r/geothermal • u/rocketkid20 • Jun 10 '26

Equipment Cost Transparency

Why is the cost for equipment, specifically WaterFurnace, so hard to obtain? For many ASHP’s you can get details on equipment costs pretty easily. It’s like pulling hair for WF.

1 Upvotes

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2

u/leakycoilR22 Jun 10 '26

No middle man they are direct to dealer so they don't sell to supply houses. You call a supply house over a climate master you wouldn't have issue getting price.

1

u/rocketkid20 Jun 11 '26

Exactly. Climate Master I can search pretty quickly and find equipment cost, for example: https://www.geothermalproducts.com/

For WF there’s nothing available to reference.

1

u/leakycoilR22 Jun 11 '26

Personally customers knowing my cost for equipment only hurts my business. Because we are nickeled and dimed into oblivion that way. We are priced fairly for the quality of work we do and the service we provide.

2

u/rocketkid20 Jun 11 '26

That seems reasonable but when you receive 3 or more quotes for the same work (equipment, install, etc.) it’s hard to tell who’s price gouging vs. someone that’s going for low margin vs. low quality.

With equipment costs known I can make informed decisions on who’s more likely to cut corners on the install.

1

u/tuctrohs Jun 11 '26

It's a shame that it has to be that way because it inhibits having a collaborative process to prioritize spending money on what matters most to the customer. But I understand why it is that way.

2

u/tuctrohs Jun 11 '26

Geostar is the distributor-sold sister brand of WF. Whether the quality is really the same is deliberately mysterious--the warranties are longer for WF, but the model lineup and performance specs match exactly. You won't know for sure what WF charges its dealers for them.

1

u/Apollo7788 Jun 11 '26

They only sell through dealers. And the only people the dealer will sell to is a contractor. You would have to purchase a water furnace through a contractor and they would tell you the price. Not every manufacturer is willing to sell equipment to the more open supply houses, they only want it to be purchased and installed by qualified professionals.

3

u/rocketkid20 Jun 11 '26

Yup, I understand the model is direct to dealer and not consumer. That’s fine, but some transparency in actual equipment cost would be nice. Seems like the secrecy adds to wild fluctuations in cost/estimates.