AN ESTIMATE YOUR DEALER CAN BUILD ON
Start with ordinary house facts. Keep the assumptions visible. Refine the estimate as better information becomes available.
We're developing Starta within FORB's geothermal design workflow, so the first estimate can become the beginning of a professional project—not work the dealer has to undo.
The meeting nobody enjoys.
A homeowner arrives with a savings number from an online calculator. The dealer gathers better information and reaches a different answer. Before the project can move forward, someone has to explain the gap.
First Impression
An online calculator shows $2,400 a year in savings. The homeowner remembers that number as the expected outcome.
Designed Reality
After a site survey and a closer look at the house, the estimate is $1,200. The dealer inherits the job of resetting expectations.
Early-stage tools can ask for information the homeowner does not have—or hide consequential assumptions behind a simple answer. We're building a workflow that keeps the basis of the estimate available as the project develops.
Start with what is known. Refine what matters.
Not every unanswered question deserves another form field. The goal is to gather information that improves the estimate without turning the first inquiry into a full engineering takeoff.
Start with house facts
Location, construction age, floor area, foundation, and distribution type establish the initial project context.
Keep assumptions visible
Where details are missing, Starta estimates plausible construction characteristics. Those estimates remain distinguishable from confirmed inputs.
Refine the useful details
Envelope and duct information can improve the estimate as the house becomes better understood.
Carry the work forward
The intended FORB workflow preserves project inputs and assumptions so the dealer can refine the project rather than reconstruct the intake.
House facts → Preliminary estimate → FORB project → Professional refinement
Preliminary estimates support early project evaluation. They do not replace verified design inputs or final equipment selection.
See what changes as information improves.
This preview illustrates how project facts and assumptions can stay distinct as an estimate develops.
Project summary
Confirmed inputs
Location context
Climate and utility context established from ordinary house facts.
Floor area
Homeowner-supplied conditioned floor area.
Reported observations — none
No items in this category yet.
Estimated assumptions (estimated)
Envelope characteristics
Plausible construction characteristics estimated from limited house facts.
Requires verification (verify)
Foundation
Unresolved — constrains which construction assumptions apply.
Envelope details
Not yet reviewed — estimated characteristics remain distinguishable from confirmed inputs.
Duct location
Unresolved — duct location can affect the estimate once supplied.
What changed: Duct location is still unresolved.
Built into FORB. Intended to reach beyond it.
Starta is being developed within FORB first. Over time, we intend to offer it as a standalone estimation service that industry partners can integrate into their own websites—bringing a more useful first estimate closer to where homeowners begin.
For partners using FORB, the goal is to carry those inquiries into dealer-owned projects with the original inputs and assumptions intact.
Help shape the workflow.
We're interested in talking with geothermal contractors, distributors, manufacturers, and engineers about how early estimates become professional projects—and where the current process forces people to start over.
Tell us about your workflow and your interest in a pilot or future website integration.