What a real pool heater quote should say, line by line

Get more than one, in writing

A verbal number over the phone is not a quote. It cannot be held to later, and it usually leaves out exactly the utility-hookup and permit items that move a real bid the most. Getting a written estimate, and getting more than one rather than taking the first number you hear, is ordinary practice for any home-improvement job, pool heater included — it is the only way to tell whether a low number is a good deal or a missing line item.

Do not automatically take the lowest of several written bids either. Ask what it excludes before assuming it is simply the better price; the difference is very often a scope difference, not a discount.

The equipment line

A gas quote should name an input rating, not an output rating, because that is how the industry sells the equipment. A heater listed at 250,000 BTU per hour input delivers 205,000 BTU per hour into the water at the 82% federal minimum thermal efficiency — never the input figure itself. If a gas quote states only one BTU number with no efficiency alongside it, ask which one it is; the gas heater page works this distinction in full, including the gas-supply rate that input figure implies.

A heat pump quote should name the nameplate capacity and the air temperature it is rated at — almost always the AHRI 80.6 °F condition, a warm afternoon. That nameplate is not what the unit delivers on a cool morning; the heat pump page derates any nameplate you give it against real air temperatures, so you can check a quote's sizing math before you sign it.

The utility-hookup line

Does the quote say whether a new gas line, a new electrical circuit, or bonding work is included, or does it assume the pad is already wired and piped for the new unit? This is the single most common gap between a phone estimate and a final invoice. If the quote is silent on it, ask directly — is the gas line included, or is my existing line assumed to be adequate?

The permit line

Who pulls the permit, and is the fee included in the quoted price or billed separately? A contractor who says a permit is not required for a heater swap is worth a second opinion — see the permits and code page for what a permit inspection is actually checking and why skipping it is a real risk, not a technicality.

Removal, warranty and startup

• Old equipment removal and disposal. Either a named line item or an explicit "not included."
• Warranty terms, separated by parts and labor. Manufacturer parts warranties and installer labor warranties are frequently different lengths, and a quote that states only one is telling you about the shorter one, not necessarily the parts warranty.
• Startup and commissioning. Firing the unit, checking gas pressure or refrigerant charge, and confirming the water-flow safety switch is not the same step as physically setting the unit on the pad. A quote that ends at "installed" without a startup line has usually just not written it down, but it is worth asking to see it named.

Red flags that have nothing to do with the price

A number that seems too low is the obvious warning sign, but several of the more common problems show up before price ever comes up:

• Cash-only, no written contract. A legitimate installer wants the paper trail as much as you do, for warranty claims and for their own liability coverage.
• Pressure to sign today for a special price. A pool heater install is not a perishable inventory item. A quote that expires in hours is a sales tactic, not a reflection of a real cost that is about to change.
• No license or insurance information offered. Ask directly, and ask to see it, not just be told it exists. An installer working on gas lines and electrical circuits without a license is outside the code-compliance path the permits and code page describes, whatever they quote.
• A number with no line items behind it. "Installed, all-in" with nothing broken out is frequently the format a lowball quote uses to avoid stating which utility-hookup and permit items were left out.

Comparing two quotes that are not apples to apples

The most common reason two quotes for "the same job" differ by more than a small margin is that they are not the same job: different input or nameplate ratings, one including the gas line and one excluding it, one on a fully licensed permit path and one assuming an owner pulls it. Before comparing two totals, line up what each one actually includes using the checklist above. Once the scope matches, the payback page is where the comparison belongs — installed-cost difference against the seasonal operating-cost difference this site derives for your pool.