One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise unit economics
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchisees sell residential and light commercial heating, cooling and indoor air quality service, repair, maintenance and equipment replacement across protected territories, and most hold several.
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise at a glance
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning's Item 19 reports fiscal 2025 sales for 88 franchisees across 364 territories, grouped by owner size and by sales per territory, with revenue per territory and same-store sales from 2023 to 2025.
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchisees averaged $4,082,652 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $2,217,669, according to Item 19 of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s 2026 FDD, issued 26 April 2026. The 88 in that group are 21%* of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s 418 locations.
- A One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise costs $143,273 to $286,702 to open, including a $43,000 initial franchise fee, according to the brand's 2026 FDD.
- One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning charges a royalty of 6% of sales, a 1.5% brand fund contribution and a $100 monthly technology fee.
- On Averan's reading, One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning's franchise fees come to about 7.53% of sales.
- 25% of reporting One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning locations reached the average.
- Work out One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- The 22 largest franchisees bill $1,472,154 a territory. The 22 largest franchisees average $11,509,564 across 7.82 territories, or $1,472,154 each; the 22 highest-selling per territory average $3,062,355 across 1.86 territories *.
- Brand charges take 7.53% at the average franchisee. That is a 6% royalty, 1.5% to the brand fund and $1,200 of technology, $307,399 on $4,082,652, and 22.10% at the lowest-selling franchisees *. Local marketing adds 6% of revenue.
- The $18,000 minimum royalty is exactly 6% of the $300,000 performance test. The minimum starts a year after opening and the test at the third anniversary *, and the bottom quarter of territories averages $139,724, which is 46.6% of the test.
- Revenue per territory fell 5.7% across two years while same-store sales rose 8.4%. $923,266 in 2023 to $871,048 in 2025 *, on a territory count up 8.0% from 389 to 420, the system added territories faster than it added revenue.
- All 22 top-quarter franchisees began before 2020. And 45 of the 63 territories that opened from 2020 onward sit in the bottom quartile *, against 2 in the top.
How much does a One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise make?
The average One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning unit reported $4,082,652 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $2,217,669. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 7.5% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Territories and franchisees
Sales per franchisee and per territory, 2025
The same 88 franchisees are ranked twice: once by revenue per territory and once by total sales. The two rankings describe different businesses, and the distance between them is the operating lesson.
| quartile | Franchisees | Territories | Territories each * | Total sales | Average per territory | Highest territory | Lowest territory | Median territory | Territories above the group average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | 22 | 41 | 1.86 | $125,556,539 | $3,062,355 | $7,717,296 | $1,798,168 | $2,761,642 | 11 of 41, 27% |
| Second | 22 | 134 | 6.09 | $163,260,902 | $1,218,365 | $1,721,422 | $899,464 | $1,344,808 | 48 of 134, 36% |
| Third | 22 | 92 | 4.18 | $56,902,745 | $618,508 | $868,567 | $398,529 | $578,084 | 38 of 92, 41% |
| Bottom 25% | 22 | 97 | 4.41 | $13,553,225 | $139,724 | $379,681 | $21,819 | $242,722 | 37 of 97, 38% |
| All 88 | 88 | 364 | 4.14 | $359,273,411 | $987,015 * | $7,717,296 | $21,819 | n/a | 213 of 364, 59% |
Every quartile row is as the brand reported it and reconciles. Each group’s total sales divided by its territories returns its filed average to the dollar, the four totals add to $359,273,411. The four territory counts add to 364.
| quartile | Franchisees | Territories | Territories each * | Total sales | Average per franchisee | Per territory * | Highest | Lowest | Median | Above the group average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 25% | 22 | 172 | 7.82 | $253,210,406 | $11,509,564 | $1,472,154 | $48,865,630 | $4,370,880 | $7,435,302 | 7 of 22, 32% |
| Second | 22 | 66 | 3.00 | $66,892,903 | $3,040,586 | $1,013,529 | $4,017,957 | $2,231,900 | $2,866,281 | 9 of 22, 41% |
| Third | 22 | 68 | 3.09 | $28,527,769 | $1,296,717 | $419,526 | $2,203,438 | $825,334 | $1,258,529 | 11 of 22, 50% |
| Bottom 25% | 22 | 58 | 2.64 | $10,642,333 | $483,742 | $183,488 | $806,583 | $93,209 | $496,337 | 11 of 22, 50% |
| All 88 | 88 | 364 | 4.14 | $359,273,411 | $4,082,652 | $987,015 | $48,865,630 | $93,209 | $2,217,669 | 22 of 88, 25% |
This table reconciles end to end.
