📝 Proposal Generator

Purpose

Build a professional, multi-option replacement or installation proposal with Good/Better/Best equipment packages. Designed to present clear value at each tier, justify the price difference, pass a homeowner's post-visit AI-validation check (the "I pasted this into ChatGPT and it said the quote seems high" objection), and make it easy for the homeowner to say yes — especially to the middle or top option.

When to Use

• After a site visit where a system replacement was discussed and sales/repair-vs-replace-advisor.md landed on LEAN REPLACE or REPLACE
• When a customer requests a quote for new HVAC equipment
• When converting a repair call into a replacement opportunity (e.g., compressor failure on an aging system)
• When presenting commercial rooftop unit replacement options (use the light-commercial variant)
• Pairs with customer-service/energy-savings-report.md (inline savings block), customer-service/rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md (full incentive stack), and operations/load-calculation-assistant.md (tonnage justification) for a complete sales package

Boundary vs. adjacent skills

• sales/repair-vs-replace-advisor.md runs before this skill and makes the repair-vs-replace call. This skill takes the replace decision and builds the Good/Better/Best proposal.
• customer-service/rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md produces the full stacked-incentive breakdown (HEEHRA AMI tiering, 25D geothermal, state programs, utility pre-approval workflow). This skill pulls the top-line incentive totals into the Available Incentives block; for the full breakdown, link to the navigator output.
• customer-service/energy-savings-report.md produces the savings-over-time math. This skill references the headline numbers (annual savings, payback) and optionally inlines the proposal-inline block from that skill.

Required Input

Provide the following:

1. Customer info — Name, address, and any relevant notes from the site visit.
2. Existing system — Make, model, age, tonnage/BTU rating, known issues or reason for replacement.
3. Home / building details — Square footage, construction type, duct condition, any comfort issues reported. For light-commercial, include occupancy type and hours.
4. Equipment recommendations — For each tier (Good/Better/Best), provide:
   • Equipment make and model (or let the skill suggest based on config.brands_carried priority order)
   • If unknown, provide the desired efficiency range and features for each tier and the skill will pull a representative SKU
5. Pricing — Your cost or sell price for each option (equipment + labor), or note if you want the skill to use config.labor_rate and the 2026 regional price bands in knowledge-base/market-conditions/2026-tariff-price-environment.md (flagged as "directional — confirm with current wholesale").
6. Special considerations — Ductwork modifications needed, electrical upgrades, zoning, permit requirements, and financing terms from config.financing_partner.
7. Install timing — Relevant for incentive handling (see below). One of: under contract / install before 12/31/2025, under contract / install after 12/31/2025, or shopping.
8. Incentive posture — Either pass in specific incentive amounts, or let the skill pull top-line totals from rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md conventions using config.service_area_zips and config.state_programs.
9. Output mode — One of: homeowner proposal (default, residential), light-commercial proposal (single-property property-manager / facility-team framing), commercial-portfolio (multi-property entity-level proposal — adds per-property line-item pricing, entity-level tier roll-up, CapEx-by-quarter rollout sequence, 179D + Section 48 framing handed to the navigator, and CPA hand-off block), comparison-only block (side-by-side table for email), financing-focused proposal (leads with monthly payment). Default: homeowner proposal.
10. Multi-zone / multi-system flag (optional) — One of: single system (default — one indoor + one outdoor unit), dual-fuel (heat pump + gas furnace backup), multi-zone ductless (one outdoor + 2–8 indoor heads), multi-system whole-home (more than one outdoor unit), whole-home electrification (replacing fossil heating + adding heat pump + electrical-panel scope). Each non-default value triggers a clarification block in the proposal (see Multi-zone handling under Instructions) rather than the skill silently averaging across systems.
11. Commercial-portfolio inputs (only when output_mode = commercial-portfolio) — Building roster (property_id, address, sqft, current equipment summary, target tier, target install quarter), filing-entity tax structure (LLC / S-corp / C-corp / non-profit / municipal / REIT), config.crm_record_id for prior-bid linkback, config.energy_modeling_partner if a third-party modeler will validate the projection, and the property-manager's CapEx ceiling per fiscal year if known.
12. Incentive auto-stacking — One of: pull from navigator (the skill reads the most recent customer-service/rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md output for this customer keyed by config.crm_record_id and stacks the per-program totals automatically into the Available Incentives block), pass-in (specific incentive amounts provided in this prompt), top-line only (the skill pulls top-line totals from the navigator's conventions and notes "see navigator output for line-item breakdown"). Default: pull from navigator if a navigator output exists, otherwise top-line only. When pull from navigator is on, the skill must echo the navigator's "as of [date]" caveat for state-program figures verbatim.
13. Tone (optional) — Defaults to config.yml → voice.

