Greater VictoriaHeat Pumps

Why are my quotes so different and which is right?

Compare heat pump quotes line by line

Normalizes two or three quotes into one standard list (contractor, registration, system, model, capacity, zones, scope, electrical, ducts, removal, permits, rebate handling, warranties, maintenance, price, taxes, validity) and then explains what differs, what each quote leaves out, what cannot be compared line for line, and which questions to ask each contractor. It never ranks the quotes or names a winner: a lower price with missing scope is a different offer, not a cheaper version of the same one.

What you enter

  • Each quote as a PDF or photo (read once by our extraction step, never stored) or typed in by hand
  • The key lines: total price and whether GST is in, system type, model, capacity, and the scope, electrical, warranty and rebate-handling lines
  • Your saved cost estimate, if you ran the calculator, for context only

How it is calculated

  • Missing items are the lines a proper heat pump quote should state that this quote leaves blank or unclear
  • Differences are computed field by field; totals on different tax bases or for different system types are marked not comparable rather than compared
  • Questions are generated from the gaps, deterministically, so two people with the same quote get the same list
  • When you have a cost estimate, each total is placed above, within or below our published range with the usual drivers to ask about

What it is not

  • Not a recommendation of any contractor or quote
  • Extraction reads only what the document states; check every value before comparing
  • Our published range is context, not a judgment of a quote; the contractor's site visit prices the real job
  • Uploading a quote is treated as a strong purchase-intent signal on your case; nothing is shared with anyone without your explicit yes

Your quotes (two or three)

Upload each quote as a PDF or photo and we read the stated items for you to check, or type the key lines yourself. Documents are read once and never stored. Nothing here ranks the quotes.

Quote A
All quote lines (scope, electrical, warranties, rebate handling)
Quote B
All quote lines (scope, electrical, warranties, rebate handling)

Local facts this tool reads

Every figure below is quoted from the source shown or is our labelled estimate. Verified dates are the day we last checked the source.

Installed cost, Central ducted heat pump
$12,000–$22,000
Typical detached home · Existing electrical adequate unless stated
Heat Savers (installer) · our estimate · verified 2026-09-18
Installed cost, Ductless mini-split (single zone)
$4,500–$8,500
Typical detached home · Existing electrical adequate unless stated
Heat Savers (installer) · our estimate · verified 2026-09-18
Service upgrade 100 A → 200 A (utility involved)
$2,500–$6,000
An electrician decides what the home needs
BC Wide Electrical (Lower Mainland electrician) · our estimate · verified 2026-09-18
CleanBC Home Renovation Rebate — heat pump for electrically heated homes
Level 1 / any-income examples — ductless-single: $1,500; ductless-multi: $4,000; central-ducted: $4,000
Home primarily heated by electricity (baseboards, radiant, electric furnace or boiler) · Whole-home rebate ($4,000): sized to 100% of load at −5 °C with no resistance backup, NEEP cold-climate listed, CSA F280-12 heat-load calculation
Better Homes BC (Province of B.C.) · quoted · verified 2026-09-18
Permits for a residential heat pump in BC
An electrical permit is required to connect a heat pump; a licensed electrical contractor normally applies on your behalf. In the City of Victoria the City issues electrical permits; everywhere else in Greater Victoria it is Technical Safety BC. A gas permit is required when a furnace or boiler is removed.
Homeowners may hold their own electrical permit for their principal residence, except strata lots, non-strata duplexes and homes with a business; like-for-like thermostat swaps need no permit. · Strata owners cannot hold homeowner electrical permits; written strata approval is needed before an outdoor unit goes on common property, and before a rebate pre-approval code.
Technical Safety BC · quoted · verified 2026-09-18

Questions this tool answers

  • heat pump quotes victoria
  • compare heat pump quotes
  • heat pump quote too expensive
  • what should a heat pump quote include

Your next step

With the quotes normalized and missing items flagged, get a second opinion before you sign.

Get a second opinion by text or call

Related tools: Cost calculator · Rebate estimator

Guides that use this tool

Last updated 2026-09-18. Estimates are our labelled calculations from published local evidence; official figures are quoted from the sources shown. Programs decide eligibility; installers quote. Methodology · Sources · Report a correction.