Larger franchisees earn less per territory. The largest franchisees earn $1,472,154 a territory, while the highest-selling per territory earn $3,062,355 from 1.86 territories each *, twice the yield on a quarter of the footprint.
The second quartile by territory holds 134 of the 364. Those 22 franchisees run 6.09 territories apiece at $1,218,365 each *, which is where most of this system’s territory count and $163,260,902 of its revenue sit.
Territory sales across the system span 354 times. That is $7,717,296 against $21,819 *, and 524 times at the franchisee level, from $48,865,630 to $93,209.
Use $987,015 as the per-territory average. That is $359,273,411 divided by 364 *. This is the figure to budget for each territory.
Top performers
What separates the top One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning performers
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The top group averaged $11,509,564 a year. The lowest averaged $483,742. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $2,217,669. The average was $4,082,652. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Site and trade area.The top band sells 23.8× the bottom band. Catchment, daytime population and neighboring businesses affect where a location falls.
- Capacity.Capacity is the number of vans, times the hours they run, times how full their schedules are. The build sets how much you can sell.
- Territory.This model sells from a territory quoted at 100,000 people, with no storefront. Population density sets how much driving sits between jobs.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $143,273 to $286,702, a 2.0× range inside one brand.
- Fees and the minimum.Fees run about 7.5% of sales. A minimum fee also applies, so lower-selling locations pay a higher effective rate. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum.
- Cash needed in the first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up: the month sales cover costs, and how much cash you fund before then.
Live operating levers
- Sales depend on service calls.A technician finishes only so many calls a day, so the owner works on how many of them turn into paid work and what the average ticket is worth.
Context you underwrite around
- Locations included.These figures cover 88 of 418 locations. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded.
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. Ask the franchisor or current owners for cost and profit figures.
Top performers
How far apart the locations are
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning reports its locations in performance groups, from the highest-selling to the lowest. The group-by-group figures are in the tables on the Model and Finance tabs.
Discounts available
- One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning takes 30% off the fee (and any additional population fee) for existing franchisees licensing an additional territory.
- One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning takes 30% off the first franchise's fee for honorably discharged U.S. and Canadian veterans and active-duty personnel (VetFran).
- One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning takes $5,000 off the first franchise's fee for businesses at least 51% owned by women or minorities.
From Item 5 of the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
Growth and the system
Systemwide and same-store sales, 2023 to 2025
Two growth figures answer different questions. Same-store sales compare a fixed group of 348 territories with itself. Systemwide divides a growing revenue number by a faster-growing territory count.
| Year | Systemwide sales | Growth | Territories | Revenue per territory * | Change per territory * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $359,150,544 | n/a | 389 | $923,266 | n/a |
| 2024 | $335,524,270 | −6.6% | 406 | $826,414 | −10.5% |
| 2025 | $365,840,208 | +9.0% | 420 | $871,048 | +5.4% |
Sales, growth rates and territory counts are as the brand reported it; revenue per territory and its change are marked *.
Two years added 8.0% more territories and 1.9% more revenue. 389 to 420 against $359,150,544 to $365,840,208 *, which is how revenue per territory landed 5.7% lower.
Same-store territories bill $1,010,710 against $871,048 systemwide. That is a gap of $139,662 *, and the whole of it is the mix of new and closing territories sitting inside the systemwide number.
Territories opened and closed, 2023 to 2025
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminated | Failed to renew | Ceased for other reasons | Departures * | At end | Transfers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 352 | 45 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 378 | 21 |
| 2024 | 378 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 405 | 24 |
| 2025 | 405 | 30 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 418 | 3 |
Every column apart from departures is as the brand reported it, and start plus openings less departures returns the filed year-end count in all three years.
Openings fell a third across three years while departures held. That is 45, 38 and 30 against 19, 11 and 17 *, net additions of 26, 27 and 13.
Transfers dropped from 24 to 3. That follows 21 and 24 in the two previous years, and 3 is 0.7% of the system changing hands in 2025 against 5.9% the year before.
