Uncap builds HVAC equipment and repair parts B2B ecommerce on Shopify for manufacturers and HVAC distributors selling condensing units, heat pumps, air handlers, furnaces, coils, ductless systems, compressors, motors, capacitors, contactors and refrigerant to HVAC contractors and service companies. Three things make this trade different from a parts catalog. A split system is sold as a combination, and the combination carries the efficiency rating. The Department of Energy ties its central air conditioner standards to when and where the unit is installed. And EPA makes the seller of refrigerant responsible for verifying that the buyer is, or employs, a certified technician.
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Three things make this trade different from a parts catalog: the matched system, the install region and the technician card.
The rating belongs to the combination, not the box. A contractor quoting a replacement buys an outdoor unit, an indoor coil and often a furnace or air handler. The efficiency rating that matters is the one certified for that combination, which is how DOE's own rule, quoted below, reads. The AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance is where, in AHRI's words, "engineers, contractors, regulators, and consumers can search by product lines, certified ratings, or brands." A storefront that sells the condenser and the coil as two unrelated SKUs leaves the contractor to do the matchup on a phone, standing in a driveway.
Where the unit goes decides whether it can go in at all. DOE says its central air conditioner standards "apply based on the kind of air conditioner installed and when and where the central air conditioner is installed." The Southeast and Southwest have their own levels. Under 10 CFR 430.32(c), a split air conditioner under 45,000 Btu/hr manufactured since January 1, 2023 needs at least 13.4 SEER2, and one installed in the Southeast or Southwest since that date needs 14.3 SEER2, with an EER2 minimum added in the Southwest. So a 13.4 SEER2 split air conditioner that meets the national level in Ohio cannot be installed in Georgia.
One weak pairing can rule out an outdoor unit. The same regulation adds a rule that reaches past the quote: "Any model of outdoor unit that has a certified combination with a rating below the applicable standard level(s) for a region cannot be installed in that region." The region test runs against the outdoor unit model and its certified combinations, not only the system on the quote. That is a data question before it is a checkout question.
Restricted refrigerant is a SKU you have to card. The sales restriction in 40 CFR 82.154 covers any substance that consists in whole or in part of a class I or class II substance and, since January 1, 2018, "any non-exempt substitute for use as a refrigerant," subject to the exceptions the rule lists. EPA's questions and answers on the restriction say "The seller of the refrigerant is responsible for verifying that the buyer either 1) is a certified technician, or 2) employs a certified technician." Selling online does not change the requirements: "The online sale of refrigerant is subject to the same recordkeeping and technician certification verification requirements as in-person refrigerant sales." The counter checks a card. A website needs its own way to know the card is on file before the jug ships.
The refrigerant in the system can decide whether it goes in. Since January 1, 2025, EPA's rule at 40 CFR 84.54 bars installing residential and light commercial air-conditioning and heat pump systems that use a regulated substance, or a blend containing one, with a global warming potential of 700 or greater, other than variable refrigerant flow systems. Under the rule as amended effective July 27, 2026, new systems of that kind "may continue to be installed where all specified components of that system are manufactured or imported prior to January 1, 2025." For a distributor selling matched systems, the manufacture or import date of each component is product data, not a footnote.
The order record has to outlive the sale. DOE's records rule, 10 CFR 429.142, requires distributors to keep, for split-system air conditioner outdoor units, the manufacturer, model number and serial number, who they bought it from and when, who they sold it to and when, and "if delivered, delivery address." Distributors keep those records "for no less than 54 months from the date of sale." An online order that does not capture the serial number leaves that record for someone to fill in by hand.
A dead motor at 4 p.m. is a cross reference problem. The tech reads an OEM part number off a condenser fan motor that has stopped. The branch may stock that OEM motor, a universal replacement, or neither. Nidec's U.S. MOTORS brand describes its RESCUE line as "permanent replacement condenser fan and direct drive blower motors" and lists them as "Multi-horsepower rated." If your site only knows the OEM number, the universal motor sitting on your shelf never shows up in the search.
Matched systems, install-region rules, refrigerant gating, serial capture and the motor cross reference are built during implementation from your data, and orders placed online land in the ERP that already holds the rest of the sale.
Systems sold as systems. On Shopify, a matched system is built during implementation as one product the contractor can quote: outdoor unit, coil and furnace or air handler, with the AHRI Certified Reference Number and the certified ratings carried on the record. The combination data comes from wherever your team holds it today. That may be AHRI data: AHRI's Data Subscription Program lets qualified program participants "use AHRI Data in their own tools per the terms of a signed data subscriber license agreement with AHRI." Which source you use is confirmed during scoping.
The install region asked for before the quote is final. The contractor enters the install ZIP code on a quote or at checkout. A rule built during implementation maps it to North, Southeast or Southwest and hides air conditioners that do not meet that region's levels, judged on the outdoor unit model and its certified combinations. Heat pumps are not filtered by region, because the regional levels in 10 CFR 430.32 apply to air conditioners. A request to override goes to a person, not to the cart.
