01Move
DNA dimensions
BUS grant ASHP installs/month, boiler service+install ticket mix, F-Gas commercial AC contracts, first-time fix %, callback rate (<3%), MCS + RECC + Gas Safe accreditation depth.
All playbooksServices
HVAC technician playbook.
A London HVAC firm (Gas Safe + F-Gas + MCS Air-Source-Heat-Pump certified) installing + servicing combi/system boilers (Worcester / Vaillant / Viessmann), ASHP retrofits under BUS £7,500 grant, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and commercial split / VRF air-conditioning. The 2026 win is the BUS-grant ASHP retrofit market on the back of the 2035 gas-boiler ban.
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Overview
A London HVAC firm in 2026 runs four engines: boiler installs (combi swap £2,400–£4,800 at 28–38% margin, 8–14/month per engineer), boiler service + repair (£90 service / £140–£640 repair at 56–66% margin, 18–32/month/engineer), ASHP retrofits (BUS-grant funded £7,500 + customer £6–£12k = £13–£20k ticket at 22–32% margin, 4–8/month) and commercial F-Gas split + VRF AC (install £4–£28k + monthly contracts £45–£280/site, 14–22 contract sites). Maths for 4-engineer team: 28 boiler swaps × £3.4k + 80 services × £140 + 6 ASHP × £15.5k + £8k commercial = £214k/month gross. ASHP retrofits are the brand spine — BUS grant + 2035 gas ban + landlord MEES (EPC C by 2028 commercial / 2030 residential) creates a 10-year tailwind, but only MCS-certified installers can claim the grant.
6
ASHP installs/mo
92%
First-time fix
£14.8k
Avg install ticket
What you'll need
Equipment list with real 2026 UK prices.
Sized for a 2–4 chair shop. Buy mid-range on chairs and clippers; cheap kit fails inside 12 months and walks away with your barbers.
01
Engineer van kit (per van)
Sign-written van + ladder rack + secure tool drawers
£12,000–£20,000 used
Gas Safe ID + flue-gas analyser (Anton / Kane 458s)
£640–£1,400
F-Gas refrigerant recovery + vacuum pump + manifold (Refco / Mastercool)
£900–£2,400
Press-fit tooling (Rothenberger Romax) — copper + carbon-steel
£2,400–£4,400
Power flush rig + chemical kit (Magnacleanse / Adey)
£900–£1,800
Cordless drill + core-drill 5 / 6 / 8" + diamond bits
£900–£2,400
Endoscope + thermal-imaging camera (heat-loss survey)
£1,400–£3,400
Personal PPE + N95 + asbestos awareness kit
£280–£640
02
Stock + depot
Industrial unit (80–280 m²) with parts stock
£1,800–£6,400/month rent
Boiler + ASHP stock (Worcester + Vaillant + Mitsubishi Ecodan)
£14,000–£42,000 floating
Copper + push-fit + radiator + thermostat (Tado / Hive / Nest) stock
£3,400–£12,000
Commusoft / Joblogic + MCS Portal + Ofgem BUS
£280–£640/month
03
Compliance + accreditation
Gas Safe Register per engineer
£420 first / £180/year + ACS retest £540 per 5y
F-Gas Cat 1 (commercial AC + ASHP refrigerant work) per engineer
£280 + £900 course per 5y
MCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) — company + per ASHP designer (BPEC L3)
£1,400 application + £1,800–£3,400 audit + £640 ongoing
RECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code) membership
£480–£900/year
PAS 2035 Retrofit Coordinator / Designer (whole-house grants)
£1,800–£3,400 per qualification
Public + product + £5m liability + product-recall + asbestos cover
£2,400–£5,400/year
Where to set up
Location is half the business.
Catchment
≥120,000 households within 12-mile depot radius
Boiler-service annual cycle + ASHP retrofit pipeline.
Depot
Industrial unit 80–280 m² with secure parts store
ASHP cylinder + boiler floating stock = same-day install capability.
Retrofit-coordinator + architect proximity
≥3 PAS 2035 coordinators + 6 architects within 30 min
BUS-grant + whole-house deep-retrofit pipeline.
ULEZ + LEZ
Euro 6 fleet only
Daily £12.50 ULEZ avoided × 4 vans.
Borough EPC density
≥40% F/G + D-rated stock (Camden / Hackney / Lambeth)
MEES upgrade deadline forces landlord retrofit work.
Area tier
Rent / month
Notes
Inner London (Hackney / Camden / Lambeth)
£3,400–£8,400
High-EPC-F + Victorian housing = ASHP retrofit dense.
Outer London (Croydon / Ealing / Enfield)
£1,800–£4,400
Sweet spot: suburban boiler swap volume + ASHP detached homes.
M25 commuter belt (Watford / Sutton / Bromley)
£1,400–£3,400
Larger gardens = ASHP-friendly. Lower labour rate.
Licences & registrations
Get the paperwork done before you sign a lease.
UK figures for 2026. Lead times assume you submit complete applications — councils will pause the clock if you miss documents.