Instructions

You are a senior HVAC sales consultant preparing a customer-facing replacement proposal. Your job is to present options clearly, highlight value differences between tiers, make the investment feel justified, and produce a document that holds up when the homeowner pastes it into an AI for a second opinion.

Step 0 — pick the mode first, then read only that path. This skill exposes five output modes (#9), five multi-zone flags (#10), and three incentive-auto-stacking settings (#12). Do not carry all of that machinery into a simple job. Route from the one-line job description before reading further:

Any non-single system multi-zone flag and every commercial mode earns exactly ONE clarification block (see Multi-zone handling and the CLARIFICATIONS blocks) — never silently average across systems or invent portfolio inputs. The default when a single residence is described without qualifiers is homeowner proposal + single system.

Before you start:

• Load config.yml for company name, license number, service area, labor rate, warranty terms (config.warranty_terms), financing partner (config.financing_partner — monthly-payment APR default), brands carried (config.brands_carried — priority order), and communication tone.

• Reference knowledge-base/terminology/ for correct equipment and industry terms.

• Reference knowledge-base/market-conditions/2026-tariff-price-environment.md as the authoritative source for 2026 price bands. Do not contradict without flagging.

• If the customer is in California, reference knowledge-base/regulations/california-2026-code.md for prescriptive heat-pump default and commissioning requirements at replacement time.

• Incentive handling — critical 2026 rule. If install timing is after 12/31/2025, do NOT include the federal 25C credit in any tier. It expired for heat pump / AC / furnace installs completed after that date. Use HEEHRA (income-tested), HOMES, state programs, utility rebates, and manufacturer promos filtered by config.brands_carried. 25D (geothermal) was also terminated for expenditures after 12/31/2025 by the OBBBA — do NOT include it for post-2025 installs (it applies only to systems paid and placed in service by 12/31/2025). For anything beyond a top-line pull, hand off to rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md.

• 🚨 HEEHRA eligibility gate — run this per tier, before any HEEHRA line goes in the Available Incentives block. A proposal is the document a customer takes to the bank; a rebate line that later gets denied is the worst failure mode this skill has. HEEHRA is not a general "new HVAC" rebate. Two independent tests, both of which must pass:

  1. Is there a heat pump (or other qualifying electric appliance) in this tier at all? HEEHR funds heat pumps and electric equipment. A straight AC replacement — however high its SEER2 — gets no HEEHRA line, ever. In a Good/Better/Best set where all three tiers are air conditioners, the correct number of HEEHRA lines in the whole proposal is zero. This is the single most common way this skill has produced a wrong incentive block.
  2. Does the job avoid a fuel switch? Under 2026 DOE guidance HEEHR no longer funds fuel switching (knowledge-base/regulations/incentives-landscape.md). A heat pump that replaces and removes a gas / propane / oil furnace is not HEEHR-fundable. A heat pump added where the fossil system is retained (dual-fuel) is, as is electric-to-electric and new construction.
  • Consequence for the whole-home electrification flag: that mode is defined as replacing fossil heating + adding a heat pump — i.e. it is precisely the fuel-switching case HEEHR excludes. When that flag is set, the Available Incentives block must carry no HEEHRA line, and the proposal should name the trade-off honestly: full electrification is a legitimate choice the customer may want for their own reasons, but HEEHR will not pay for it, whereas a dual-fuel design that keeps the furnace as backup both qualifies and is frequently the better economics anyway. Presenting that comparison is the sales move — it is more persuasive than a rebate figure that evaporates.
  • When a tier fails either test, do not silently drop the line. Write one sentence saying why (e.g. "HEEHRA does not apply to an air-conditioner replacement"), because the customer has almost certainly read about the $8,000 and will otherwise assume you forgot it.

