Flow 05·Treehouse internal·kopperfield, coolcalc

Remote scoping

What work is actually required? For electrical, this means translating the panel data and job type into a specific scope of work — what circuits, equipment, and labor are needed. This step is where Treehouse's Edison system operates.

Technical scope

User goal

Contractor needs a defined scope of work before pricing. Homeowner needs confidence that the quote they receive is accurate and won't change after a site visit.Hypothesis

Treehouse implication

This is where Edison operates. The market has very few tools that do this for electrical — Kopperfield is the closest external analogue (unresearched). HVAC has more mature remote scoping tools (Manual J, CoolCalc) that Airship integrates. The absence of an equivalent for electrical is Treehouse's opportunity.Treehouse internal

How competitors approach this

2 companies mapped. Click a company's "View flow" link to see their captured screens.

Company	What they do	What they automate	Contractor control	FSM relationship	Key strength	Key weakness	Treehouse implication
KopperfieldView flow →	Load calculation and electrical design software with permit-ready output. Purpose-built for electrical contractors doing panel upgrades, service changes, and electrification work. Product interior fully unresearched.HypothesisSource	Capture plan includes: load-calculation inputs, existing loads, proposed loads, assumptions, calculation result, code references, errors/warnings. Suggests a structured calculation with automated NEC compliance checking.Hypothesis	Capture plan includes 'editable values' and 'manual override' steps — suggests the contractor can review and modify the automated calculation.Hypothesis	Unresearched. The capture plan ends at permit/document output — unclear whether the scope feeds back into a pricing or proposal tool.Hypothesis	If the load calculation is accurate and the permit-ready output is complete, Kopperfield eliminates a significant amount of manual drafting and code-lookup work.Hypothesis	Business model, pricing, GTM, and FSM integration are all unresearched.Hypothesis	If Kopperfield's calculation is comparable to Edison's and its output is permit-ready, it is a direct competitor for the technical scoping step. The key differentiator to research: does Kopperfield start from a homeowner photo, or does it require a contractor in the field?Hypothesis
CoolCalcView flow →	HVAC Manual J load calculation tool. The HVAC equivalent of what Edison and Kopperfield do for electrical. Airship integrates Manual J natively for HVAC proposals — this is the tool category Airship relies on.HypothesisSource	Manual J residential load calculation from property inputs.Hypothesis	Unresearched.Hypothesis	Unresearched. Likely standalone with export to proposal tool.Hypothesis	Manual J is the required calculation for HVAC equipment sizing — if CoolCalc is the dominant tool for this, it has a regulatory moat.Hypothesis	HVAC-specific. No electrical equivalent. Not relevant to Treehouse's primary use case.Hypothesis	Manual J for HVAC is the structural analogue for what Edison does for electrical. The HVAC market has standardized on this calculation; the electrical market has not yet standardized on a remote load-calculation tool. That is the window Treehouse is moving into.Hypothesis

Treehouse read

What Treehouse owns, orchestrates, and defers to the FSM — plus six supporting questions that shape architecture decisions. All entries are hypothesis until validated internally.

Treehouse ownsCore IP or data that Treehouse controls and no partner provides.

The Edison load calculation and scope generation. The NEC/AHJ rules engine. The scope-of-work data model that feeds BOM and pricing.Treehouse internal

Treehouse orchestratesThird-party capabilities Treehouse coordinates but does not own.

The contractor review and sign-off experience. The handoff from scope to BOM generation and pricing.Hypothesis

Stays in the FSMWorkflow or data that belongs in the contractor's system of record.

Job scheduling, technician assignment, on-site work orders. The FSM does not need the detailed scope — it needs the summary and the labor hours.Hypothesis

Differentiated intelligenceWhat Treehouse knows or computes that competitors cannot easily replicate.

Edison's NEC compliance engine and local AHJ rule database. The ability to produce a code-compliant, permit-ready scope from panel data and a job type — without a licensed electrician physically assessing the site.Treehouse internal

Commodity infrastructureCapabilities that are table stakes — others have them too.

Property data (square footage, year built, occupancy type). Appliance specification sheets (wattage, amp draw). These are data assets others also have.Hypothesis

Persists across the journeyData or state from this step that must travel to later steps without re-entry.

