The federal floor under every Blacksburg quote
Start with the efficiency floor, the line any heat pump or central air proposal you collect can be read against. Virginia is in the Department of Energy's hot-humid Southeast region, where split-system central air conditioners installed on or after January 1, 2023 must be rated at least 14.3 SEER2 (13.8 SEER2 for 45,000 Btu/h and larger); split-system heat pumps must meet 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2 nationwide.
Reading the ratings on a proposal
A rating printed on a quote describes a pairing of equipment, not a single box. Put these to each company:
- Which outdoor unit and which indoor coil or air handler produce the SEER2 figure shown, and where can I look up that exact pairing?
- If this is a heat pump, does the HSPF2 figure belong to the same pairing?
- If you offer more than one efficiency tier, what changes between them: the compressor, the blower motor, the controls, or all three?
- What does each step up add to the price, and how did you work out the difference in yearly running cost?
Blacksburg in Census QuickFacts
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts gives Blacksburg a population estimate of 45,104 as of July 1, 2025 (V2025). The Census count on April 1, 2020 was 44,826.
Weather data
NOAA's engineering weather data has no station near Blacksburg; Roanoke, about 35 miles away, is the nearest listed.
Put together a file on your house
Estimators learn a great deal in a short visit when you hand them something to work from. Before the first appointment, gather a folder with:
- a list of rooms that never feel right, with the season and time of day each one bothers you;
- what the house heats with now, whether that is electricity, natural gas, propane or oil;
- photos of the data plates on the indoor and outdoor equipment, showing model and serial numbers;
- a full year of utility bills, if you have them;
- any changes since the current system went in: replacement windows, new insulation, a finished basement or attic room, an enclosed porch.
Give every bidder an identical copy. Proposals built from the same starting point are far easier to compare later.
How the size gets decided
Capacity is the number the rest of the proposal hangs on, so ask each estimator to explain it on paper:
- Will you measure the house and run a room-by-room load calculation, such as a Manual J, and leave me the report?
- What outdoor design conditions did you enter, and what was their source?
- Which inputs did you measure (window sizes, insulation depth, air leakage), and which did you assume?
- How does the calculated load compare with the equipment installed now?
- Would air sealing or more attic insulation, done first, change the answer?
When a bidder proposes exactly the old unit's size, ask what supports that choice beyond the old label.
Choosing what heats the house
Ask each company to price, as separate lines, every arrangement it is prepared to install and service:
- Heat pump with electric strip backup. Ask how much strip heat is included, what brings it on, and whether the thermostat can keep it from running during defrost when it is not needed.
- Furnace paired with an air conditioner. Ask which fuel it burns, its AFUE rating, whether the burner fires at one rate, two rates or modulates, and what kind of blower motor drives the air.
- Dual fuel. A heat pump carries most of the heating and a furnace takes over below a set outdoor temperature. Ask who chooses that changeover point and whether you can adjust it later.
- Ductless units. For an addition or a room the ducts serve poorly, ask whether a ductless head is worth pricing alongside the main system.
For every option, request a yearly running-cost estimate based on your own electric and fuel rates, with the arithmetic written out.
Supply, return and the rooms in between
Air needs a way back to the blower as well as a way out. Ask each bidder to take a static pressure reading on the current system and write it down, then to describe what they see on the duct runs they can reach: loose joints, flattened sections, ducts crossing an unheated attic or crawlspace without wrap. Ask whether rooms with their doors shut have a path back to a return, and whether the return side can carry the airflow of the new blower. Have duct testing, sealing and repair priced as their own lines, apart from the equipment.
Moisture control while cooling
Comfort in cooling mode depends on moisture removal as well as temperature. Ask how the proposed system handles indoor humidity, whether the blower can slow down to pull more water out of the air, and what happens to moisture removal if the equipment ends up larger than the load. If a room still feels clammy after the thermostat is satisfied, ask whether a variable-speed system or a separate dehumidifier is worth pricing.
The outdoor unit and the line set
Ask where the new outdoor unit will stand, what it will rest on, how much clearance it will have from walls, shrubs and dryer vents, and where the electrical disconnect will mount. Ask whether the existing refrigerant lines will be reused or replaced, and if reused, how they will be cleaned and tested. Ask for the pressure test and evacuation readings to be recorded on the start-up sheet, and ask how the refrigerant in the old equipment will be recovered.
Paperwork to ask for
Before you sign, ask each company:
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- Does the town need to issue a permit for this installation, who applies for it, and will an inspection follow?
- Will you hand over proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation? Your own insurer can tell you what the certificates show.
- Will your employees do the install, or a subcontractor?
- Does the maker's parts warranty depend on registering the equipment, and who takes care of that?
Lining the bids up
Copy each proposal onto one page using the same headings: model numbers for each piece, the rated pairing, the load calculation result, the heating arrangement and its controls, duct work, the thermostat, the outdoor unit's placement, line set work, removal of the old system, the permit, start-up readings and written parts and labor terms. Anything a bid leaves out goes back to that company as a question. Compare totals only after every heading is filled, because a low figure with gaps may describe a smaller job.