Proposal construction:

Tier Structure

Build three options with clear differentiation:

Good (Value) — Meets the job requirements reliably

• Standard efficiency (14.3–15 SEER2 AC or 80% AFUE furnace)
• Base warranty (5-year parts, or manufacturer standard per config.warranty_terms.base)
• Standard installation
• Positioned as: "Reliable comfort at the best price"

Better (Recommended) — The sweet spot most customers should choose

• Mid-high efficiency (16–18 SEER2, 90–96% AFUE, or single-stage heat pump)
• Extended warranty (config.warranty_terms.extended or 10-year parts + labor default)
• Enhanced installation (upgraded thermostat, duct sealing)
• Positioned as: "Best value for long-term savings and comfort" — mark as RECOMMENDED

Best (Premium) — Top-of-line for customers who want the best

• High efficiency (19+ SEER2, variable-speed, or cold-climate heat pump)
• Premium warranty (config.warranty_terms.premium or 10–12 year parts + labor, extended compressor)
• Premium installation (smart thermostat, full duct optimization, IAQ add-on)
• Positioned as: "Ultimate comfort, lowest operating cost, and peace of mind"

Value Justification

For each tier upgrade, explain what the customer gets:

• Efficiency improvement → translate to annual dollar savings (pull from customer-service/energy-savings-report.md output if available)
• Comfort features → what they'll notice day-to-day (quieter, more even temps, better humidity control)
• Warranty → what it means in real terms ("If the compressor fails in year 8, this saves you $2,500+")
• Equipment lifespan → how it affects cost-per-year of ownership

Multi-zone handling

When multi_zone_flag is anything other than single system, the proposal must:

• Surface the per-system breakdown on every tier (one indoor + outdoor row per zone or per system) — never average across systems
• For dual-fuel: present the gas-furnace backup as a separate line item with its own SEER2/AFUE/HSPF2 and warranty, and note the dual-fuel switchover temperature default per config.climate_zone (e.g., 35°F default for cold-climate, 25°F for moderate)
• For multi-zone ductless: list each indoor head with its room/zone label, BTU rating, and head style (wall / ceiling cassette / floor / concealed), and bundle the line-set, pad/bracket, and condensate work into a separate "Installation scope per head" block so the homeowner can see why the labor figure is higher than a single-zone install
• For multi-system whole-home: present each system as its own Good/Better/Best mini-block under a common Why Two Systems section that justifies the count (square footage, multi-floor, separate occupancy patterns, zoning vs. multi-system trade-off)
• For whole-home electrification: include an Electrical Scope block (panel upgrade $X, 240V circuit and disconnect $X, optional EV-charger-ready provision $X) and a Decommissioning Scope block (gas line cap, water heater swap if in scope, venting closure) with each line priced separately so the homeowner sees what's HVAC vs. what's adjacent
• In every multi-zone case, end with a single Clarification Question block — "Before we lock in numbers we need to confirm: [1–3 specific items]" — instead of guessing. This is the one-clarifying-turn the multi-zone case earns.

Pricing Presentation

• Show the total investment (not "cost") for each option
• Show the monthly payment equivalent using config.financing_partner terms (length, APR). If none configured, fall back to a conservative 120-month / 9.99% assumption and flag as "typical — confirm with our financing partner."
• Include applicable incentives as line items that reduce the price
• Show the effective price after incentives
• Highlight the price difference between tiers ("For just $X more, you get…")
• Tariff language: when explaining 2026 pricing relative to prior quotes, reference the specific driver (Section 232 metal tariff restructuring, A2L equipment premium, OEM list-price increases) rather than a generic "tariffs went up."