The complete scope of work: circuit list, equipment list, labor steps, code references, permit requirements. This is the source of truth for BOM generation, pricing, and permit documentation.Treehouse internal

Contractor seesWhat the contractor-facing UI surfaces from this step.

A reviewable scope of work with the Edison-generated draft highlighted and contractor edits tracked. Code references for any code-required item. A 'scope confidence' indicator.Treehouse internal

Happens automaticallyWorkflow events that fire without a contractor action.

NEC load calculation, equipment requirement derivation, code-compliance checking, permit-requirement identification.Treehouse internal

Human takeoverConditions that require a contractor or Treehouse team member to intervene.

Any scope with physical constraints not determinable from photos. Any local AHJ requirement that Edison's database doesn't have. Any scope with unusual or non-standard configurations.Treehouse internal

Research detail11-field structured template: contractor workflow, information flows, product outputs, FSM read/write

User goalWhat the homeowner and contractor each need from this step.

Contractor needs a defined scope of work before pricing. Homeowner needs confidence that the quote they receive is accurate and won't change after a site visit.Hypothesis

Contractor workflowHow contractors handle this step today, with or without software.

Current state: a licensed electrician assesses the site in person, applies NEC code knowledge and local AHJ requirements, and defines the scope from memory and experience. The scope may be written on a notepad or entered into an estimating tool. Remote scoping replaces or supplements the physical assessment.Hypothesis

Information entersWhat data flows in — from the homeowner, the FSM, prior steps.

From photo collection: panel record (main service, breaker inventory, available capacity). From qualification: job type, property address, appliance inventory. From Edison: NEC code rules, local AHJ requirements, load calculation algorithms.Treehouse internal

What the product doesWhat the software handles — based on evidence, not assumptions.

Edison performs a residential electrical load calculation (NEC Article 220) based on the panel record and appliance inventory. Identifies what upgrades are required (service upgrade, new circuits, panel replacement). Surfaces code-required steps. Produces a draft scope of work.Treehouse internal

Contractor must doSteps that always require a human decision or action.

Review the Edison-generated scope. Apply local AHJ knowledge that Edison may not have. Confirm or adjust equipment specifications. Identify any physical constraints that weren't visible in photos. Sign off on the scope before it drives pricing.Treehouse internal

Requires judgmentWhere automation breaks down and a licensed trade professional is needed.

Jobs where the physical constraints matter more than the calculated scope — conduit routing, clearance requirements, access constraints. Local AHJ requirements that differ from NEC defaults. Edge cases in the load calculation where assumptions may be wrong.Treehouse internal

Product outputsWhat the step produces — data, documents, FSM records.

A contractor-reviewed scope of work: what circuits are added/modified, what equipment is required, what permits are needed, what the labor steps are. This scope feeds BOM generation and estimation.Treehouse internal

FSM read / writeWhat the tool reads from and writes to the contractor's system of record.

The scope of work may be written back to the FSM job record as notes or as a linked document. The detailed structured scope data lives in Treehouse's project object.Hypothesis

Product strengthsWhat the best products in this step do unusually well.

Eliminates the estimation-blocking site visit for jobs where panel data is the primary scoping input. Produces a consistent, code-compliant scope that a less experienced estimator can review rather than generate from scratch.Treehouse internal

Product weaknessesWhere current products fall short or create new problems.

Cannot scope jobs with physical constraints that aren't visible in photos. Load calculation accuracy depends on appliance inventory completeness — if the homeowner doesn't know what they're adding, the scope may be wrong. NEC/AHJ variation requires ongoing data maintenance.Hypothesis

Treehouse implicationWhat this step means for Treehouse's product positioning and architecture.

Open questions

01What percentage of electrical jobs scoped by Edison require a subsequent site visit to correct the scope?
02How does Edison handle local AHJ requirements that differ from NEC defaults?
03What is Kopperfield's load-calculation approach — is it comparable to Edison's?
04What job types does Edison handle well versus poorly?
05How does the contractor review and sign-off experience work today?
06What is the cost of a wrong scope — how often does an Edison-generated scope require revision after a site visit?