# HVAC estimate description prompt: free ChatGPT template > Turn a technician's notes into a homeowner-friendly HVAC estimate: each option side by side, prices only from your list, terms like SEER2 explained. Source: https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/hvac-estimate-description-prompt · Updated 2026-10-01 · Free from Stepthrough (https://learn.ynteractive.com) [Quotes and estimates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#job-quotes-and-estimates) · [Trades](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts#industry-trades) · Works in ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot Updated October 1, 2026 · By [Robert Breen](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/about) Use this when a tech's notes ("3T AC, 17 yrs, hard start, cap bulging, line set OK") need to become an estimate a homeowner can read at the kitchen table. HVAC estimates often carry a choice, such as repair now or replace, and terms like SEER2 that mean nothing to most customers. A bare request gets you emoji, a "limited time offer" and promised savings, as the [HVAC estimate writer lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/hvac-estimate-writer-custom-gpt) shows. This prompt sets your price list, your rules and a side-by-side layout for options. ## The prompt Copy it into ChatGPT (or Claude, Gemini or Copilot) and replace every `[BLANK]` with your own details. It uses the four parts from [Prompt Writing 101](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format): Role, Context, Task and Format. Copy prompt ```text Role: You are the estimate writer for [BUSINESS], a residential heating and cooling company. You write like an honest technician explaining the job at the kitchen table. Context: Our services and prices: [PRICE LIST]. Only use prices from that list. If the notes leave out something that changes the price (system size, equipment, access), write "starting at" and say the final price is confirmed at an in-home visit. Explain any technical term (SEER2, AFUE, line set, heat pump) in a few words. Never promise energy savings in dollars, mention rebates or tax credits only if the notes include them, and don't criticize the customer's current equipment brand. Task: Turn the technician's notes below into the estimate description. If the notes give more than one option, such as repair now or replace, write each option as its own block so the homeowner can compare them. Format: For each option: a one-line summary of the job and equipment, then "What's included" as a short bulleted list, then price, warranty and how long the job takes. End with one next step: [NEXT STEP]. Under 200 words per option. No emoji, no all caps, no pressure words. Technician's notes: [TECH NOTES] ``` ## Fill in the blanks **`[BUSINESS]`** Your company name and what you do. **`[PRICE LIST]`** The lines from your price list that could apply, with what each includes and its warranty. Upload the full list to a Custom GPT if you use this often. **`[NEXT STEP]`** How the homeowner approves or asks questions, such as "reply to approve, or call the office." **`[TECH NOTES]`** The tech's notes, shorthand and all: customer, equipment, age, what they found, the options they discussed. ## Example, filled in **A made-up example** from the free lesson [Build an AI Estimate Writer for Your HVAC Company](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/hvac-estimate-writer-custom-gpt). Cedar Ridge Heating & Air is the made-up HVAC company in the estimate writer lesson. A tech found a failing 17-year-old air conditioner and gave the homeowner two options. Copy example ```text Role: You are the estimate writer for Cedar Ridge Heating & Air, a residential heating and cooling company. You write like an honest technician explaining the job at the kitchen table. Context: Our services and prices: AC capacitor replacement, $245, 90-day labor warranty. Central AC replacement, 3-ton, 15.2 SEER2, $7,850 installed, including permit, startup test and haul-away of the old unit, 10-year parts warranty when registered, 2-year labor warranty, one day. Only use prices from that list. If the notes leave out something that changes the price (system size, equipment, access), write "starting at" and say the final price is confirmed at an in-home visit. Explain any technical term (SEER2, AFUE, line set, heat pump) in a few words. Never promise energy savings in dollars, mention rebates or tax credits only if the notes include them, and don't criticize the customer's current equipment brand. Task: Turn the technician's notes below into the estimate description. If the notes give more than one option, such as repair now or replace, write each option as its own block so the homeowner can compare them. Format: For each option: a one-line summary of the job and equipment, then "What's included" as a short bulleted list, then price, warranty and how long the job takes. End with one next step: reply to approve an option, or call the office with questions. Under 200 words per option. No emoji, no all caps, no pressure words. Technician's notes: Ray Donnelly. 3-ton AC, 17 yrs old. Hard start, capacitor bulging. Option A: replace capacitor, gets it running, compressor is old, no promise how long it lasts. Option B: replace AC with 3-ton 15.2 SEER2. Existing line set OK to reuse. ``` ## What a good answer looks like - Two clearly labeled options, so the homeowner compares them instead of feeling pushed. - Option A honest about the old compressor, in the tech's own terms, without scare words. - SEER2 and "line set" each explained in a few words. - $245 and $7,850 exactly as listed, with the right warranty under each, and no savings claim. ## How to check it before you use it An AI draft can sound right and still say something you never told it. Use the habit from the [Reply Faster lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/chatgpt-reply-to-customer-emails): check every promise, name, date and number against what you gave it before anything goes out. - Match every price and warranty to your price list. If the AI wrote a number that isn't there, it's wrong. - Search for "save," "lower bills," "rebate" and "limited time." Delete anything your notes didn't include. - Have the tech read the plain-English explanations. Simple and wrong is worse than technical. - Make sure each option's "What's included" matches what you'll actually do. ## Why this prompt works The Context holds the rules that keep an estimate trustworthy: your prices only, honest "starting at" language, and no savings promises. The two-block Format respects the homeowner's choice. If you write these every week, put the rules in [GPT instructions](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/gpt-instructions) and the price list in [knowledge files](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/gpt-knowledge-files), as the lesson does. ## Practice it in the free lesson **[Prompt Writing 101: Role, Context, Task, Format](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompt-writing-101-role-context-task-format)**: Ask ChatGPT for the same customer email twice, once vaguely and once with a four-part prompt, and see exactly why structure gets a better answer. You do every step yourself in a practice copy of ChatGPT, and nothing touches your real accounts. [Start the free lesson](https://learn.ynteractive.com/modules/prompt-writing-101) ## Terms used here [Estimate, quote and bid](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/estimate-vs-quote) · [GPT instructions](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/gpt-instructions) · [Knowledge files](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary/gpt-knowledge-files) ## Related prompts - [Electrical bid scope of work prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/electrical-bid-scope-prompt): Write an electrical bid's scope of work in job order, with included, not included, assumptions and a price range from your… - [Quote email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/quote-email-prompt): Write the short email that sends a finished quote: the job and price exactly as quoted, the customer's question answered, and… - [Change order email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/change-order-email-prompt): Explain extra work found mid-job and get written approval: what you found, the added cost, the new total, and what happens if… - [Quote follow-up email prompt](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts/quote-follow-up-email-prompt): Follow up on a quote that got no reply: remind them what it covered, answer the likely question, and make yes, a question or "no… [All free prompt templates](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/prompts) · [AI glossary](https://learn.ynteractive.com/content/glossary)