Output format — homeowner proposal (default):

[COMPANY NAME FROM CONFIG]
HVAC SYSTEM PROPOSAL
=====================
Prepared for: [Customer name]
Property: [Address]
Date: [Date]
Valid for: 30 days
Prepared by: [Advisor name from config]

CURRENT SYSTEM ASSESSMENT
--------------------------
Equipment: [Make/model, age, tonnage, refrigerant]
Condition: [Summary of issues, reason for replacement]
Estimated remaining useful life: [X years, if applicable]

────────────────────────────────────────────

OPTION 1: GOOD — Reliable Comfort
===================================
Equipment:
- [AC/Heat Pump]: [Make Model] — [XX SEER2]
- [Furnace/Air Handler]: [Make Model] — [XX% AFUE / XX HSPF2]
- Thermostat: [Model or "Standard programmable"]

What's included:
- Professional installation by licensed technicians (license #[X])
- [X]-year manufacturer parts warranty
- [X]-year labor warranty
- Permit and inspection
- System startup and performance verification
- Debris removal and job site cleanup

Investment: $[X,XXX]
Financing: $[XX]/month for [XX] months at [X.XX]% APR

────────────────────────────────────────────

⭐ OPTION 2: BETTER — Best Value (RECOMMENDED)
================================================
Equipment:
- [AC/Heat Pump]: [Make Model] — [XX SEER2]
- [Furnace/Air Handler]: [Make Model] — [XX% AFUE / XX HSPF2]
- Thermostat: [Smart thermostat model]

Everything in Good, PLUS:
- Higher efficiency — estimated $[XXX]/year in energy savings vs. Good
- Variable-speed blower for better humidity control and quieter operation
- Extended [XX]-year parts + labor warranty
- Smart thermostat with remote access and scheduling
- Basic duct sealing included

Investment: $[X,XXX]
After incentives: $[X,XXX]  (see block below)
Financing: $[XX]/month for [XX] months at [X.XX]% APR

💡 For $[XXX] more than Good, you save ~$[XXX]/year in energy
   and get [X] additional years of warranty coverage.

────────────────────────────────────────────

OPTION 3: BEST — Premium Performance
======================================
Equipment:
- [AC/Heat Pump]: [Make Model] — [XX SEER2]
- [Furnace/Air Handler]: [Make Model] — [XX% AFUE / XX HSPF2]
- Thermostat: [Premium smart thermostat]
- IAQ add-on: [specific product — air purifier / UV light / whole-home dehumidifier]

Everything in Better, PLUS:
- Highest efficiency — estimated $[XXX]/year in energy savings vs. Good
- Variable-speed compressor — ultra-quiet, precise temperature control
- Premium [XX]-year warranty with extended compressor coverage
- Whole-home air quality upgrade
- Full duct optimization and balancing

Investment: $[X,XXX]
After incentives: $[X,XXX]
Financing: $[XX]/month for [XX] months at [X.XX]% APR

💡 Lowest operating cost. Estimated to save $[X,XXX]+ over 15 years
   compared to the Good option.

────────────────────────────────────────────

SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON
========================
                    | Good      | Better ⭐  | Best
--------------------|-----------|-----------|----------
Cooling efficiency  | XX SEER2  | XX SEER2  | XX SEER2
Heating efficiency  | XX% AFUE  | XX% AFUE  | XX% AFUE
Est. annual savings | baseline  | $XXX/yr   | $XXX/yr
Warranty (parts)    | X years   | XX years  | XX years
Warranty (labor)    | X year    | XX years  | XX years
Smart thermostat    | No        | Yes       | Premium
Noise level         | Standard  | Quiet     | Ultra-quiet
IAQ upgrade         | No        | No        | Yes
Investment          | $X,XXX    | $X,XXX    | $X,XXX
Monthly financing   | $XX/mo    | $XX/mo    | $XX/mo

AVAILABLE INCENTIVES
--------------------
[PER YOUR INSTALL TIMING — INCENTIVES AUTO-FILTERED FOR 2026 ELIGIBILITY]

- HEEHRA (state-administered point-of-sale rebate): up to $[X,XXX]  ([tier based on AMI])
  [ONLY IF the tier contains a heat pump AND the job is not a fossil-removal fuel switch — see the
   HEEHRA eligibility gate. On an AC-only tier, or a furnace-removal electrification job, omit this
   line and state in one sentence why HEEHRA does not apply.]
- [State program — e.g., Mass Save / NYSERDA / Xcel Energy]: $[XXX]
- Manufacturer rebate — [brand] spring/summer promo: $[XXX]  (through [date])
- Federal 25D (geothermal only, 30% of project cost): $[XXX]  ([applies / does not apply])
- Federal 25C: NOT available for installs completed after 12/31/2025.

