One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $131K – $274K
- Disclosed sales
- $4.4M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- Not SBA-matched
Data from FDD filing
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning is a home-services franchise providing HVAC installation, repair, and maintenance for homes and businesses. Franchisees run a service operation dispatching technicians, handling emergency calls, and managing customer accounts.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise requires a total initial investment of $131K – $274K, including a $43K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average revenue per franchisee was $4.4M. This franchisor reports Item 19 per franchisee rather than per outlet, so the figure is not comparable with per-outlet averages[2]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: 2024 filing · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: high - figures are from a filing two or more years old
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✗ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored8 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $131K – $274K
- 50th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $4.4M
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 21st pct Home Services
- Units
- 413
- 86th pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $131K – $274K including a $43K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage revenue per franchisee of $4.4M/year (median $2.5M). Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 91/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHPositive: net +33 franchised outlets in the latest year (52 opened, 19 closed); 12 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2024 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2024 FDD
- Predecessor
- One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising, L.L.C. (OHAC)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Mark Dawson
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $219.1M
- vs $190.8M prior year
Same owner · FDD Item 1, page 6
14 other brands on this site name Authority Brands, Inc. as parent or ultimate parent in their own FDD.
- ASP - AMERICA’S SWIMMING POOL COMPANYC
- Benjamin Franklin PlumbingA
- COLOR WORLD PAINTINGD
- DRYMEDICA
- DoodyCallsA
- Homewatch CareGiversC
- LAWN SQUADB
- MISTER SPARKYA
- MONSTER TREE SERVICEB
- Mosquito SquadA
- SCREENMOBILEA
- THE JUNKLUGGERSC
- The Cleaning AuthorityB
- WOOFIE’SB
Portfolio: Authority Brands
Grouped by the owner's name as each filing prints it (this page: the 2024 FDD). Spelling variants of the same group may be listed apart; a brand is never grouped with an owner its filing does not name.
Overview
About
- CEO
- Mark Dawson
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 37
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 20% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown23 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fee | $43K | $43K | |
| Rent/Lease of Real Estate | $3K | $9K | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $1K | $4K | |
| Computer Systems | $800 | $3K | |
| Software | $3K | $5K | |
| Office Furniture and Equipment | $2K | $4K | |
| Machinery, Tools and Equipment | $3K | $10K | |
| Vehicles | $8K | $15K | |
| Vehicle Upfitting | $0 | $5K | |
| Signage for Vehicles | $0 | $8K | |
| Office Signage | $1K | $5K | |
| Travel Expenses for Initial Training | $3K | $5K | |
| Initial Vehicle Inventory | $3K | $8K | |
| Insurance | $4K | $8K | |
| Start-up Supplies | $3K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees and Licensing | $5K | $20K | |
| Vehicle Registration Fees | $2K | $4K | |
| Decals for Consumer Units | $300 | $500 | |
| Telephone Services | $300 | $500 | |
| Personal Tools for Technicians | $1K | $3K | |
| Total initial investment | $131K | $274K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $131K – $274K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $43K – $43K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.5%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.5% |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $8K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 651% above the home services norm.
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$250K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2024 FDD
Financial Performance
Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures
- Avg gross sales
- $4.4M
- Per franchisee, per year — not per outlet
- Median gross sales
- $2.5M
- Per franchisee, not per outlet
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- gross revenue by quartile
- Sample size
- 78 franchisees
- vs category median 32 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $16K→$47.3MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 77 of the 2024 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2023
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2024
- Disclosed in the 2024 filing, covering 2023
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 319 Home Services brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
The average franchisee generates $4.4M/year in gross sales. Median is $2.5M — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.5% (near the Home Services median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 12.9% CAGR over 3 years across 413 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services medians
How One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning Compares
Per franchisee, not per outlet - the category median is per-outlet only, so no comparison is shown
Category median of published Home Services brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2024 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 413
- Opened
- 52
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 19
- Terminated
- 4
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 8
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.6%
- Company-owned
- 28
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 93%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +12.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +12.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 4
- Not renewed
- 8
- Transferred
- 21
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 12
- 0.03 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 34
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 5.1%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
- Termination rate
- 2.9%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 1.7%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 36 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
116 current owners across 36 states.
- TX 11
- FL 8
- NC 7
- NY 7
- OH 6
- AZ 5
- IL 5
- MD 5
- CA 4
- MI 4
- MO 4
- NJ 4
- +24 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR presents elevated risk due to opaque financial disclosure, litigation patterns suggesting compliance evasion, and a royalty structure that may incentivize underreporting and squeeze marginal operators.
Why this reads harsher than the A grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
Two pending suits filed by franchisor against former franchisees for breach of franchise agreements (Rocky Top Air/non-compete; David Michael Plumbing/underreporting). Four concluded actions including one where franchisor predecessor paid $560,000 settlement and two involving non-compete and trademark disputes. Two collections actions (Claire Service Now, Zubie Air).
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 91 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving trademark infringement, non-compete violations, and sales underreporting suggest systemic compliance issues
- 02MINORRoyalty structure creates aggressive floor ($1,500/month minimum = $18,000 annually) that pressures small operators and incentivizes underreporting
- 03MINOR9.4% YoY unit growth is modest for a 413-unit system; suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 04MINORCollection actions for unpaid fees indicate franchisee financial distress across the system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2024 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 40 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 15 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Columbia, Maryland |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | MD |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending suits filed by franchisor against former franchisees for breach of franchise agreements (Rocky Top Air/non-compete; David Michael Plumbing/underreporting). Four concluded actions including one where franchisor predecessor paid $560,000 settlement and two involving non-compete and trademark disputes. Two collections actions (Claire Service Now, Zubie Air).
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Phoenix, Arizona (BOOT); online (Initial Training)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 0 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Successware
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Successware
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
116 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise?
The total investment to open a ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise ranges from $131K – $274K, with an initial franchise fee of $43K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $4.4M. The median is $2.5M. Important context: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING?
ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING is franchised by One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC. Its parent company is AB Assetco LLC. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Authority Brands, Inc.. Source: FDD Item 1, 2024 filing.
What is Item 19 in the ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING has 413 total units in the United States, including 385 franchised units and 28 company-owned units. 52 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 91 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.