Quotes for equipment, through Uncap Quotes. When a contractor wants a system quoted rather than carted, Uncap Quotes runs configure, price, quote inside the Shopify admin. Negotiated prices, tiers and volume breaks apply automatically, and pricing and terms pull from the systems you already trust. Quotes carry validity windows and a full revision history. Exceptions go to the right approver, and approved quotes turn straight into Shopify orders.
Refrigerant visible to the accounts that can buy it. Certification on file at the account level, and refrigerant SKUs that only an account with a card on file can order, are built during implementation. EPA says an office manager at a company that employs certified technicians "can use the company's account to purchase refrigerant for the technicians to use." Uncap Portal gives contractors real multi-user accounts with roles and permissions, and budgets, approvals and limits per user. So the office manager orders and the account still carries the card.
Serial numbers on the order record. Recording the outdoor unit serial number against the order, with the contractor and the delivery address, is built during implementation. Whether the serial is scanned at the counter, at pick or in the ERP is confirmed during scoping. Uncap Connect keeps the store and the ERP in real-time, two-way sync of pricing, inventory, customers and orders, so orders placed online land in the ERP that already holds the rest of the sale.
OEM and universal side by side. A cross reference from OEM motor numbers to the universal replacements you stock is built during implementation from your motor suppliers' cross-reference data. The tech searches the number on the dead motor and sees both: the OEM part and the universal motors you stock. Universal motors a contractor keeps on the truck go on reorder lists, which sit in Uncap Portal next to order history.
On whether the ERP vendor's own storefront is the safer choice. The case for it is integration: the storefront and the ERP come from one vendor. Uncap's published products do not include matched-system, install-region or refrigerant certification logic; on Shopify, those rules are built during implementation from your data. The real risk is an integration that does not carry contractor pricing, branch stock and orders correctly. Integration runs through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration. On the Connect route there is no separate middleware: Connect syncs customer-specific pricing, credit terms and tax rules, and the ERP stays the system of record.
Account pricing, quote approvals, validity windows, one-click order conversion, multi-user accounts and reorder lists ship in Uncap Quotes and Uncap Portal, and the HVAC rules are built during implementation from your data.
Outdoor unit, coil and furnace or air handler sold as one product carrying the certified combination's AHRI Certified Reference Number.
Install ZIP code mapped to North, Southeast or Southwest, with air conditioners that do not meet the region's levels hidden.
Technician certification held on the contractor account, and refrigerant ordering limited to accounts with a card on file.
Outdoor unit serial number, buyer and delivery address kept with each split-system sale.
OEM motor numbers mapped to the universal replacements you stock.
Systems quoted through Uncap Quotes with negotiated pricing, validity windows and exceptions routed to an approver.
Matched systems as one product. Outdoor unit, coil and furnace or air handler sold as one product carrying the certified combination's AHRI Certified Reference Number, built during implementation.
Install-region check. Install ZIP code mapped to North, Southeast or Southwest, with air conditioners that do not meet the region's levels hidden, built during implementation.
Equipment quotes with approvals. Systems quoted through Uncap Quotes with negotiated pricing, validity windows and exceptions routed to an approver, with the HVAC rules configured during implementation.
Refrigerant by certified account. Technician certification held on the contractor account, and refrigerant ordering limited to accounts with a card on file, built during implementation.
Serial-numbered order records. Outdoor unit serial number, buyer and delivery address kept with each split-system sale, built during implementation.
OEM to universal cross reference. OEM motor numbers mapped to the universal replacements you stock, built during implementation from your suppliers' cross-reference data.
Contractor accounts. Multi-user accounts with roles, permissions and per-user limits, plus reorder lists, through Uncap Portal.
ERP sync, Connect or managed iPaaS. Pricing, inventory, customers and orders kept current between Shopify and the ERP, through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration.
The line between product and build, in writing. Account pricing, quote approvals, validity windows, one-click order conversion, multi-user accounts and reorder lists ship in Uncap Quotes and Uncap Portal. Matched systems, install-region rules, refrigerant gating, serial capture and the motor cross reference are built during implementation from your data. The scope says which is which.
Built on the records your counter keeps. Matchup sheets, 608 card records and motor cross-reference data often exist already, in a spreadsheet, the ERP or a binder. Scoping decides what can be imported and what has to be keyed in.
Credentials you can check. Uncap is a Shopify Platinum Partner, on Shopify since 2013, with 380+ unified storefronts launched on Shopify.
Scoped before it is built. The Uncap Blueprint is a fixed-price, four-week Shopify migration plan, credited 1:1 toward implementation. It covers solution architecture, a data migration taxonomy, an ERP integration audit, UX and flow prototyping, total cost of ownership and a risk register, and ends with a fixed-cost implementation estimate. For an HVAC distributor, that architecture work can cover combination data, region rules, certification records and the ERP connection. You walk with everything you need to brief any agency or your in-house team.