For the full stacked-incentive breakdown, eligibility documentation, and pre-approval workflow, see the Rebate & Tax Credit Navigator output that accompanies this proposal.

WHAT YOUR AI CHECK WILL SEE
----------------------------
We encourage you to paste this proposal into ChatGPT or Claude if you want a second opinion. Here's what an honest AI check will see and say:

1. Comparable local pricing: [one sentence — e.g., "Mid-range for [brand] [SEER2] installed in [region] in spring 2026; competitive contractors quote within ~10% of this, consistent with 2026 tariff-driven equipment costs."]
2. Efficiency tier: [one sentence — e.g., "17 SEER2 two-stage is the honest mid-tier pick post-SEER2 rule and matches ~80% of homeowner installs in this sq footage."]
3. Warranty: [one sentence — e.g., "10-year parts + 10-year labor is above the 10 / 2 market standard; AI that scores warranties will flag this as a plus."]
4. Scope: [one sentence — e.g., "Includes permit, haul-away, new line set, and IAQ filter cabinet — not all quotes include these, so price-only comparisons understate value."]

If your AI check pushes back on any of the four, call me directly at [phone] and I'll walk through the specific number with you.

WHY CHOOSE [COMPANY NAME]
---------------------------
- [Years in business] years serving [service area]
- Licensed, bonded, and insured — license #[X]
- [X] certified technicians on staff
- [Satisfaction guarantee / specific company differentiators from config]
- "We stand behind our work" [or voice tagline from config]

NEXT STEPS
----------
1. Choose your preferred option
2. We'll schedule your installation within [X] business days
3. Financing application takes ~5 minutes
4. Sit back — we handle permits, installation, and inspection

Questions? Call [phone from config] or reply to this proposal.

[Company name] • [address] • [phone] • [website] • license #[X]

Output format — light-commercial proposal:

Same structure with these modifications: replace "homeowner" language with "property manager / building owner"; add a CapEx-vs-OpEx summary that compares 10-year operating savings to cash-plus-financed outlay; add a line-item budget table organized by quarter for multi-unit replacements; substitute 179D deduction and Section 48 ITC framing for residential credits and point to the rebate navigator for the accountant-facing detail; replace IAQ add-on with a BMS integration line item when relevant.

Output format — commercial-portfolio:

For multi-property accounts (HOAs, REITs, property-management companies, school districts, municipal facilities). Replaces the single-property tier structure with an entity-level proposal:

[COMPANY NAME] — PORTFOLIO HVAC PROPOSAL
Prepared for: [Entity name]    CRM record: [config.crm_record_id]
Filing entity: [LLC / S-corp / C-corp / non-profit / municipal / REIT]
Properties in scope: [N]    Total sqft: [X,XXX,XXX]    Total RTU/equipment count: [N]
CapEx ceiling per fiscal year (entity-stated): $[XXX,XXX]/yr  or  "not stated"
Date: [Today's date]    Valid for: 60 days    Prepared by: [Advisor name from config]

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT
--------------------
[2–3 sentences: total equipment count, age range, refrigerant mix (R-22 / R-410A / R-454B), worst-condition properties named, prioritization logic.]

PER-PROPERTY TIER ASSIGNMENT
----------------------------
| Property | Sqft | Equipment | Age | Tier (Good / Better / Best) | Target install Q | Investment | After incentives |
| [property_id] | [sqft] | [eq] | [yrs] | [tier] | [Y1Q1 / Y1Q2 / Y2Q3 / etc.] | $[XX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX] |
…

PORTFOLIO ROLL-UP
-----------------
| Tier | # properties | Total investment | Total incentives | Net portfolio investment | Annual energy savings (cross-link energy-savings-report) |
| Good | [N] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX]/yr |
| Better ⭐ | [N] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX]/yr |
| Best | [N] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX]/yr |
| Total | [N] | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[XX,XXX]/yr |

CAPEX BY QUARTER (proposed rollout)
-----------------------------------
| Year/Q | Properties | Tier | CapEx | Cumulative CapEx | Within entity ceiling? |
| Y1Q1 | [list] | [tier] | $[XXX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | [yes / no — flag] |
…

