08/27/2026
SHARED FROM A FELLOW HVAC OWNER
Read until the end about buying a coffee ☕️…puts things into perspective!
🚨WHY DOES A CAPACITOR COST $400?! 🚨
I see people on google trying to bash companies for charging so much for a $25 Amazon part. Lets pull back the curtain and bring some clarity to this. Here’s a full break down for the $400 capacitor true costs.
The Vehicle: 🛻
The trained professional coming to your home is driving a company provided truck.
That truck comes along with typically a payment, insurance, fuel, wear and tear. Let’s break this down first.
Let’s say each technician does on average 4 calls a day, 5 days a week, and the average drive time and distance is 25 miles/30 minutes.
We will go on the low end of cost here.
Truck payment $650
Auto insurance $300
10 gallons of fuel a day. $30.00
(It is very conservative to say technicians only drive 150 miles a day, including drive to and from first/last call.)
Truck cost alone is $77.50 per appointment.
The Technician: 👨🏻🔧
How much do you think a skilled technician makes? On the lower end, a qualified skilled technician makes $70,000 a year.
That’s about $34 an hour.
Each appointment including drive time is 2-2.5 hours.
Technician total cost is $85 per appointment.
The Marketing: 📺
Private equity companies have really pushed the cost of getting a new customer through the roof!
Ad spend can be the death of a customer.
The big scary part of advertising is how much it costs to get a new customer.
The average cost to acquire a new customer through Google is $150 with very efficient marketing in low targeted areas!
Marketing on average costs $150 per lead.
Parts: 📦
This is where some people come in and argue it’s ONLY a $25 part!
Parts $25
Retail Price $400
Vehicle -$77.50
Technician -$85
Marketing -$150
Part -$24
Left over $62.50
Of that $62.50, there’s still the standard Overhead:
That's the office staff to answer the phone when you call, building to operate out of, electricity, water, cell phones, internet, general liability insurance, workman’s comp insurance, payroll tax, credit card fees, CRM (this tracks history so as a customer you don’t have to repeat your story every time a new technician comes out or keep track of warranty paperwork), unexpected repairs like flat tires, broken windshields, etc.
The overhead can vary from company to company and that’s why I didn’t include a number on it. With $62.50 left over from each appointment I wouldn’t say there's not a lot left over after the overhead comes out.
When you call a professional to work on your home, there’s the entire behind the scenes you don’t see to make sure everything is a smooth, efficient process for you as a homeowner.
I want homeowners to understand that the AC guy, Plumber, Electrician that you call to your home isn’t out to “rip you off”. They’re out here trying to make a living the same way that barista sold you a $6 coffee that costs $0.22 to make.
I hope this sheds some light on one of the most controversial topics in home repairs.
Have a great day and be kind to your home service repair guys!
