HVAC estimating software. Duct, air devices, and equipment, priced on your numbers.
HVAC estimating software turns mechanical drawings into a priced HVAC bid: duct measured by system and size, diffusers, VAV boxes, RTUs, AHUs, and fans counted by tag against the schedules, and every line priced on your own price book and labor units. Below, watch a mechanical plan get measured and priced, see the reference table and our view on where HVAC bids slip, and get a free takeoff on your own set.
Measuring first? Mechanical Takeoff Software
Clients include
Construction companies working with Ruh
Can AI HVAC estimating software identify diffusers, grilles, and registers?
Yes. Ruh counts every diffuser, grille, and register by tag against the air device schedule, measures duct by system and size off the mechanical plans, and prices the lines through 17 starting HVAC recipes you can edit. The starting recipe for 24 in by 12 in duct in 24 gauge carries 8 lb of sheet metal per foot, so 100 LF of main is 800 lb before waste.
- HVAC recipes to start from, yours to edit
- 17
- of sheet metal in the starting recipe for 24 x 12 in, 24 gauge duct
- 8 lb/LF
- on every device, the second one blind
- 2 counts
What happens before an HVAC line is priced?
Ruh reads the mechanical plan against the equipment and air device schedules, runs the supply main and branches by size, counts every diffuser, grille, VAV box, and fan by tag, and works out the duct wrap from the main's length and size, so the quantities behind the bid can be checked run by run.
- 1
The supply main and the spiral branches are measured by the foot, by system and size, and each run's gauge comes from the duct recipe you assign.
- 2
Supply diffusers, return grilles, VAV boxes, the rooftop unit, and the exhaust fan are counted by tag against the equipment and air device schedules.
- 3
Duct wrap is worked out from the main's length and perimeter and labeled as derived. The controls points wait: their scope is on a sheet that was not sent.
Where HVAC estimates come up short
HVAC estimates come up short between the plan and the schedule: duct that has to be priced by the foot and the pound, equipment tags that do not match the schedule, and controls scope nobody owns.
Ductwork by the pound vs by the foot
Sheet metal is bought by the pound and hung by the foot. A run measured in feet but never converted on the gauge leaves the material short, and a run priced only by weight leaves the hanging hours out.
Equipment schedules fight the plan tags
A VAV on the plan with no schedule entry, or a schedule line with no tag on the plan, is a unit priced twice or not at all. The counts have to agree before anything is priced.
Division 25 controls creep
Controls points, low-voltage wiring, and sequences sit between the mechanical, electrical, and controls contractors. Left unresolved, that scope lands in your number by default.
Our view: An HVAC estimate should carry both numbers for every duct run, feet for the labor and pounds for the material, and show which schedule every unit was counted against. When it does, a reviewer can check a run in a minute instead of rebuilding the takeoff.
What an HVAC estimate is built from
An HVAC estimate, Division 23 of the spec, starts from the mechanical plans and schedules and builds the sheet metal, devices, and equipment from them. Every row lists the drawing behind a quantity and the price it carries.
| Line | Where the quantity comes from | Unit | What it is priced on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rectangular duct | Duct plan by system and size, gauge from your duct recipe | LF and LB | Galvanized sheet by the pound, hanging labor by the foot |
| Round and spiral duct | Duct plan, by size | LF | Duct, fittings, hangers, labor |
| Duct insulation and wrap | Insulated runs, from length and duct size | SF | Wrap, tape, insulator labor |
| Diffusers, registers, and grilles | Air device schedule and ceiling plans | EA | Device, flex, labor per device |
| VAV boxes and terminal units | Equipment schedule, counted by tag | EA | Unit, hangers, connection labor |
| RTUs, AHUs, and fans | Equipment schedule, counted by tag | EA | Supplier quote, curb, rigging, crane time |
| Refrigerant and hydronic piping | Piping plans, by size and material | LF | Pipe, insulation, labor |
| Controls points | Controls drawings and Division 25 | EA | Your controls subcontractor or your own rates |
Typical practice, not a standard. In Ruh, equipment is counted by tag, duct is measured by system and size, and every rate comes from your price files, rate book, and quotes.
