pipe runs.
• Radiators beyond those listed in the option.
• Removal of any fuel tank, and any planning, consent or permit fees.
• Landscaping, paving or fencing around the outdoor unit.

Where you cannot know the cost until after the survey, use a provisional item with a range rather than silence. In the example: "Electrical panel upgrade, only if the electrician's check finds no spare capacity: provisional $1,200 to $1,800, not included in the totals above." A vague line such as "all necessary electrical work included" is the opposite of this. It sounds generous, but it promises an open-ended scope that you will have to honour.

Words the quote must not contain

Savings, payback and grant statements are claims, and they are the ones most likely to be wrong, outdated or outside your control. Customers act on them, so treat them as banned unless a person with the right knowledge has checked each one. Put this list in every prompt:

• save, saving, savings, cheaper, cut or lower bills, reduce costs
• pays for itself, payback, return on investment
• more efficient than, better than your current system
• eligible, qualify, entitled, approved, covered by a grant or scheme
• free, guaranteed, future-proof, zero carbon

The fixed lines in the first and third rows go into the quote exactly once, in the same place on every quote, so that the claim-free wording becomes a habit and customers learn where to look for it.

A tempting shortcut is to let the assistant mention an incentive amount because it seems to know the scheme. Resist it. Whatever figure it recalls comes from whenever its training data was gathered, schemes change their amounts and rules, and a number in your quote becomes the customer's evidence of what you promised. If a scheme requires the installer to state something, a person copies it from the scheme's current published page and records the date beside it.

The builder prompt, a typical bad output and the fixes

Give the assistant the three inputs and tight rules:

You are helping a heat pump installer turn a designer's sheet and a price book into
a quote. INPUTS: (1) DESIGNER SHEET, (2) PRICE BOOK, (3) SURVEY NOTES.
Write: an option table (what is included, the designer's figures, price); one
plain-English paragraph per option; a numbered assumptions list where each assumption
says who confirms it; a numbered exclusions list.
RULES
- Use only figures that appear in the inputs. Copy kW, temperatures, model names and
  counts exactly. If a figure is missing, write MISSING: [what is needed].
- Do not calculate, estimate or change heat loss, unit size, flow temperature or
  radiator sizes.
- Do not mention savings, running costs, efficiency comparisons, payback, carbon,
  grants, incentives or eligibility, except the two FIXED LINES below.
- Never use: save, saving, cheaper, cut bills, pays for itself, eligible, qualify,
  free, guaranteed, future-proof.
- Plain English, short sentences, no sales language.
FIXED LINES (insert exactly, once each)
1. Running costs depend on your electricity tariff, how you use the home and the
   temperatures you set. This quote makes no estimate of them.
2. Incentive schemes set their own eligibility rules and change over time. We cannot
   confirm eligibility; the scheme's administrator decides.

Use placeholders for personal details in every prompt, such as [customer], [address] and [survey date], and merge the real details afterwards. The assistant never needs a name to describe a heat pump option, and your template stays reusable.

Even with those rules, expect slips. A first draft of the Option B paragraph might read: "Option B is our most efficient option and should noticeably reduce your heating bills. You may be eligible for a government grant covering part of the cost. The new 9 kW unit is sized for your home. All necessary electrical upgrades are included." Four fixes:

• "Most efficient" and "reduce your heating bills" go. Neither is on the designer's sheet, and the second is exactly what the quote must not say. The fixed running-costs line replaces them.
• "May be eligible for a government grant" goes. The fixed incentive line replaces it.
• "9 kW" is wrong: the sheet says 8 kW. The assistant altered a figure while tidying, which is why the next section has a comparison check. "Sized for your home" is also a design claim that belongs to the designer, so the sentence becomes "8 kW model, as selected by the designer".
• "All necessary electrical upgrades are included" becomes the real scope: "new dedicated circuit from the existing panel; panel upgrade excluded, see provisional items".