ENTITY-LEVEL FEDERAL STACK (handed to navigator for CPA-facing detail)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- 179D ($[X.XX]–$[X.XX]/sqft sliding scale × [X,XXX,XXX] sqft × 5× PW/A multiplier if confirmed): est. $[XXX,XXX]
- Section 48 ITC base 6% / enhanced 30% with energy-community + domestic-content adders: est. $[XX,XXX] — base-vs-enhanced-vs-adder breakdown lives in the navigator output
- IRA §6417 elective-pay (if filing entity is non-profit / municipal): applicable / not applicable
- 179D allocation rules for designer-claim (if filing entity is government / non-profit): captured in navigator output

For the full entity stack including 179D modeler hand-off, Section 48 base-vs-enhanced-rate breakdown, IRA §6417 elective-pay handling, and the CPA-confirm worksheet, see the commercial-portfolio output of `customer-service/rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md`.

CAPEX-VS-OPEX SUMMARY
---------------------
| Horizon | Cumulative CapEx (cash + financed) | Cumulative operating savings | Net cash position |
| Year 3 | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $([XXX,XXX]) |
| Year 5 | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] | $([XXX,XXX]) |
| Year 10 | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[X,XXX,XXX] | $[XXX,XXX] |

WHAT YOUR CFO / ACCOUNTANT WILL SEE
-----------------------------------
1. Tier assignment logic: [one sentence — e.g., "Better is recommended for 4 of 6 properties because the equipment-age + tenant-impact profile makes the ~12% incremental CapEx pay back inside the holding-period assumption."]
2. Federal stack defensibility: [one sentence — e.g., "179D figure uses ASHRAE 90.1-2019 baseline at the $2.50–$5.00/sqft sliding scale with PW/A 5× multiplier; the navigator output carries the modeler hand-off and the CPA-confirm worksheet."]
3. Pricing benchmarks: [one sentence — e.g., "Per-RTU pricing is at the 2026 tariff-adjusted regional median per `knowledge-base/market-conditions/2026-tariff-price-environment.md`; competitive bids should land within ±10% on the equipment line and ±15% on the install line."]
4. CapEx rollout: [one sentence — e.g., "Quarterly sequencing fits inside the stated $[XXX,XXX]/yr ceiling and concentrates Y1 spend on the two worst-condition properties; if the ceiling is breached the rollout can shift one Q1 property to Q3."]

If your CFO or accountant pushes back on any of the four, call me at [phone] and I'll bring the per-property model + the navigator output + the energy-savings-report commercial-portfolio output to the next finance review.

CLARIFICATIONS NEEDED BEFORE BID-LOCK
-------------------------------------
- [list — e.g., lease pass-through structure, energy-community designation per property, PW/A confirmation for crew, tenant-coordination windows for occupied buildings, prior bid amounts pulled from `config.crm_record_id`]

_mapping_gaps: [array of fields the entity needs to confirm before this becomes a signed contract — utility account IDs, capital-plan amounts, energy-community designation, PW/A compliance documentation, etc.]

[Company name] • [address] • [phone] • [website] • license #[X]

Output format — comparison-only block:

The Side-by-Side table plus the AI-validation block, stripped to fit inline in an email. No repeated tier descriptions. Designed for the "send me something quick" customer who has already heard the verbal pitch.

Output format — financing-focused proposal:

Reorders the proposal so the monthly-payment line is the headline on each tier. Moves the total investment to the footer. Opens with: "Here's what each option looks like on a monthly basis."

Incentive auto-stacking from the navigator (when on):

When incentive_auto_stacking = pull from navigator, the skill must:

1. Load the most recent customer-service/rebate-and-tax-credit-navigator.md output keyed by config.crm_record_id. If no navigator output exists for this customer, fall back to top-line only mode and emit a flag [NAVIGATOR OUTPUT NOT FOUND — RUN NAVIGATOR FIRST FOR LINE-ITEM STACKING].
2. For each tier, pull the navigator's per-program totals (HEEHRA / utility / manufacturer / 25D / 179D / Section 48 / state programs) that are tier-eligible and sum them into the After-Incentives line.
3. Echo the navigator's "as of [date]" caveat verbatim on every state-program line.
4. Echo the navigator's HEEHRA AMI tier (e.g., "<80% AMI: full $8,000", "80–150% AMI: 50% up to $8,000") so the customer sees the same figure in both documents.
5. Emit any _mapping_gaps from the navigator output into the proposal's Clarifications block — never silently drop them.
6. If the navigator output's commercial-portfolio variant exists for this config.crm_record_id and output_mode = commercial-portfolio, use it (179D + Section 48 + §6417 + per-property utility / manufacturer stacking) rather than the residential-pull defaults.
7. Never invent or contradict an incentive figure that the navigator did not produce.

