HVAC Change-Out Checklist Template: Free PDF Download

In this post, we’ll explain exactly what an HVAC change-out checklist is and why it’s helpful. Plus, we’ll share our free HVAC change-out checklist, which you can download below.

While a standalone HVAC change-out checklist template provides many benefits to HVAC contractors, from ensuring techs follow the right processes (in the right order), to reducing install time and minimizing errors that can lead to negative reviews and lost business, it has its limitations. 

Namely, a template can’t be updated and tracked in real-time and it can’t be viewed and shared between field techs and office staff. It also won’t integrate with other areas of your day-to-day operations such as building estimates or taking payments. 

So, for HVAC companies that want more than a free template, we’ll also discuss why using field service software (like ServiceTitan) that syncs your HVAC change-out checklist with the rest of your HVAC business operations increases productivity and helps you deliver an outstanding customer experience on every service call. 

Table of Contents

• What is an HVAC change-out checklist?

• View and download our HVAC change-out checklist

• The challenges of not using an HVAC change-out checklist

• How ServiceTitan’s mobile app helps your HVAC technicians work smarter

Want to see how ServiceTitan works to streamline your HVAC business operations? Schedule a call to get a free, live, one-on-one walk-through of the features we describe throughout this article.

What is an HVAC Change-Out Checklist?

When it comes to installing a new air conditioner or heat pump, or replacing a thermostat or ductwork, an HVAC change-out checklist provides a step-by-step guide for skilled HVAC technicians to follow a predetermined order of operations to complete the new system installation safely and efficiently. 

A checklist is typically broken down into sections and covers all aspects of installing a new HVAC unit. For example, sections may include a pre-arrival checklist, site inspection checklist, air quality checklist, and checklists for installing individual components, such as a compressor, air handler, evaporator, blower, etc.

Here’s how our HVAC change-out checklist template works.

View and Download Our HVAC Change-Out Checklist Template

We’ve designed our free HVAC change-out checklist to be generic so it can be adapted to any type of HVAC equipment.

Our template includes the following sections:

• Pre-installation

• Preparation

• Removal of the old unit

• Installation of the new unit

• Post-installation

• Documentation and customer satisfaction

• Completion

Pre-Installation Section

The first section sets out the steps your techs need to work through prior to installation. These include safety checks, inspecting existing equipment, taking measurements, and ensuring that all the necessary permits have been granted.

Installation and Post-Installation Sections

The next four sections of the template include:

• Preparation: Checking tools and equipment, securing the work area, and ensuring all materials are correct and that there’s no shipping damage. 

• Removal of the old unit: Safely removing refrigerant according to EPA regulations and disconnecting and removing the old unit.

• Installation of the new unit: Positioning the new unit correctly, connecting ductwork, electrical and refrigerant lines, and installing the thermostat and condensate drain.

• Post-installation: Charging the unit with refrigerant, testing the system, and conducting safety checks and inspections, including airflow measurement.

Sign-off Sections

Finally, the template includes sections to ensure the homeowner is supplied with all the necessary paperwork relating to their new HVAC equipment, including warranties and manuals. There’s also a reminder for the HVAC tech to ask the customer for feedback on the installation process before signing off the work. 

The Challenges of Not Using an HVAC Change-Out Checklist

Without a checklist, technicians can only go on memory. And while memory might be sufficient for testing airflow or servicing an air conditioning unit or heating system, it’s unreliable for complex installations.

Even the most experienced HVAC contractor can make errors during an HVAC installation or service call. For instance, a busy technician might forget to shut off the breaker before starting a job, or to check the functionality of an air conditioning system. Any number of seemingly small mistakes could be made that could result in follow-up calls that drain time and resources from your company.

Using an HVAC change-out checklist template like ours provides your team with a clear process to work through, helping to ensure that techs work quickly and efficiently and that no key steps are missed. 

But while using a static template helps prevent some of the errors we just described, it requires contractors to keep a supply of printed forms at the office, or rely on techs to print out checklists themselves before heading to jobs. 

With everything else techs have to think about, there’s a good chance that the checklist will be forgotten. At best, if all goes well with a printed template, checklists have to be turned into managers or owners, manually reviewed, copied and filed, and often stapled to invoices and delivered to customers. It’s a time-consuming and inefficient process. 

How ServiceTitan Optimizes Checklists So Your HVAC Technicians Work Smarter

With ServiceTitan, HVAC contractors can use digital checklists, which can be accessed by all employees — whether office-based or out in the field (via our mobile app). This means that HVAC techs can use and update change-out checklists (or any other kind of checklist) in real-time while they’re out on calls with no need for any paperwork.

