This guide covers 46 of the best HVAC tools service techs need to provide a high-quality service to customers. Our list and descriptions of the best HVAC tools to have on hand to serve homeowners solve even the most complex HVAC problems as efficiently as possible and give your customers a highly professional service and experience.
The list is broken down into two main categories:
1. Manual and calculation tools that HVAC service techs need to do their work (nut drivers, gauges and more):
2. Software tools to run an HVAC service business, including marketing to get more leads, accounting, payroll, and dispatching, along with tools to help techs in the field do their job more efficiently and profitably:
The list of essential tools focuses on the manual tools and calculators every HVAC tech needs on the job, and the list of software tools is made up of those ServiceTitan has designed to help business owners manage and grow their HVAC businesses. As a tech, you can ask your manager about software tools that will help you do your job more efficiently. We’ll start with the manual HVAC tools list, with gear that service techs need to provide the most professional customer experience.
Note: Need help to manage and grow your HVAC business? ServiceTitan offers a range of software tools to streamline call booking, scheduling, marketing, sales, and more. Click here to get a demo.
Essential HVAC Tools
1. Screwdrivers and Nut Drivers
To be properly prepared for the job, keep a range of screwdrivers and nut drivers in your tool bag. We suggest a multi-purpose screwdriver with at least a Phillips-head bit and a flathead bit in sizes No. 1 and No. 2, along with a small magnetic nut driver set. However, a full range of screwdriver bits and nut drivers would be a wise investment.
2. Pliers
Be ready to handle most sizes of wires, bolts, and pipes with a full set of pliers. Get small, medium, large, and needle-nose pliers. We also suggest investing in an insulated set of pliers for durability and longevity.
3. Hammer
Every HVAC technician needs a standard-size hammer for various uses on the job. We suggest a lightweight hammer with an easy grip and fiberglass construction for convenience and durability.
4. Flashlight/Headlamp
HVAC service techs always need a reliable flashlight to accurately assess heating and air conditioning. Headlamps also come in handy to keep your techs’ hands free when working in dark spaces.
5. Wrenches
Any complete HVAC tools list includes a wide range of wrenches, from fixed and adjustable to crescent and pipe wrenches. Keep small, medium, and large wrenches in your HVAC toolbox to handle any job, as well as pipe wrenches to loosen pipe connections.
6. Cutters
Metal and tubing cutters are useful HVAC tools to cut through anything on the job. We suggest starting with a smaller set in the beginning of your HVAC career, such as quarter-inch or half-inch cutters, but add a wider set of cutters as you progress to handling a wider scope of projects.
7. Drills
A cordless, battery-powered drill gives your service techs more versatility for better efficiency. Keep a charging battery in your toolbox so your techs never run out of drill power while on the job site. We recommend a drill with at least 24 volts and various bits.
8. Gauges
When it comes to air conditioning tools, refrigeration gauges or manifold gauges are a must-have for service techs. Gauges are used to measure the pressure of different types of refrigerants and determine whether there’s a leak in the system. Multiple sets of gauges may be needed, as techs’ careers progress and they sharpen their skills.
Fieldpiece is a popular brand for gauges among many HVAC professionals.
9. Extension Cords
HVAC techs need extension cords to plug in electric tools when working onsite. Look for a long, thick cord that’s not too bulky to transport. We suggest 50 feet as an optimal length..
10. Staple Gun
Keep a staple gun on your HVAC tools list to secure joists and foil lines for increased air flow, and to properly assemble ductwork.
HVAC Tools for Safety
Protecting your service techs’ health and safety on the job, as well as your HVAC customers, is a top priority. Here are some specific safety items to include on your complete HVAC tools list.
11. Gloves
Buy a pair of durable, nimble gloves that are thick enough to protect your hands, but allow enough dexterity to hold screws and smaller tools. HVAC service techs wear gloves every day, especially as Personal Protective Equipment during challenging times.