What the fees come to
Royalty, brand fund and marketing requirement
The royalty is 6% of sales with an $18,000 annual minimum. The brand fund starts at 1.5% and steps down as calendar-year revenue climbs, reaching 0% above $20,000,000. Local marketing is a spending requirement: 6% of the calendar year’s cumulative revenue, from the third month onward. Technology is $100 a month.
| Annual sales | Royalty | Royalty rate | Brand fund | Brand fund rate | Local marketing | Technology | All in, with local marketing | Share with local marketing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $48,865,630, the highest franchisee | $2,931,938 | 6.00% | $225,000 | 0.46% | $2,931,938 | $1,200 | $6,090,076 | 12.46% |
| $11,509,564, the first quartile | $690,574 | 6.00% | $152,596 | 1.33% | $690,574 | $1,200 | $1,534,943 | 13.34% |
| $7,435,302, the first-quartile median | $446,118 | 6.00% | $105,441 | 1.42% | $446,118 | $1,200 | $998,878 | 13.43% |
| $4,082,652, the system average | $244,959 | 6.00% | $61,240 | 1.50% | $244,959 | $1,200 | $552,358 | 13.53% |
| $2,217,669, the system median | $133,060 | 6.00% | $33,265 | 1.50% | $133,060 | $1,200 | $300,585 | 13.55% |
| $1,296,717, the third quartile | $77,803 | 6.00% | $19,451 | 1.50% | $77,803 | $1,200 | $176,257 | 13.59% |
| $483,742, the fourth quartile | $29,025 | 6.00% | $7,256 | 1.50% | $29,025 | $1,200 | $66,505 | 13.75% |
| $300,000, the performance test | $18,000 | 6.00% | $4,500 | 1.50% | $18,000 | $1,200 | $41,700 | 13.90% |
| $93,209, the lowest franchisee | $18,000 | 19.31% | $1,398 | 1.50% | $5,593 | $1,200 | $26,191 | 28.10% |
The rates, tiers, the $1,500 monthly minimum royalty and the $100 monthly technology fee are as the brand reported it. The revenue points come from the filed franchisee tables. Every dollar amount and every share is marked *.
The brand fund tiers are worth $507,984 a year to the largest franchisee. $225,000 against the $732,984 a flat 1.5% asks *, relief that starts only above $5,000,000 of calendar-year revenue.
The brand fund tiers apply to combined contiguous territories. A franchisee holding 7.82 territories at $1,472,154 each reaches $11,509,564 and pays 1.33% *, where the same revenue split across separate agreements would sit at 1.5%.
Below $300,000 the royalty becomes a fixed $18,000. The lowest-selling franchisee pays 19.31% *, and its charges paid to the brand, $20,598, are 22.10% of what it billed.
Local marketing matches the royalty dollar for dollar at 6%. $244,959 each at the system average *, together 12% of revenue before the brand fund and technology are counted.
Opening and the territory
Cost to open a territory
| Line | Low | High | Share of the low column * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Additional funds, three months | $60,000 | $90,000 | 41.88% |
| Franchise fee | $43,000 | $43,000 | 30.01% |
| Vehicles | $8,240 | $15,450 | 5.75% |
| Professional fees and licensing | $4,635 | $20,600 | 3.24% |
| Insurance | $4,120 | $8,240 | 2.88% |
| Rent or lease of real estate | $3,090 | $9,270 | 2.16% |
| Machinery, tools and equipment | $3,090 | $10,300 | 2.16% |
| Travel while training | $2,575 | $5,150 | 1.80% |
| Initial vehicle inventory | $2,575 | $8,240 | 1.80% |
| Start-up supplies | $2,575 | $5,150 | 1.80% |
| Vehicle registration fees | $2,266 | $4,532 | 1.58% |
| Computer, technology and software | $1,854 | $4,120 | 1.29% |
| Office furniture and equipment | $1,545 | $4,120 | 1.08% |
| Building work | $1,030 | $4,120 | 0.72% |
| Office signage | $1,030 | $5,150 | 0.72% |
| Personal tools for technicians | $1,030 | $3,090 | 0.72% |
| Decals for consumer units | $309 | $515 | 0.22% |
| Telephone services | $309 | $515 | 0.22% |
| Grand opening marketing | $0 | $6,000 | 0.00% |
| Vehicle upfitting | $0 | $5,150 | 0.00% |
| Signage for vehicles | $0 | $8,240 | 0.00% |
| Full-time general or operations manager | $0 | $25,750 | 0.00% |
| Total | $143,273 | $286,702 | 100% |
Amounts are as the brand reported it and the share column is marked *; both columns add to their stated totals to the dollar.
