Public records only: city permits, our own check of local websites on a phone, what AI assistants say, and government data.
No company is named except where an AI assistant named it.
Built 2026-10-14 · free to share with credit
50%
of Orleans HVAC permits went to ten contractors
19 of 51
local HVAC websites can't be booked from the first phone screen
City of New Orleans permits, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30
2,022 HVAC permits named 347 contractors in the last 12 months. The top ten pulled 50% of them.
The city records the licence holder, usually a person rather than the company, so contractors are shown by rank only.
Contractor #1578
Contractor #283
Contractor #378
Contractor #457
Contractor #550
Contractor #644
Contractor #737
Contractor #832
Contractor #930
Contractor #1023
Source: City of New Orleans open data, "Permits - BLDS" (data.nola.gov dataset 72f9-bi28), https://data.nola.gov/resource/72f9-bi28.json, permits issued 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Permits track installs and replacements, not repair calls.
Can a customer book from a phone?
autoants first-screen check of 51 New Orleans-area HVAC websites, 2026-10-12
We opened 51 local HVAC websites on a phone and looked at the first screen, the one a customer sees with their system down.
19 of them had no way to book there. We count them; we don't name them.
Book button on the first screen22
Button plus a time promise4
Booking below the first screen6
No way to book online13
Unclear or didn't load6
Who AI assistants recommend
The New Orleans AI Recommendation Index · October 2026 (autoants, draft edition data content/ai-index/2026-10/data.json), asked 2026-10-05
When people ask an AI assistant who to call for HVAC in New Orleans, these are the names it gave most often. Full answers are in the
New Orleans AI Recommendation Index.
Natal's Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electrical3×
Stuart Services3×
Bryans United Air Conditioning2×
Calloway & Sons A/C & Heating2×
Presidential A/C & Heating2×
Surgi's Heating, Cooling & Plumbing2×
Expert Air A/C and Heating1×
Feniv's Air Conditioning & Heating1×
The bigger picture
Government sources only, each dated
50%
of Orleans homes built before 1960 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, tables B25034 (Year Structure Built) and B25035 (Median Year Structure Built)
$30.53
median hourly wage, New Orleans metro U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
3,206
cooling degree days a year (vs 1,176 heating) NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020 (annual/seasonal)
Rule changes that reach the trade
2023-01-01 New efficiency rating (SEER2): in Louisiana, new split ACs installed from this date must meet 14.3 SEER2. 10 CFR 430.32(c)(5)-(6) (eCFR, current 2026-10-01)
2023-09-01 Business texting must be registered: carriers began blocking texts from unregistered business numbers (10DLC). Twilio changelog, '[U.S. A2P 10DLC] Full blocking of traffic sent from unregistered numbers'
2025-01-01 New refrigerant rule: no new home AC systems made or imported with R-410A-class refrigerant; R-454B and R-32 replace it. 40 CFR 84.54(a)(1) and (c)(1) (eCFR, current 2026-10-01)
2026-07-27 Install deadline relaxed: split systems built from pre-2025 parts may still be installed, with no deadline. EPA final rule, Phasedown of Hydrofluorocarbons: Reconsideration of Certain Regulatory Requirements (Technology Transitions), 91 FR 31284, published 2026-05-26, effective 2026-07-27
How we did it
Permits: City of New Orleans open permit data for the last 12 full months; contractors by rank, because the city records the licence holder.
Booking readiness: our own phone check of each website's first screen, counted, never named.
AI answers: the New Orleans AI Recommendation Index, as recorded on the date shown.
Context: the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and NOAA, each with its date.
Want this for your own shop?
We do the same homework on one business, add a 45-minute conversation, and turn it into a bound, printed report with its own report number: where jobs slip, the one fix worth doing first with its payback in your numbers, your market, and what's changing in your trade. $500, credited toward setup.