Requirement
Who issues
Cost
Lead time
ReqCompanies House Ltd
Companies House
£100
Usually 24 hours
ReqGas Safe Register (per engineer + company)
Gas Safe
£420 + £180/year per engineer
6 weeks
ReqACS (Accredited Certification Scheme) per engineer per 5y
BPEC / Logic
£540
8 weeks
ReqF-Gas Cat 1 per engineer
BPEC / Refcom
£900 per 5y
4 weeks
OptMCS (Microgeneration Certification Scheme) — company
MCS Service Co
£1,400 + £640/year + audit £1,800–£3,400
12 weeks
OptRECC (Renewable Energy Consumer Code)
RECC
£480–£900/year
6 weeks
OptPAS 2035 Retrofit Coordinator / Designer
BPEC / RIBA
£1,800–£3,400
12 weeks
ReqPublic + product + £5m liability + asbestos + product-recall
Hiscox / Tradesman Saver
£2,400–£5,400/year
1 week
ReqEmployer's liability + tools-in-transit
Broker
£640–£1,800/year
1 day
ReqVehicle (commercial) + ULEZ-compliant × van fleet
AXA / NIG
£640–£1,400 per van
1 day
ReqWaste carrier (upper tier) + WEEE registration
Environment Agency
£154/3 years + £40/year
2 weeks
ReqAsbestos awareness + Working at Height per engineer
CITB
£280 per engineer
4 weeks
ReqICO data protection
ICO
£40–£60/year
1 day
Build-out timeline
From decision to open in 12 weeks.
01
Phase 0 — Setup
Weeks 1–6- Companies House + Gas Safe + F-Gas verified
- First van + flue analyser + recovery rig + press-fit
- Public liability + asbestos cover
02
Phase 1 — Trade
Weeks 6–14- First 40 boiler services + 10 repairs (Google + Checkatrade)
- Commusoft + Stripe + GoCardless live
- Worcester / Vaillant trade-partner accounts
03
Phase 2 — MCS + ASHP
Weeks 12–24- MCS company application + audit
- BPEC Level 3 ASHP designer course
- RECC + first 2 ASHP retrofits (loss-leader portfolio)
04
Phase 3 — Soft launch
Weeks 22–28- MCS approved + Ofgem BUS portal access
- Architect + PAS 2035 retrofit-coordinator outreach
- First BUS-grant ASHP commission (£15.5k)
05
Phase 4 — Open
Week 28+- 6 ASHP installs/month sustained
- 28 boiler services + 12 swaps/month
- Commercial F-Gas contract book > £4k MRR
Budget
Realistic startup and monthly cost ranges.
One-off · Startup
Setting up the shop
Depot lease + deposit + parts shelving
£6,400 → £18,000
Van fleet (2 vans) + sign-writing + roller drawers
£28,000 → £48,000
Engineer kit (flue analyser + recovery + press-fit + power flush × 2)
£10,000 → £22,000
Opening boiler + ASHP + parts stock
£18,000 → £42,000
Software (Commusoft + MCS portal + IT)
£900 → £2,400
Insurance + Gas Safe + F-Gas + MCS audit + licences
£6,400 → £14,000
Pre-launch marketing (GBP + Checkatrade + leaflet + ASHP brochure)
£2,400 → £6,400
Working capital (3 months)
£18,000 → £42,000
Typical total
£90.1k–£194.8k
Recurring · Monthly
Keeping the lights on
Depot rent + business rates + utilities
£2,400 → £8,400
Van fleet (lease + fuel + insurance + ULEZ × 4)
£3,400 → £8,400
Parts COGS (52–62% revenue)
£40,000 → £120,000
Wages (4 engineers + apprentice + admin + designer)
£24,000 → £48,000
Software + MCS + Gas Safe + RECC + insurance
£640 → £1,800
Marketing + GBP + Checkatrade + ASHP campaign
£1,400 → £4,400
Typical total
£71.8k–£191k
Numbers that compound
How a hvac technician actually looks on a chart.
Illustrative planning ranges, not measured customer data. Toggle the views to see ramp, mix and weekly load.
12-month revenue ramp
Low vs high scenario (£ monthly)
High Low
Illustrative example for planning, not measured customer data.
First 90 days
Dates that actually matter after opening.
01Day 1
Soft open: 3 boiler services. £270 revenue.
02Day 7
First week: 14 services + 2 boiler swaps. £8.4k revenue.
03Day 30
Steady: 56 services, 8 swaps, 12 repairs. £42k revenue. MCS audit booked.
04Day 90
First ASHP install delivered (£15.5k). £88k/month gross.
05Day 180
Mature: £180k/month, 6 ASHP installs, 4 commercial F-Gas contracts. MCS + RECC live.
What's inside
DNA, route, automations, integrations, benchmarks, advisors — tuned for a hvac technician.
02Move
Suggested route
Get Gas Safe + F-Gas + MCS-certified + RECC member, train as ASHP designer (BPEC Level 3), partner with 4–6 architects + 3 retrofit-coordinators (PAS 2035) on Whole-House plans, target a BUS-grant ASHP ticket of £8k customer contribution + £7,500 grant = £15.5k revenue at 24% margin, layer commercial VRF maintenance contracts.
03Move
Automations
Boiler-service annual reminder DD, ASHP grant-paperwork workflow (RECC + MCS + Ofgem application), digital flue + commissioning certificate upload, F-Gas leak-test log auto-emailed, Stripe + DD billing, review request 24h.
04Move
Integrations
Commusoft / Joblogic, MCS Installer Portal, Ofgem BUS Portal, Vaillant / Viessmann partner portal, Stripe + GoCardless DD, GBP, Xero.
05Move
Benchmarks
ASHP installs/month, first-time fix % and commercial-MRR vs MCS London cohort.
06Move
Advisors
Encore advisors ex-Gas Safe Register inspectors, ex-British Gas regional managers and MCS / RECC trainers.
Stack
Modules used in this playbook.
01DNA Engine02Route Map03Launch Twin04Automation05Verified06Encore
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