Two checks before it goes out: a claims scan and a figure check

Run each check in a fresh chat session, so the assistant is not anchored by its own draft. The first prompt looks for claims:

Here is a draft heat pump quote. List every sentence that says or implies: money
saved, lower running costs, higher efficiency than another system, payback,
environmental benefit, grant or incentive amounts, scheme names or eligibility, or a
promised result such as comfort, temperature, noise or lifespan. For each, quote the
sentence and name the category. If there are none, reply NONE FOUND. Do not rewrite
anything.

The second compares the quote with the designer's sheet:

Compare the quote with the designer's sheet below. List (a) every figure in the quote
that differs from the sheet or does not appear on it, and (b) every item on the sheet
that is missing from the quote. Report each as: quote says / sheet says. Do not guess.

A result from the second check might read: "Quote says 9 kW unit / sheet says 8 kW model. Quote lists two radiators / sheet lists three. Quote does not mention the cylinder assessment / sheet says existing cylinder to be assessed." That is the kind of mismatch a human reader skims past after the third read. Treat both scans as a backstop, not a replacement: an assistant misses things, so the designer still signs the technical figures and a person still reads every quote before it is sent.

When the survey changes the price: a variation that stays friendly

Suppose the electrician's check finds that the panel has no spare capacity. Assumption 5 no longer holds, and the provisional line applies. The message to the customer, which an assistant can draft and you should read before sending:

Hi [first name], the electrician's check on [date] found no spare capacity in the existing electrical panel, so assumption 5 in your quote does not hold. Variation V1: panel upgrade, $1,450 (within the provisional range on page [x]). New total for Option B: $17,350. Please reply YES to approve it, or call me to talk it through. We will not start the electrical work until you reply. [Your name]

The arithmetic is $15,900 plus $1,450, which is $17,350. The conversation stays short because the quote named this possibility, gave a range and said how the decision would be made. If the quote had said "all necessary electrical work included", the same finding would have become a dispute about who was wrong. The heat pump installer software tutorial compares tools that link surveys, heat-loss figures and quotes in one place, which helps with this version tracking.

The cover email and what you say when asked about savings or grants

The cover email is the first thing the customer reads, so keep it as claim-free as the quote. An assistant can draft it from the quote summary:

Hi [first name], thank you for having us survey the house on [date]. The attached quote sets out three options, A, B and C, with what each includes and the designer's figures copied from the heat-loss and design sheet. Please read the assumptions and exclusions pages: they list what we have assumed and what is not included, and anything that turns out differently at the electrical check will come back to you as a priced variation for approval. The quote does not estimate running costs and does not include or promise any incentive. Prices are valid for 30 days. If you would like to talk it through, call me on [number]. [Your name]

The harder moment is the phone call. Two customer questions come up again and again, and you need short answers that stay inside the rules. If asked "How much will I save?", a sound reply is: "I can't give you a figure I would stand behind, because it depends on your tariff, how you use the house and the temperatures you set. I can give you the designer's heat-loss sheet and the manufacturer's data sheet, and you can work with your own bills." If asked "Will I get a grant?", say: "The scheme decides, not us. I will point you to its own page for the current rules, and if it needs documents from us, we will supply them." Rehearse both with the whole team, because the sales conversation is where claims leak back in once the paperwork is clean.

A one-page decision summary for the customer

A six-page quote is easy to skim. A one-page summary that sits on top of it helps them choose between the options without adding any claims. Ask the assistant for it from the finished, checked quote, and give it a reading-level target:

From the finished quote below, write a one-page summary for a homeowner with no
technical background. Sections: what the three options are (one line each), what
changes between them, what every option includes, what none of them includes, what
happens next. Reading age about 12. Use only facts in the quote and keep every number
exactly as written. No statements about bills, efficiency, incentives or comfort.

The first section of the result might read: "A keeps your existing radiators, and your existing cylinder if the survey finds it suitable. B adds a new cylinder and replaces three radiators, as the designer recommends. C adds outdoor-temperature controls and two heating zones to B." Check the summary against the quote number by number, because simplifying language is exactly when a figure gets altered. Then ask someone outside the trade to read it. If they cannot say what separates B from C, rewrite it before it goes anywhere near a customer.