This page sits under plumbing, HVAC and mechanical supply ecommerce, which covers model and serial lookup, diagrams, supersession, will call and truck stock. This page goes one level down, into what an equipment order and a refrigerant order have to clear before they ship. Thermostats and their compatibility with the installed system are on thermostats and controls. Water heaters and boilers are on water heaters and boilers, and circulators on pumps and controls. For which system owns what, see the field notes on wholesale distributor software: ERP, PIM and ecommerce. For the ERP side, see the Epicor Eclipse integration or the full list of ERP integrations.
Bring two documents. The first is the matchup sheet your counter uses for your best-selling condensing unit line, with the coil and furnace combinations you actually quote. The second is how you track 608 cards today, whether that is a binder, a spreadsheet or a field in the ERP. Together they show where the combination data and the certification records live.
Book a strategy session with Uncap, or start with a Blueprint if what you need first is the matched-system data, region rules and refrigerant workflow written down and costed.
Not necessarily. The integration and the rules decide it, not where the storefront comes from. On Shopify, matched-system, install-region and refrigerant rules are built during implementation from your data. Integration runs through an owned Uncap Connect app embedded in Shopify, or a managed iPaaS integration. On the Connect route, pricing, inventory, customers and orders stay in real-time, two-way sync with no separate middleware to maintain, and Eclipse stays the system of record.
EPA says the seller must verify that the buyer "either 1) is a certified technician, or 2) employs a certified technician," and online sales carry the same verification and recordkeeping requirements as the counter. EPA adds that "the online vender must still verify, and maintain documentation indicating that the purchaser is or employs a certified technician." On Shopify, holding the certification on the account and limiting refrigerant to those accounts is built during implementation.
Not always. 40 CFR 82.154(c)(1) lists exceptions to the sales restriction, including where "The refrigerant is contained in an appliance with a fully assembled refrigerant circuit or an appliance component" and where it "is sold only for eventual resale" to certified persons or to appliance manufacturers. EPA adds that any person installing stationary appliances must be a section 608 certified technician, and that used components, "for example, a condensing unit," cannot contain used refrigerant when sold. On Shopify, which SKUs carry the certification check is configured during implementation from your product data.
EPA says refrigerant vendors "must maintain invoices that indicate the name of the purchaser, the date of sale, and the quantity of refrigerant purchased." Where someone other than the technician completes the purchase, the seller keeps the buyer's documentation that it employs a certified technician. EPA says these records "must be kept for three years from the date of sale." A Shopify order can carry the purchaser, date and quantity; producing the invoice record and storing the certification document with the account are built during implementation.
DOE says its standards apply based on the kind of air conditioner and "when and where the central air conditioner is installed." DOE's Southeast standards apply only to split-system air conditioners, and its Southwest standards to split-system and single-package air conditioners. Under 10 CFR 430.32, a split air conditioner under 45,000 Btu/hr installed in those regions since 2023 needs 14.3 SEER2, against a 13.4 SEER2 national minimum, and the Southwest adds an EER2 minimum. Asking for the install ZIP code is built during implementation.
It is an outdoor unit paired with a specific indoor unit as a certified combination with its own rating; 10 CFR 430.32 judges an outdoor unit model by each "certified combination with a rating." The public AHRI Directory lets you look up a system's AHRI Certified Reference Number and download its Certificate of Performance. AHRI licenses its data for use in a participant's own tools under a signed agreement, which matters if your storefront shows matchups.
Under 10 CFR 429.142, distributors keep the outdoor unit's manufacturer, model and serial number, who they bought it from and when, who they sold it to and when, and the delivery address if delivered. The rule says "no less than 54 months from the date of sale." Manufacturers keep their own records for no less than 60 months. Capturing the serial number on the online order is built during implementation.
Offer both and let the contractor choose. Nidec, for one, says its U.S. MOTORS line "includes HVAC motors for OEMs as well as replacement motors for major OEM equipment." On Shopify, the cross reference from the OEM number on the dead motor to the universal motors you stock is built during implementation from your suppliers' cross-reference data.
Uncap publishes twelve ERP family integrations: Acumatica, Cin7, Epicor, Fishbowl, Infor, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Odoo, Oracle, QuickBooks, Sage and SAP. Integration pages linked from the plumbing, HVAC and mechanical page include Epicor Eclipse, Infor SX.e and Epicor Prophet 21. The Eclipse page describes availability that "comes by branch, synced for browse and checked live at the cart." Integrations are delivered through an owned Uncap Connect app or a managed iPaaS integration.
The plumbing, HVAC and mechanical page covers how a contractor finds a part from the unit: model and serial lookup, diagrams, supersession, will call and truck stock. This page covers what HVAC equipment and refrigerant add: certified combinations, the install region, the technician card and the serial number on the order record. A distributor that sells both parts and equipment needs both.
