HVAC leads: prices by channel and what contractors want

A furnace that dies in January produces a phone call within minutes, and the homeowner books whoever answers first. A ten-year-old system that is merely inefficient produces a quote request that may take weeks to close and is worth many times more.

Heating and cooling contractors want both, but they buy them differently: repair demand almost always as live calls, replacement demand as forms or booked estimates.

Seasonal swings

Demand is also seasonal. Cooling enquiries peak in the first heatwave and heating enquiries in the first cold snap, so a supplier who can deliver volume in the shoulder months is worth more to a contractor trying to keep technicians busy.

Two meanings of exclusive

The Nopio article gives two different exclusive figures without reconciling them, which is typical of this market: an unqualified exclusive form and a pre-screened replacement enquiry are both sold as exclusive. Ask any supplier which one they mean.

Pay-per-call is common because the value of an HVAC repair enquiry decays in minutes. Buyers usually set a minimum call duration before a call counts as billable and expect the caller's area and job type to be screened first.

If you are brokering call supply, the contract needs that duration, the service area, opening hours and how disputed calls are handled.

• Written consent: autodialled or prerecorded marketing calls and texts need prior express written consent naming the seller. The FCC's one-to-one rule was vacated in January 2025, but the consent requirement remains.
• Do-not-call: registered numbers can't receive telephone solicitations without an exception, and since the FCC's 2023 order the same protection covers marketing texts.
• In-home sales: the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule excludes emergency repairs the homeowner asked for, but anything sold beyond that request, such as a full replacement, is covered by the three-day cancellation right.
• Licensing: buyers are licensed contractors in most states, so route leads only to companies licensed for that work and area.

• Calls billed with no minimum duration or recording.
• Out-of-area or wrong-service leads with no return credit.
• Forms that never ask whether the caller owns the home.
• Lead counts that don't change with the season, which suggests recycled records.

We are not a lead supplier and there is no HVAC inventory to buy from us. DataBroker teaches brokering through a paid course and gives you tools to source supply, test a sample, price it and draft terms with a contractor. Contractors who just need leads should go to the channels in the table.