Predictika · HVAC split-system quote validator, modeled on a distributor's residential equipment catalog

A contractor's HVAC quote, checked before it goes to the homeowner

A contractor's quoting agent prepares a split-system air conditioner or heat pump quote for a homeowner and says it is ready to send. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika's validator, which checks the outdoor and indoor units, the AHRI certificate, the refrigerant, the regional efficiency minimum, the sizing against the home's load, the heat source, the permit and the discount together, and reports every problem it finds in one pass.

Scope: Quotes for residential split systems from three brands (Goodman, Trane and Carrier style outdoor units, air handlers and coils) in three DOE efficiency regions. Prices, ratings and AHRI references are estimates or placeholders, not a distributor or manufacturer price list. See everything this validator covers

This validator checks any quote made of these units, regions and options, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • The matched system — the AHRI certificate must certify the outdoor and indoor units quoted together, and both must use the same refrigerant.
  • Refrigerant transition — new R410A systems are not allowed from 2026, and the regional SEER2 minimum applies.
  • Sizing — the system against the home's load, with an undersized system refused and an oversized one sent for approval.
  • Heat and permit — a heat source for northern air conditioning systems and a permit on every job.
  • Price — contractor tier pricing, utility rebates and the discount authority.

Any quote made of these units, regions and options is in scope, not only the scenarios pictured here. Not checked: real prices and rebates, a full load calculation, duct design, installation labor and the accuracy of the facts the caller states.

The quoting agentPrepares the split-system quote from the homeowner's request and says it is ready to send.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

5 scenarios in 2 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The quoting agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: quoting agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where a rules-based quote checklist gets this wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based quote checklist or form validator (one rule per field, each limit checked on its own) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtA rules-based quote checklistPredictika
A certificate that must match a pairOnly with workarounds
The AHRI certificate is valid only for one outdoor and indoor pair, so a checklist needs a table of every certified pair and a rule to look it up.		The certified pairs are catalog data, and the cited certificate is checked against the pair on every call.
Limits that depend on each otherOnly with care
Changing the indoor unit changes the refrigerant match, the certificate match, the heat source and the price at once, and a checklist treats them as unrelated fields.		The units, the certificate, the refrigerant and the heat source are re-evaluated together on every call.
Rules that depend on the region and the yearOnly with care
The efficiency minimum varies by region and the R410A ban by install year, so each combination needs its own rule.		The region and year are fields of the request, and the minimums are looked up from them.
A condition that applies only in some casesOnly with care
A heat source is needed only for northern air conditioning systems, so the rule needs a guard.		The condition and its trigger are in the same request and checked together.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Form checks usually stop at the first failing field, so a contractor fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1The AHRI certificate cited must certify the outdoor unit and indoor unit being quoted as a pair.
2The outdoor and indoor units must use the same refrigerant.
3A new system installed in 2026 or later cannot use R410A.
4The rated efficiency must meet the DOE minimum SEER2 for the region.
5The system capacity must cover the home load, and a system much larger than the load needs approval as oversized.
6A northern air conditioning system needs a heat source.
7A permit is required.
8A discount above the contractor tier authority is refused, and one at the edge of it needs approval.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. An outdoor unit and a coil that do not match: An R454B condenser on an R410A coil

    
The agent's request. Please check this split-system quote for the Delgado family in the North region: a Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton air conditioner (R454B) with a Goodman CAPTA 3-ton coil (R410A) and a furnace, citing AHRI certificate 210102, for a 3.0-ton home load, installed in 2026, permit pulled, Gold contractor tier. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Certificate does not match the pair. AHRI certificate 210102 does not certify the Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton AC (R454B) with the Goodman CAPTA 3-ton coil (R410A); the quote needs an AHRI-matched pair.
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  • Mixed refrigerants. The GLXS4BA outdoor unit uses R454B and the CAPTA coil uses R410A, so they cannot be paired.
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  • Price. List $6,300; Gold tier gives $5,229 and there is no rebate. Estimates, not a Ferguson or manufacturer price.
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2. An outdoor unit and a coil that do not match: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. I swapped the coil for the Goodman AMVT 3-ton air handler (R454B) on the Delgado quote, but I kept the AHRI certificate 210101 I had cited. Same 3.0-ton load, North region, installed in 2026, permit pulled, Gold tier. Please check it.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Certificate does not match the pair. AHRI certificate 210101 does not certify the Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton AC (R454B) with the Goodman AMVT 3-ton air handler (R454B); the quote needs an AHRI-matched pair.
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  • Price. List $5,550; Gold tier gives $4,606.50 and there is no rebate. Estimates, not a Ferguson or manufacturer price.
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3. An outdoor unit and a coil that do not match: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. I corrected the AHRI certificate to 210102 and added a thermostat on the Delgado quote: Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton AC with the Goodman AMVT 3-ton air handler, North region, 3.0-ton load, installed in 2026, permit pulled, Gold tier. Please check it.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Price. The certificate now matches the pair. List $5,800; Gold tier gives $4,814 and there is no rebate. The rated efficiency is 15.0 SEER2. Estimates, not a Ferguson or manufacturer price.
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4. A northern air conditioner with no heat: An air conditioner and coil in the North with no heat source

    
The agent's request. Please check this quote for the Hartley family in the North region: a Goodman GSXH5 3-ton air conditioner (R410A) with a Goodman CAPTA 3-ton coil (R410A), citing AHRI certificate 210101, for a 3.0-ton home load, installed in 2025, permit pulled, Gold contractor tier. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • No heat source. A northern air conditioning system needs a heat source: a furnace, or electric heat in the air handler.
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  • Price. List $4,200; Gold tier gives $3,486 and there is no rebate. Estimates, not a Ferguson or manufacturer price.
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5. A northern air conditioner with no heat: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. I added a furnace to the Hartley quote: Goodman GSXH5 3-ton AC with the Goodman CAPTA 3-ton coil, AHRI certificate 210101, North region, 3.0-ton load, installed in 2025, permit pulled, Gold tier. Please check it.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Price. With a furnace the system has a heat source. List $6,100; Gold tier gives $5,063 and there is no rebate. The rated efficiency is 14.0 SEER2, which meets the northern minimum. Estimates, not a Ferguson or manufacturer price.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. A contractor's quoting agent prepares a split-system air conditioner or heat pump quote for a homeowner and says it is ready to send. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika's validator, which checks the outdoor and indoor units, the AHRI certificate, the refrigerant, the regional efficiency minimum, the sizing against the home's load, the heat source, the permit and the discount together, and reports every problem it finds in one pass.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please check this split-system quote for the Delgado family in the North region: a Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton air conditioner (R454B). It is ready to send. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. AHRI certificate 210102 does not certify the Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton AC (R454B) with the Goodman CAPTA 3-ton coil (R410A); the quote needs an AHRI-matched pair. The GLXS4BA outdoor unit uses R454B and the CAPTA coil uses R410A, so they cannot be paired.
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  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for limits that depend on each other, a rules-based quote checklist is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the indoor unit to Goodman AMVT 3-ton air handler (R454B) and the AHRI certificate cited to AHRI 210101. It removes the furnace.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Still blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. AHRI certificate 210101 does not certify the Goodman GLXS4BA 3-ton AC (R454B) with the Goodman AMVT 3-ton air handler (R454B); the quote needs an AHRI-matched pair.
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  12. One finding cleared. Still blocking: certificate does not match the pair.
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  13. The agent resubmits once more.
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  14. The revised request. It changes the AHRI certificate cited to AHRI 210102. It sets the thermostat to yes.
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  15. It calls the validator once more.
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  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. The earlier finding is cleared.
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  18. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    19.