12. Masks
Wearing masks while performing HVAC work also provides personal protection for your techs and customers. Now considered essential PPE, make sure your techs keep a stash of masks in their trucks to use for every job.
13. Goggles
Safety goggles protect your eyes from metal and dust debris. Some goggles or safety glasses with magnification also allow techs to see smaller parts of the job for better accuracy and efficiency.
14. Ear Muffs/Plugs
Using power tools in close proximity and closed quarters puts a huge strain on your ears and impacts your hearing. Protect your ears with industrial strength ear muffs or plugs.
15. Shoes
Working on ladders all day, and in other people's homes, requires your service techs to be prepared to traverse various types of terrain. Make sure they’re equipped with a pair of heavy steel-toe work boots that won't slip and protect their feet in case something heavy drops on them.
Advanced HVAC & Air Conditioning Tools
These HVAC tools fall into the category of more advanced and expensive but are important nonetheless. HVAC companies typically provide these advanced tools to help keep their customers’ HVAC equipment in good working order.
16. Core Removal
HVAC tools such as a core removal tool come to the rescue in many cases. When dealing with broken cores, this tool assists your techs with removal and replacement.
17. Coil Fin Straightener
A coil fin straightener helps to clear debris when air conditioner condenser coils get dirty, clogged, or twisted. Service techs use this air conditioning tool to straighten and clean the coils to improve heat exchange and air flow. These air conditioning tools are inexpensive and extremely useful.
18. Thermometers
Temperature control matters the most in the HVAC industry. Invest in a digital thermometer that’s portable, effective, and long lasting to follow your state’s regulations and deliver awesome customer service.
19. Multimeter
This tool also acts as a safety device. When working near electrical hazards and live wires, it’s important to test for safety. Keep a multimeter in your toolbox to test for the presence of electricity and to check voltage.
20. Saw
HVAC contractors consider a reciprocating saw blade, such as the Sawzall, to be the best saw to cut through materials in most HVAC jobs. Durability is crucial, and the Sawzall stands the test of time. The blades need to be replaced regularly to avoid dull blade use.
21. Caulking Gun
A dripless caulking gun allows you to seal air ducts and fill holes where needed. Keep your caulking gun in good working order to avoid future messes.
22. Pumps
Your HVAC vacuum pump needs to be powerful enough to remove any moisture from the lines.
23. Nitrogen Regulator
A nitrogen regulator acts as a pressure control valve. It reduces highly pressurized gas or liquid into a more usable form. Without a nitrogen regulator, the high pressure allows the gas or liquid to be released all at once.
24. Leak Detector
HVAC service techs use refrigerant leak detectors to confirm areas with moisture as a way of identifying the source of a refrigerant leak.
25. Psychrometer
Psychrometers measure and rate the air flow and air mixtures. The psychrometer also measures relative humidity.
26. Hand Seamers and Snips
Hand seamers give your techs the power to bend or flatten sheet metal by hand. Snips allow them to easily cut sheet metal to size. Once again, insulated grips make both jobs easier.
27. Crimper
A crimper allows techs to wrinkle certain types of metal to make them conform to the next section of piping.
28. Awl
HVAC techs use the awl to score sheet metal so they can cut it straight. Awls are also used to punch holes in sheet metal, wood, or sheetrock when necessary.
29. Thermal Imaging Tools
HVAC technicians need to diagnose complex problems for clients based on very general information. Thermal imaging cameras, an essential HVAC tool, enable techs to accurately identify and fix the root causes in short order.
30. Flushing Solvent
As refrigeration lines age, obstructions within the line become more likely. Keeping a flushing solvent on hand helps to quickly clear contaminants from the line and keeps your customers’ appliances working as efficiently as possible.
