Guidelines
What is on topic
Heat pumps: buying, installing, running, fixing, and owner experience with a specific model. Questions, install photos, bills before and after, repairs, and comparisons between models. The Lounge, Show your install, Hall of shame, Bill brag, Tool talk and Games categories are for off topic posts that still relate to home heating and cooling or the people who do the work.
Posts that have nothing to do with heat pumps, home heating and cooling, or this community get moved or removed.
Price talk
Price talk is allowed. Post what you paid, what rebates you got, and what it included. Reviews have a structured installed cost field for this. Share enough detail for the number to mean something: your region, system size, and what is included (equipment, labor, ductwork, electrical, permit, thermostat).
What is not allowed: selling or soliciting work, posting contact information to get hired, or posting the same offer across threads. A pro answering questions and sharing their own numbers is welcome.
Pros
Pros (installers, techs, HVAC business owners) are welcome to answer questions under their own account. A moderator can set a Pro flair on your profile so other members know. To ask for one, post in Tool talk saying what you do, or message a moderator from your profile.
Pro and UniColorado staff flair is set by a moderator only. Nobody can self-assign it.
How reviews work
One review per model per member, written by the person who owns or owned the system. Reviews carry structured fields: overall rating, equipment and installer rated separately, lowest outdoor temperature the system kept up at, backup heat use, noise, failures, and installed cost. No generated reviews, ever: every review is written by a real member about a system they own.
You can attach a nameplate photo of your outdoor unit. A moderator checks it against the model and serial you entered. Once checked, your review carries a "Nameplate checked" mark. The photo itself stays private to you and moderators.
Flags
Any signed in member can flag a post, thread, review, or profile, with a reason: spam, rude, off topic, unsafe advice, fake review, or other. Flags go to the mod queue.
A post is hidden automatically, pending a moderator look, when either is true:
- 3 or more different members at trust level 1 or higher flag it, or
- 1 member at trust level 3 or higher flags it.
A moderator then confirms the hide, or restores the post if the flags do not hold up. Flags from members at trust level 0 still reach the queue; they just do not trigger the automatic hide on their own.
Trust levels
Trust level is computed from real activity on an account, not claimed. It never goes down automatically except after a suspension, and level 4 is set by a moderator by hand.
| Level | Name | What it takes |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | New | Just signed in. First 2 posts are reviewed before anyone else sees them. |
| 1 | Basic | Read at least 5 threads, and at least 1 day since joining. |
| 2 | Member | Active on 15 different days, at least 3 posts, at least 20 threads read, no suspension in the last 60 days. |
| 3 | Regular | At least 50 posts, at least 10 likes or helpful marks received, fewer than 2 posts flagged and hidden in the last 100 days. |
| 4 | Leader | Set by a moderator by hand. Not automatic. |
A suspension pulls a trust level 2 or higher account back down to level 1. It does not go lower than that automatically.
What gets removed
- Spam, scams, and posts selling or soliciting work.
- Generated or fake content of any kind, including fake reviews.
- Harassment, personal attacks, and posting someone else's private information.
- Unsafe advice that could hurt someone or damage a system, once a moderator confirms it is unsafe.
- Off topic posts outside the off topic categories.
Moderators can hide, edit, move, merge, lock, warn, or suspend an account. Every moderator action is logged.