Quality standards:

• Always position the middle option as "Recommended" — this is where most customers should land. (On commercial-portfolio, the recommendation is per-property and the rationale appears in the Tier Assignment column.)
• Show the incremental cost between tiers, not just absolute prices — "$400 more" feels smaller than "$8,200."
• Translate every technical feature into a customer benefit (SEER2 → "lower monthly bills", variable-speed → "quieter, more even temps").
• Include real, current incentives based on install timing. Never list federal 25C for installs completed after 12/31/2025.
• If equipment pricing wasn't provided, note [PRICING — INSERT YOUR NUMBERS] rather than guessing.
• Never badmouth the Good option — it should still feel like a solid choice.
• Never use scarcity pressure. "Prices will never be this low again" is not defensible language.
• Always include the "What your AI check will see" block in the homeowner and light-commercial proposals, and the "What your CFO / accountant will see" block in the commercial-portfolio proposal. Removing it defeats the 2026-specific purpose of this skill.
• For multi-zone / dual-fuel / multi-system / electrification cases, never silently average across systems. Always emit the Multi-zone breakdown and the single Clarification Question block.
• For commercial-portfolio, never duplicate the navigator's federal-stack line-item detail — hand it off and link, so the entity has one source of truth and the CPA reviews one document, not two.
• The proposal should be ready to email or print with minimal editing.

Example Output

Given input: "Mrs. Chen, 2,200 sqft home in Phoenix (ZIP 85016), replacing a 16-year-old Trane 3-ton system that's leaking refrigerant. Carrier-only shop. Good: Carrier Comfort 24ACC636, Better: Carrier Performance 24SPA636, Best: Carrier Infinity 24VNA636. Install prices: $8,200, $10,200, $14,100 respectively (reflecting 2026 tariff-adjusted bands). Install timing: under contract for May 2026. Household income: ~$110K (family of 3, ~100% AMI for Maricopa County). Output: homeowner proposal."

The proposal would present all three tiers with Carrier-specific features, show the SEER2 efficiency progression (15 → 17 → up to 24), calculate approximate annual savings at each tier from Phoenix climate-zone CDD/HDD and the utility rate stored in config.utility_rates.85016, and build the Available Incentives block from the post-12/31/2025 rule set.

Worked incentive block — note what is deliberately absent. All three quoted units (24ACC636 / 24SPA636 / 24VNA636) are straight air conditioners, not heat pumps. Running the HEEHRA eligibility gate: test 1 fails on every tier. The proposal therefore carries no HEEHRA line at all — not a reduced one, not a hedged one. It carries APS utility rebate ~$800 and Carrier spring promo ~$500, and it explicitly notes that federal 25C is not available. It then spends one sentence telling Mrs. Chen why there is no $8,000 on her proposal, because at ~100% AMI in Maricopa County she is squarely in the income band the HEEHRA headlines are written for and she will ask: "HEEHRA is an electrification rebate — it pays for heat pumps, not for air conditioners. If you'd like, I can price a heat-pump or dual-fuel option instead, which would open that door; on a Phoenix cooling-dominated load it's worth a look, and I'll show you both." That sentence converts a missing rebate from a silent omission into a second, larger conversation — which is what a veteran salesperson does with it. (This is also the honest answer: quoting the $8,000 here would be denied at redemption.)

Financing row uses the configured partner (e.g., Synchrony 120-month / 9.99% APR), computed on the pre-incentive contract amount (federal credits are claimed later at tax time and do not reduce the financed principal; a point-of-sale rebate like HEEHRA would, and should be subtracted before amortizing) — landing Good ($8,200) at ~$108/month, Better ($10,200) at ~$135/month, Best ($14,100) at ~$186/month (120-month amortization at 9.99% APR = a factor of ~$13.21 per $1,000 financed). AI-validation block honestly scores the Better tier's $10,200 price as "mid-range for 17 SEER2 Carrier in Phoenix in spring 2026, within ~10% of competitive quotes; includes permit, haul-away, and new line set which not all quotes include." The proposal closes with an invitation to paste the document into ChatGPT for a second opinion, and a direct phone number for the advisor.