Reviewing the template as quotes go out

A template improves only if you count something. Track four things over the first twenty quotes: the number of variations after survey, the questions customers ask about the quote, the minutes it takes to produce one, and how many drafts the claims scan flagged. Variations should fall as your assumptions get sharper. Flagged drafts should fall as the prompt tightens. Questions are a free source of new assumptions, because each repeated question marks something the quote left unclear.

A quick sum, using invented figures. If a hand-written quote takes three hours and a checked, AI-assisted one takes ninety minutes, eight quotes a month take twelve fewer hours. Those hours are only real if the designer's sign-off and your own read-through stay in place. Cutting them to go faster brings back the figures nobody owned, the sentence nobody checked and the argument you started with. For wording a follow-up message after the quote, the quote follow-up tutorial shows a sequence that keeps the same plain tone.

Questions installers ask about AI-drafted heat pump quotes

Can I say a heat pump will lower the customer's bills?

Not in a quote template. Running costs depend on the customer's tariff, how they use the home and the temperatures they set, none of which you control. Say that, and offer the manufacturer's published data sheet if the customer wants figures, without turning those figures into a prediction.

Can the quote mention incentives at all?

A neutral sentence can: schemes have their own rules, the scheme's administrator decides eligibility, and the quote neither deducts nor promises any amount. Never let an assistant write an amount, a scheme name or an eligibility statement. If you apply for the customer, copy the details from the scheme's current page and note the date.

Should the AI see the customer's name and address?

No, it does not need them. Draft with placeholders such as [customer] and [address] and merge the real details afterwards in your quoting software or a mail merge. It keeps personal data out of chat history, and it stops leftover names from the last job turning up in the next quote.

Who should check an AI-drafted quote?

Ideally three people over time: the designer for every technical figure, you or your estimator for prices and scope, and a solicitor once, when the template is first set up, for the terms and any liability wording. After that, the designer's sign-off and your own read-through before each send are the routine checks.

Further reads

• How to Use AI in HVAC Design: Options, Duct Checks and Proposals — Options, duct checks and proposals for wider HVAC design.
• Boiler Installation Checklist: AI Sorts the Photos, You Sign the Records — The handover side: photos and records after installation.
• Air Conditioning Installation Business: Survey Notes to Quote With AI — Survey notes to quote for air-conditioning installs.
• Solar Site Survey Checklist: Photos and Notes Sorted Into a Report With AI — Another survey-to-report workflow with photos and notes.
• Heating Engineer Software Compared: What AI Adds for a UK Firm — What AI adds inside heating engineers' job software.
• Heating Engineer Website: What the AI Chatbot and Form Should Ask — What a heating firm's website chatbot and form should ask.
• Home Energy Audit Report: Turn Findings Into a Client Report With AI — Turn audit notes into a client report with AI: a findings table, priority order, plain-English summary and savings as ranges, with every figure checked.
• Insulation Contractor Marketing: Autumn Campaigns and Local Pages With AI — A fact-sheet method for autumn campaigns and local pages that AI drafts without savings figures, payback talk or paraphrased grant wording.
• Insulation Proposals: Explain Options With AI Without Promising Savings — Option-by-option wording for insulation proposals, with a plain-English R-value explanation and a claim check that keeps savings promises out.
• Insulation Quote Template: Material, Thickness and Area Lines With AI — A line-item insulation quote with thickness, area and exclusion wording, plus a prompt that flags missing measurements instead of inventing them.
• Solar Battery Quote Template: Options Explained With AI, No Backup Promises — A solar battery quote template that explains kWh against kW, lists backed-up circuits, states warranty limits and keeps AI to the installer's own numbers.
• Window Installation Quote Template: Specs, Lead Times, Exclusions With AI — A window quote built from a worked eight-window schedule: spec lines, U-value wording, lead-time dates, making-good exclusions and an AI prompt with checks.
• Free AI for Grant Writing: ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for Business Bids — Where free ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini plans cope with a small-business grant bid, and where their limits get in the way.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: the author's own quote structure. Figures, prices and wording are illustrations, not legal or technical advice; heat loss, flow temperature, unit size and emitter sizing come from your designer's sheet.