Updated October 2026
Selling HVAC company data for AI training: what it's worth and who buys it
HVAC mechanics score 95 out of 100 on O*NET's email scale, well above plumbers at 61, so an HVAC shop's records are written by the techs as well as the office.1
An HVAC company's busiest week of the year is the first heat wave. The phones light up, the CSRs triage no-cool calls by age of system and whether there is a member on file, dispatch juggles techs between maintenance visits and emergencies, and every tech writes up refrigerant readings, the failed capacitor, the cracked heat exchanger and the replace-or-repair conversation with the homeowner. By September that is thousands of documented diagnoses.
It is also the trade where the data story is furthest along. The Information headlined startups paying HVAC companies $150,000 for data, though the article is paywalled and its terms are unconfirmed. Nyne names service histories, dispatch and estimates. HVAC mechanics score 95 on O*NET's email scale against 61 for plumbers and 23 for roofers, which matters because the tech is often the one writing.
This page is for owners of residential and light commercial HVAC companies with ten or more employees, including shops that also do plumbing. It covers what a week of HVAC records looks like, which buyers take a company your size, how memberships and equipment histories add value, and what to ask about homeowner details and recorded calls.
Worth
What a HVAC company's data may be worth
Set for a typical HVAC company, 40 staff and 12 years of records. Move the sliders to match yours. Our estimate, not an offer.
Buyers
Which buyers want this data
Buyers whose own published rules fit HVAC contractors. We can introduce you to the ones we work with.
Featured partners
micro1
Asks for playbooks and task histories, which a membership program and a flat-rate pricebook supply, though its 30-employee floor rules out smaller shops.9,10
- $100K to $2M+, micro1 says6
Watch out for: Says it removes personal details only "when relevant", so ask exactly how.11
Polyshares
Buys call recordings and CRM exports, so a shop with recorded booking calls has a second asset beyond job notes.12
- $100K to $2M+, Polyshares says7
- None, Polyshares says13
- An offer in 1 to 2 weeks, then paid in 30 to 60 days14
Watch out for: Exclusive by default, and every deal it lists is exclusive with no end date.15,16
Everyone else we reviewed
By score, with full reviews. We have no referral agreement with these companies, so we do not link out to them.
Who wants this
Do buyers want HVAC contractors?
No buyer publishes prices by industry, but their own intake forms show which industries they rate higher.
- Troveo puts construction and trades in its second of four demand tiers: "Your industry carries above-average buyer demand."21
- Polyshares takes hvac, plumbing and electrical, without marking it premium.22
- VMS, a broker, gives construction standard weight when it estimates value.23
Which buyers take a HVAC company your size
Shown for 40 staff, a typical HVAC company. Ask whether contractors and part-time staff count.
micro1
Polyshares
No headcount rule; the length and texture of the record matter more25
Mode
20+ full-time US office staff (accounting firms 10+, law firms 6+)26
Pewter
20+ staff and 3+ years; by industry, from 10+ (healthcare) to 50+ (manufacturing, finance)27,28,29
Grepped
No headcount minimum stated30
Ventra
30+ US employees and 3+ years of records31
Mercor
None stated32
Troveo
No minimum stated; its estimator starts at 2033
Nyne
20+ US W-2 employees and 3+ years34
Endless
Roughly 30+ employees35
Supersoniq
50+ employees and 5+ years36
What buyers value
What in a HVAC company's records buyers value
What buyers look for in your records, and what to talk through with your buyer before anything leaves your systems.
| Data | Where it lives | Why a buyer values it | Raise with the buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equipment and service history per address | ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, FieldEdge | The same system visited over years: install date, repairs, refrigerant added and the eventual replacement. | Homeowner addresses and equipment serial numbers. |
| Tech diagnostic notes | Field service app job notes | Readings, findings and recommendations written at the unit, the closest thing to a trade expert thinking aloud. | Nothing specific |
| Repair versus replace proposals | Pricebook and proposal tool | Good-better-best options and the one the homeowner picked, with the reason when it was written down. | Financing applications attached to replacement sales. |
| Membership and tune-up records | Field service platform, CRM | Seasonal maintenance visits, renewals and lapses, which show how a shop keeps a customer for a decade. | Nothing specific |
| Booking calls and CSR notes | Phone system, call tracking | How a homeowner describes a symptom and how the CSR qualifies and books it. | Recording disclosures given to callers. |
A week of records
A week of data at a HVAC company
- Monday: 140 inbound calls after a hot weekend, each booked with a symptom note and a priority.
- Tuesday: a tech finds a failed compressor on a 14-year-old system and writes up three replacement options.
- Wednesday: twenty spring tune-ups closed with readings logged and two members flagged for duct leaks.
- Thursday: an install crew's job file: load calc, permit, photos and the commissioning checklist.
- Friday: unsold estimates from the week followed up by the comfort advisor, with notes on why each stalled.
Process
How it works with each buyer
In each buyer's own words. Where a buyer publishes nothing, we say so.
micro1
- Internal docs, SOPs and playbooks, knowledge bases, project management workflows, internal comms, templates, CRM and workflow metadata, task histories9
- 30 to 200 employees24
- $100K-$2M+ per data package; over $1M for unique data6
- PII removed "when relevant"11
- The company keeps ownership of its data and reviews samples before release37
- Not published
Polyshares
Selling or closing
Selling or closing your HVAC company? License its data first
HVAC owners often search what their business is worth years before they sell. A data license and the sale of the business are different transactions, and Pewter takes operating, winding-down and closed companies as long as the records still exist. Ask each licensing company whether a license signed now has to be disclosed to a future acquirer, and whether the buyer of your shop could license the same records again.2
FAQ
HVAC contractors: questions, answered
The Information ran the headline "Data labeling startups paying HVAC companies $150,000 for data". The article is paywalled; we saw only the headline and opening lines, so we cannot say whether the payment was for a data license, labeling work or both.4
The record types buyers name: service histories, jobs, dispatch, estimates and invoices, all of which Nyne lists. By our reading, tech notes and repair-versus-replace proposals are the richest part, because they show a diagnosis and a decision together.17
Polyshares lists call recordings among the data it buys, so they can add to a package. They also carry the most personal detail per minute, which is why the recording question below goes to the buyer.12
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- How are homeowner names, addresses and equipment serial numbers removed from service history?
- Does a recording disclosure on our phone line cover licensing the audio?
- Would a license need to be disclosed or carved out when the shop is sold?
- How do CCPA, GDPR, UK GDPR and state privacy laws apply, and is de-identified data still personal information?
- Do customer, vendor or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
- How does a license affect a sale of the business: reps and warranties, change of control, earnouts, exclusivity?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?