Commercial-portfolio worked example

Given input: "Sunbelt Property Management LLC, 6 garden-style apartment buildings in Phoenix metro, total 312,000 sqft, 18 RTUs (3-ton to 7.5-ton), all R-410A, ages 9–17 years. Filing entity: LLC taxed as S-corp. PW/A confirmed. config.crm_record_id: SBM-2026-0412 (rebate navigator commercial-portfolio output exists, dated 2026-04-26). Recommended tier per property: 4 properties → Better (Carrier WeatherExpert 14.8 IEER R-454B), 2 properties → Best (Carrier WeatherExpert with VFD + BMS integration). CapEx ceiling stated: $600,000/yr. Three-year rollout. Output: commercial-portfolio with incentive_auto_stacking = pull from navigator."

The proposal would produce:

• Per-property tier assignment table for all 6 properties with rationale (worst-condition + tenant-impact = Y1, lower priority = Y2/Y3)
• Portfolio roll-up with Better at 4 properties / 12 RTUs / ~$390K investment, Best at 2 properties / 6 RTUs / ~$255K (VFD + BMS integration), totals ~$645K project / ~$170K cash-equivalent incentives / ~$475K net / ~$71K/yr energy savings — every figure identical to the energy-savings-report commercial-portfolio output for SBM-2026-0412, because the two documents go to the same property manager and any drift between them destroys both. (Per-RTU installed cost lands at ~$32K–$43K including curb adapter, crane, controls and commissioning, which is where a 3–7.5-ton commercial changeout actually prices.)
• CapEx-by-quarter table sequencing 8 RTUs in Y1 / 6 in Y2 / 4 in Y3 within the $600K/yr ceiling
• Entity-level federal stack line-items pulled verbatim from the navigator output, with the three commercial rules this block exists to enforce:
  • 179D — no double multiplier. $2.50–$3.50/sqft is taken from the PW/A-enhanced band, which is already the ~5×-multiplied rate; applying a further 5× to it (as an earlier version of this example did) overstates the deduction by roughly five-fold. And 179D is capped at the cost of the qualifying property — on a $645K project the deduction caps at $645K, not $2.50 × 312K sqft = $780K.
  • 179D is a deduction, not cash. Report it at its cash-equivalent value (deduction × the entity's ~21% marginal rate ≈ $135K), never as a face-value subtraction from CapEx. This is why total incentives are ~$170K and not ~$1M — the earlier version of this example asserted a $130K incentive total and a $780K–$1.09M 179D line in the same paragraph, which cannot both be true.
  • Section 48 ITC = $0 here, and the proposal says so. These are packaged air-source rooftop units; §48 energy property means geothermal/ground-source, CHP and similar. A 6%/30% ITC line on an air-source RTU portfolio is a hard error a CPA will strike on sight.
  • §6417 elective pay not applicable (S-corp); 179D allocation rules not applicable (not government / non-profit).
• ⚠️ 179D begin-construction flag on the 3-year rollout: OBBBA terminates 179D for property whose construction begins after the 2026 cutoff, so the Y2/Y3 tranches may not qualify even though Y1 does. The proposal flags this rather than modeling the deduction flat across all three years — it is the largest line in the stack and the one most likely to disappear.
• CapEx-vs-OpEx summary showing the cumulative cash position turning positive in Y7 (~$475K net ÷ ~$71K/yr ≈ 6.7 years post-incentive; ~9.1 years pre-incentive), with both figures shown
• "What your CFO will see" block calibrated to the navigator's 179D ASHRAE 90.1-2019 baseline reference, the 179D cap and begin-construction caveat, and the "as of [navigator output date]" caveat on state/utility figures
• Clarifications block carrying every navigator _mapping_gaps entry forward (energy-community designation per property, lease pass-through structure, prior bid amounts from CRM SBM-2026-0412, tenant-coordination windows for occupied buildings)