How Habipal calculates property health scores — the data sources, weighting model, age decay curves, and confidence tiers behind every number.
The Habipal property health score is a weighted average of six system group scores. Each system group score is the average of the individual system scores within that group.
Scores range from 0 to 100. A score of 100 represents a system where all equipment is within warranty, no maintenance is overdue, and no alerts are active. Scores decay over time as equipment ages and maintenance alerts accumulate.
Important: Scores reflect the data entered into Habipal. They are not the result of a physical inspection. A score is only as accurate as the data behind it. Fields marked as Estimated or with confidence below 70% should be independently verified before reliance.
The 22 trackable systems are organised into six weighted groups, based on the Habitat Studio Homeowner's Maintenance Manual. Weights reflect the relative impact of each group on the overall habitability, safety, and value of a property.
Weights sum to 100%. Structure & envelope carries the highest weight because structural and weatherproofing failures represent the greatest risk to property integrity and are the most costly to remediate.
Each piece of equipment contributes an age score to its system group. Age scores are calculated relative to the equipment's warranty period and expected lifespan, sourced from ASHRAE 2019 life expectancy tables.
| Phase | Age score | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Within warranty period | 100 | Equipment is covered under manufacturer warranty. Full score. |
| Post-warranty, within lifespan | 100 → 40 | Linear decay from 100 to 40 over the remaining expected lifespan. Rate depends on the gap between warranty expiry and expected end-of-life. |
| Beyond expected end-of-life | 15 (floor) | Equipment has exceeded its expected lifespan. Score floors at 15 — not zero, because aging equipment may still be functional. Triggers a critical alert. |
A floor of 15 rather than zero reflects the reality that equipment past its expected lifespan is still often operational. A score of zero would imply the system has completely failed, which is not always the case. The floor score combined with a critical alert signals that replacement planning is urgent without overstating the situation.
When an install date is unknown, Habipal cannot calculate an age score. The system score is flagged as a Partial Estimate and the equipment record prompts the user to enter or verify the install date. Unknown install dates are one of the most common reasons for low-confidence scores.
Overall scores and system group scores are mapped to four grade bands for at-a-glance readability.
Grade bands apply to both the overall property score and to each individual system group score. A property can have an overall grade of Good while a specific system group — such as Electrical — scores in the Poor band. The system-level breakdown is always shown alongside the overall score.
In addition to the numeric score and grade, Habipal surfaces three score states that indicate when a score should be treated with additional caution.
Every data field in a Habipal equipment record carries a confidence label indicating how reliably the value was determined. Fields below 70% confidence are flagged for manual verification before a score update is accepted.
Warranty duration is the most frequently estimated field — manufacturer warranty databases have incomplete coverage, particularly for older equipment. Equipment lifespan from ASHRAE tables is almost always Verified regardless of model, because lifespan is assigned at the category level rather than the model level. Install date is the most common Not found field.
Expected equipment lifespan values are sourced from the ASHRAE 2019 HVAC Applications Handbook life expectancy tables — the North American industry standard for building equipment lifespan estimation. These tables are used by engineers, property managers, and building inspectors across Canada and the United States.
Lifespan data is stored in Habipal's region_lifespan table, keyed by equipment category rather than model number. This means lifespan data is available for virtually all equipment — including unknown or uncommon models — using category-level defaults.
| Equipment category | Typical lifespan (ASHRAE median) |
|---|---|
| Gas furnace | 18 years |
| Central air conditioner | 15 years |
| Heat pump | 15 years |
| Water heater (tank) | 12 years |
| HRV / ERV unit | 20 years |
| Electrical panel | 25–40 years |
| Asphalt shingle roof | 20 years |
| Sump pump | 10 years |
Actual lifespan varies by usage, maintenance history, climate, and installation quality. ASHRAE figures are industry medians — some units will last longer, some shorter. Habipal uses median lifespan as the basis for age scoring.
Where applicable law provides a statutory minimum warranty period (for example, new home builder warranties under Alberta's New Home Buyer Protection Act), Habipal uses the greater of the manufacturer warranty and the statutory minimum for scoring purposes. The statutory minimum is stored per region in the regions table.
This section is included in every Habipal property health report. It is reproduced here for completeness.
Recommended use: Use Habipal scores to identify which systems warrant closer inspection, track maintenance compliance over time, document the property record for warranty and insurance purposes, and give buyers confidence that a property has been actively maintained. Always pair with an independent physical inspection for any significant transaction.