Who Really Owns Your "Local" HVAC Company?
Two private-equity funds sit behind roughly fifty HVAC contractors each, and nothing at the point of sale tells you which familiar local name you are actually calling.
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The case for looking closely at HVAC roll-ups
A series arguing, from our own ownership graph and outside evidence, that the private-equity roll-up of local HVAC contractors is engineered to reward investors, and over the long run shifts costs onto technicians, homeowners, and local economies. Each piece states plainly where the data proves a point and where it only supports an argument.
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Built to Flip: The 3-Year Clock on Your Furnace Warranty
The roll-up's three-to-five-year hold clock and your furnace's twenty-year service life are on a collision course. An argument about incentives, not a claim your warranty is void.
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When the Roll-Up Goes Bankrupt: The Air Pros Warning
When a debt-financed HVAC platform files for bankruptcy, the people left holding the bag are not the investors. The Air Pros case, read structurally.
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The Selling Technician: How Commission Pay Rewired the Trade
How commission pay rewired the service call, turning the technician at your door into a salesperson, and what that does to repair-versus-replace.
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What a Nursing Home Can Teach You About Your Air Conditioner
Our ratings data finds no quality penalty for PE-owned HVAC contractors. That non-finding, and what a star rating cannot measure, is the story.
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The Money Leaves Town
When a local HVAC company is rolled up, the profits stop circulating in town. An argument about where the money goes, not a measured local-economy loss.
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The New HVAC Millionaires, and Who Pays for Them
The exits are real and large; the founders' paydays are real. The asymmetry of who captures the upside and who pays for it is the thesis.
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Flying Under the Antitrust Radar
Most HVAC roll-ups are built from small add-on deals that typically fall below the antitrust-reporting threshold. The FTC has named the pattern; our deal data shows its cadence.
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How the Refrigerant Rules Became a Sales Script
How the 2025 refrigerant transition became a sales script: an argument about incentive, illustrated with our deal data through the changeover.
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