A worked HVAC estimate
A small single-floor tenant fit-out. Off the mechanical schedules and plans, the takeoff lands at 6 RTUs, 18 VAV boxes, 64 diffusers and grilles, 4,200 lb of galvanized duct converted from feet through the duct recipes, and 1,800 SF of duct insulation.
Illustrative rates. In Ruh every rate comes from your own price files, and every quantity traces to a counted tag or a measured run.
- 1Rooftop units6 x $11,500 set, connected, and started = $69,000
- 2Galvanized duct4,200 lb x $14.50 per lb, fabricated and installed = $60,900
- 3VAV boxes18 x $1,350 set and connected = $24,300
- 4Diffusers and grilles64 x $185 = $11,840
- 5Duct insulation1,800 SF x $4.25 = $7,650
How does an HVAC takeoff become a priced bid?
The measured duct and counted devices land in a budget grouped by trade. Each line prices from your rate book, a price file, or a supplier quote, the rooftop unit waits for its equipment quote, and the source stays on every line as it rolls up to the proposed bid.
- ✓
Equipment by supplier quote
Rooftop units and other scheduled equipment price from the supplier quote you enter, and the line keeps that quote as its source.
- ✓
Duct by the foot and the pound
A duct run's assembly carries the sheet metal by the pound and the hanging hours by the foot, with the factor shown on each line.
- ✓
Markups you set
Margin, overhead, fee, and contingency are yours and roll up to the proposed bid, with a unit rate on the measured quantity.
- ✓
Approval comes before the proposal
No proposal is built until your estimator approves the HVAC budget.
From mechanical drawings to a priced HVAC bid in three steps
- 1
Send the drawings
Mechanical plans, equipment and air device schedules, duct and piping details, the Division 23 spec, and any equipment quotes already in hand, as PDF or CAD.
- 2
Ruh measures and prices
Duct is measured by system and size, devices and equipment counted by tag, the counts checked against the schedules, and every line priced on your files with its source shown.
- 3
Your estimator approves it
Settle the flagged lines, enter the open quotes, adjust a factor or a markup, and approve. Duct, device, and equipment lines export, and the proposal is drawn from the approved budget.
Price your next HVAC bid from a free takeoff.
Send one mechanical set. We return the takeoff at no cost so you can price it on your own numbers and see the duct, devices, and equipment laid out run by run and tag by tag.
In a customer's own words
“Our estimators spent more time retyping quantities than thinking about scope. Ruh reads our drawings like a senior estimator and hands back a priced estimate we want to review, not rebuild.”
Director of PreconstructionADF Group- faster bid turnaround
- ~50%
- ADF Group, structural steel
- on every takeoff, the second one blind
- 2 counts
- Checks tab, before anything is priced
- tied to the sheet it came from
- Every line
- Takeoff and price sheet
HVAC estimating software FAQs
What HVAC contractors ask before pricing a real bid with AI.
What is HVAC estimating software?
HVAC estimating software prices a mechanical bid from the drawings: duct measured by system and size, air devices and equipment counted by tag, piping and insulation measured, then labor, equipment quotes, and markup. Ruh runs the HVAC takeoff from your mechanical set and prices every line on your own price book, for commercial HVAC contractors and mechanical subcontractors.
Is it HVAC takeoff software too?
What do HVAC estimating programs do that a spreadsheet does not?
Is there AI HVAC estimating software?
Does it use my HVAC price book or a generic cost database?
How accurate is the HVAC takeoff?
Is it HVAC bidding software for commercial bids?
Will it work with the tools we already use?
What stays in the HVAC estimator's hands?
Bring one mechanical job. Check the counts yourself.
One mechanical set, a free takeoff, and a 30-minute walk through the duct, devices, equipment, and the budget they price into. If the counts do not hold up against yours, it cost you nothing.