Dynamic Checklists That Improve Efficiency & Prevent Mistakes

ServiceTitan’s customizable digital forms, designed specifically for the trades, give you the ability to easily create and implement a variety of custom forms — including HVAC change-out checklists — to ensure that your techs follow your specific procedures and collect all the necessary information for every job. 

Some of the benefits of using ServiceTitan forms include:

Gated Workflow Features

Contractors can require a technician to check off each and every step on a form before allowing them to close out the job and move to the next one. This radically reduces the chance that key steps get forgotten along the way.

Triggers for Certain Jobs

You can set up ServiceTitan to trigger a specific form based on the job type. 

For example, you could specify an HVAC inspection checklist or maintenance inspection checklist for a preventive maintenance job, or a warranty information document for new product installation. 

HVAC techs can toggle with ease between the different forms you pre-specify directly from the ServiceTitan mobile app.

Deep Customization Features

ServiceTitan users can specify any number of custom details to be included on their forms. For example, you can even specify the dimensions of the line set and pad for a given job.

Other commonly featured items include: condensers, heat pumps, air handlers, boilers, cooling systems, evaporator coils, venting systems, air distributors, air filters, compressors, condensate drains, condensing units, flues, and heat exchangers.  

Real-Time Supervision

Since all of the data entered onto the ServiceTitan platform is instantaneously available to users, HVAC business owners can actually observe their techs working through an HVAC change-out checklist in real-time. 

Techs can even have their supervisors sign off on important steps remotely, from their tablet or desktop. Not only does this reduce the chance of error, but you have a clear picture of a tech’s progress and speed. 

Request for Photo or Signature 

ServiceTitan also gives you the ability to request and include an almost unlimited number of labeled photos within your checklists. 

For example, you could require photos of the finished installation to document that the work was done properly, or to demonstrate that the work area is clean. A photo of the model number of the HVAC equipment installed would ensure an accurate record, too, in case the information was mistyped onto the form. 

You could also require a signature, for example, from a customer who forgoes a technician's recommended repair, which could cover the contractor if the customer’s preferred solution fails and they expect free work. 

Both of these measures help ensure that the customer is crystal clear on the work that was carried out and what was agreed to, increasing customer satisfaction and minimizing the chance of issues further down the line.

Automated Review Requests

Ensuring you receive customer feedback after every HVAC system installation is crucial for managing your HVAC company’s reputation. ServiceTitan’s reputation management tool lets you send automated review requests to each customer by text or email immediately after the tech marks the job as complete on their mobile app. 

This makes it easy for customers to share their experience on an online review site (Google, Facebook, etc.) while it’s top of mind and you don’t need to remember to go back and ask them for feedback later on.

With ServiceTitan, you can generate more reviews, manage all your reviews from one place, and match reviews to customers, techs, and jobs — so you can take action if necessary (for example, rewarding a tech for good work or providing extra coaching). 

ServiceTitan’s Mobile App Helps your HVAC Technicians Work Smarter

In addition to all the features ServiceTitan offers for customizing your HVAC checklists, our software integrates your forms with the rest of your business operations so that your HVAC techs have full access to everything they need to carry out their work, with just a few taps on their mobile app.

Here’s an overview of just some of ServiceTitan’s features techs can access:

• Customer information and history: Including contact details, notes, property data, and call recordings, so techs will always know who they’re dealing with and if there are any special requirements (such as a pet at the property).

• Complete job histories: Full details of existing equipment, prior work carried out, invoices, and servicing statuses, so techs can identify upselling opportunities such as when equipment needs replacing or when a membership agreement has expired.

• Estimate creation using up-to-date pricebooks: Techs can build estimates and present good-better-best options to customers from their mobile device using ServiceTitan’s digital pricebook and estimate templates.

• Convenient customer payments: Save time and bring in revenue faster by taking payments on the spot. Techs can create and issue invoices on their mobile app and offer flexible payment options to customers (credit card, check, etc.).

All of these integrated features work together and in tandem with ServiceTitan’s customized forms with no need to jump in and out of different software tools (or use paper). Techs will always have the right customer information on hand and know exactly what is required to complete the work even when they’re on the go. 

So, while an HVAC change-out checklist template is a good starting point, using ServiceTitan’s HVAC software to sync your checklists with the rest of your business operations increases the efficiency of your HVAC business and helps your HVAC techs deliver a stellar customer experience on every service call.