Opening costs 14.5% of what an average territory bills in a year. That is $143,273 against $987,015 *, and 154% of what a bottom-quarter franchisee bills at the low end of that group.
Everything beyond the fee and working capital is $40,273. That covers twenty lines at the low end, 28.11% of the total *, including a truck, tools, insurance and a license.
Annual performance requirement
A territory covers roughly 100,000 people, defined by postal code, and the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning territory is protected. The franchisor agrees to stay out and to keep other franchisees out while the franchisee holds full compliance, including the performance requirement. From the third anniversary of opening, each franchised business must reach annual sales of $300,000.
| Group | Revenue | Against the $300,000 test * | Position * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average territory, all 88 | $987,015 | 3.29× | +$687,015 |
| Third-quartile territory average | $618,508 | 2.06× | +$318,508 |
| Lowest territory in the third quartile | $398,529 | 1.33× | +$98,529 |
| Median territory, bottom quartile | $242,722 | 0.81× | −$57,278 |
| Bottom-quarter territory average | $139,724 | 0.47× | −$160,276 |
| Lowest territory in the system | $21,819 | 0.07× | −$278,181 |
The $300,000 test and the revenue figures are as the brand reported it; the multiple and the position are marked *.
The minimum royalty and the performance test are the same number. $1,500 a month is $18,000 a year, which is 6% of $300,000 *. The minimum the brand charges matches the sales it requires.
Maturity sorts this system harder than geography does. All 22 owners in the top quarter started before 2020. 45 of the 63 territories opened from 2020 onward sit in the bottom quartile *. 301 of the 364 reporting territories started before 2020.
Questions we get asked
Questions owners ask.
How much does a One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise make?
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchisees averaged $4,082,652 of sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $2,217,669, according to Item 19 of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s 2026 FDD, issued 26 April 2026. The 88 in that group are 21%* of One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning’s 418 locations.
What does a One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning territory bill?
The 88 franchisees reporting all of 2025 billed $359,273,411 across 364 territories, an average of $987,015 each. By quartile the per-territory averages run $3,062,355, $1,218,365, $618,508 and $139,724, and 213 of 364 territories beat the system average.
What does a franchisee bill at One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning?
One Hour franchisees averaged $4,082,652, with a median of $2,217,669, ranging from $93,209 to $48,865,630. The top quartile averages $11,509,564 across 7.82 territories each; the bottom quartile averages $483,742 across 2.64.
What fees does One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning charge?
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning charges a 6% royalty, never less than $18,000 a year. The brand fund is 1.5% of the first $5,000,000 of sales in a year, falling to nothing above $20,000,000, plus technology at $100 a month. On top of that the agreement requires 6% of revenue spent on local marketing. At the system average the royalty, brand fund and technology total $307,399, or 7.53% of revenue, and local marketing adds $244,959.
How much revenue does a One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning owner need to keep the territory?
The standard is $300,000 a year, from the third anniversary of opening. Falling short gives the franchisor the right to require a revenue improvement program and, after that, to shrink the territory or end the agreement. The bottom quarter of territories averages $139,724, which is 46.6% of the test.
Is the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning system growing?
Territories went 352 to 378 to 405 to 418 across three years, with openings of 45, 38 and 30 against departures of 19, 11 and 17. Systemwide sales rose 1.9% over the two years to 2025 while territories rose 8.0%, so revenue per territory fell 5.7%. Same-store sales across a fixed 348 territories rose 8.4% in 2025.
How much does a One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise cost to open?
A One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning franchise costs $143,273 to $286,702 to open for one territory of 100,000 people. The franchise fee is $43,000 of that, and $60,000 to $90,000 is three months of working capital. Fees actually collected during 2025 ran $22,028 to $67,408, reflecting population above 100,000 and the veteran, expansion and diversity discounts.
- The filing gives no profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- The filing breaks out no cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning
These are questions the One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning filing leaves open. An owner or a buyer can put them to One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- Which factors does One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning see in its highest-selling locations, such as trade area, years open and size?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →What is each territory actually returning?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around revenue per territory against the $987,015 system average, revenue per technician day. Where your combined revenue sits against the brand fund tiers.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning reads against the rest of the mechanical trades group: Aire Serv · Benjamin Franklin Plumbing · Mister Sparky · Mr. Electric · Mr. Rooter · Plumbing Paramedics. The mechanical trades guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?It traces where the extra revenue went, line by line.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are labeled where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 26 April 2026.