One Hour Heating & Air ConditioningFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING franchise requires a total initial investment of $71K – $270K, including a $43K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2024 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 21, 2026 · figures per the 2024 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $71K – $270K
- 15th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 31st pct Home Services
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 13th pct Home Services
- Units
- 413
- 76th pct Home Services
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Home Services avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 6.3x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchised units fell from 385 to 341 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $71K – $270K including a $43K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 35/100.
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- One Hour Air Conditioning Franchising SPE LLC
- Parent company
- AB Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Authority Brands, Inc. (Apax Partners, LLP advised Funds)
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 7120 Samuel Morse Drive, Suite 300, Columbia, Maryland 21046
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $191K
- vs $219K prior year
Overview
About
Franchisees own and operate local HVAC service centers providing heating, air conditioning installation, repair, and maintenance for residential and commercial customers. Daily operations include managing service technicians, scheduling appointments, responding to emergency calls, invoicing customers, and collecting payments.
- CEO
- Mark Dawson
- Headquarters
- MD
- Founded
- 2021
- FDD year
- 2024
- States available
- 37
FDD Item 7 · 2024 filing · 23 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Feenot refundable | — | — | |
| Rent/Lease of Real Estatenot refundable | $0 | $9K | |
| Leasehold Improvementsnot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Computer and Technology Systemsnot refundable | $0 | $3K | |
| Softwarenot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Office Furniture and Equipmentnot refundable | $1K | $4K | |
| Machinery, Tools and Equipmentnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Vehiclesnot refundable | $4K | $7K | |
| Vehicle Upfittingnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Signage for Vehiclesnot refundable | $0 | $5K | |
| Office Signagenot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Travel Expenses for Initial Trainingnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Initial Vehicle Inventorynot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Insurancenot refundable | $2K | $4K | |
| Start-up Suppliesnot refundable | $3K | $5K | |
| Professional Fees and Licensingnot refundable | $1K | $5K | |
| Vehicle Registration Feesnot refundable | $0 | $1K | |
| Decals for Consumer Unitsnot refundable | $300 | $500 | |
| Telephone Servicesnot refundable | $100 | $500 | |
| Personal Tools for Techniciansnot refundable | $500 | $2K | |
| Total initial investment | $74K | $188K |
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.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$123K
11.5% margin
Unlevered ROIC
56%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
21 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $71K – $270K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $35K – $60K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $43K – $43K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · 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% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $100 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.5% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 78 units
- vs category median 25 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $16K→$6.1M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $178K→$3.4M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 349 Home Services brands
Revenue is 6.3x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Home Services averages
How One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning Compares
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 (yr3)
- +9.4%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +12.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 21
- 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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 1 7(a) loan on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 1
- Loan volume
- N/A
- Amount data pending
- Median loan
- N/A
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 0
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
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.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two pending franchise-related litigations: (1) Rocky Top Air case involving non-compete violations with settlement complications due to guarantor bankruptcy filing; (2) David Michael Plumbing case involving breach of 7 franchise agreements for underreporting sales and trademark misuse
Largest disclosed settlement: $25,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Gerald Allison, guarantor for Rocky Top Air franchisee, filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition on January 26, 2024 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 35 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed despite $1.07M average revenue claim—inability to verify earnings claims
- 02HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving trademark infringement, non-compete violations, and sales underreporting suggest systemic compliance issues
- 03MINORRoyalty structure creates aggressive floor ($1,500/month minimum = $18,000 annually) that pressures small operators and incentivizes underreporting
- 04MINOR9.4% YoY unit growth is modest for a 413-unit system; suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 05MEDHigh initial investment ($71K-$270K) combined with undisclosed net income creates severe opacity around ROI timeline
- 06MINORCollection actions for unpaid fees indicate franchisee financial distress across the system
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Population-based |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Maryland |
| Litigation count | 8 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two pending franchise-related litigations: (1) Rocky Top Air case involving non-compete violations with settlement complications due to guarantor bankruptcy filing; (2) David Michael Plumbing case involving breach of 7 franchise agreements for underreporting sales and trademark misuse
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 36 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- Instructor-led online webinar
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 0 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- POS system
- ServiceTitan
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: ServiceTitan
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
116 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
ONE HOUR HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING · FDD (2024) PDF
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 $71K – $270K, 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 $1.1M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
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 risk score of 35 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. 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.
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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.