HVAC Calculator Apps for Techs in the Field
31. ServiceTitan’s HVAC Load Calculator
No matter which HVAC app you choose to use to streamline your workflow, you’re definitely going to want to bookmark this handy ServiceTitan HVAC Load Calculator. An easy-to-use online calc quickly gauges the BTU range for any particular dwelling. It factors in the interior square footage, amount of windows, and it even considers your region’s climate. This HVAC load calculator makes it easy to determine the HVAC system your customer needs, so you can present them with the best solutions for their situation.
32. ServiceTitan HVAC Duct Calculator
Give your techs an easy to use and free tool to calculate duct size by airflow or by dimensions by directing them to the ServiceTitan HVAC Duct Calculator app. It helps them quickly size a range of duct sizes or focus on one HVAC duct run, while out on a job.
ServiceTitan’s duct-sizing HVAC app is a digital alternative to the traditional manual Ductulator. Our HVAC duct-sizing app allows you to input multiple parameters to find sizes that fall within the friction loss bounds.
33. HVACR Fault Finder
The HVACR Fault Finder troubleshooting app makes it easy for your techs to problem-solve compressor electronic system failures. You can choose to enter a flashing “alert” code or use the “tap” feature to identify the code from the electronic module. The code gives you access to its interactive troubleshooting guide, which they can browse for tips and tricks to solve the problem. HVAC Fault Finder also gives you electronic product manuals and videos to help discover and then solve the problem at hand.
For a comprehensive list of the 20 best HVAC apps, see our in-depth article.
ServiceTitan’s Software Tools to Run an HVAC Service Business
ServiceTitan’s HVAC software helps automate your business for better efficiency and communications. Online scheduling, dispatching, estimating and invoicing takes the pain out of running your HVAC business. Additional ServiceTitan tools, such asMarketing Pro, Phones Pro, and Pricebook Pro, also help HVAC companies grow more leads and boost their net profit.
Below, we briefly introduce each and describe their benefits.
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Tools to Grow HVAC Business Revenue
34. Call Booking Tool for HVAC Services
ServiceTitan’s call booking tool helps HVAC businesses organize their call booking processes, and ultimately book more jobs by providing a framework to follow for every incoming call. The process can be repeated for every call so that nothing is missed and customers are given a professional experience whenever they get in touch.
The booking tool includes a cloud-based phone system, which helps HVAC businesses streamline and speed up their call booking process. Customer service reps (CSRs) answering calls get a heads up about who exactly is on the other end of the line and can greet each customer by name.
Our software also provides drop-down menus of easy-to-follow prompts for customer service reps (CSRs) to make sure they ask for all pertinent information before the call ends.
ServiceTitan records every incoming call so both CSRs and techs can listen to the exact conversation the customer had and check on the details given.
35. HVAC Marketing Tool
ServiceTitan’s marketing tools are designed to help you grow your HVAC business faster by generating more leads.
Our local service ad tool, for example, helps your business show up in more Google searches when local customers search for your service. ServiceTitan also guides customers to book an appointment with you directly through Google ads. It also keeps track of which ads and calls actually made you money and rank campaigns by how much income they generated, so you can make decisions about how to spend your ad budget.
Our marketing ROI tool, on the other hand, serves as a dashboard or scorecard that monitors which ad campaigns are working, how many leads they are generating, at what cost, and more. It also has a heat map that can show you which geographical areas are bringing in the most business (as shown in the above image) by intensifying the color of each area based on revenue, so you can identify where to double down on promoting your services. This helps you increase the ROI on your marketing spend by doing more of what’s working and less of what’s not.
36. Memberships and Contracts Tool
Manage recurring jobs, like regular HVAC maintenance, using ServiceTitan’s service agreement software. It allows you to easily convert single visits into regular contracts and bring in more revenue from what would otherwise be a one-off booking.
We provide you with an easy-to-follow wizard to set up maintenance contracts in just a few clicks, even while your tech is still at the job site. You get to apply discounts and schedule regular appointments far into the future, making it easier to turn up to every single service visit and avoid overbooking.
Contracts can be customized to the specifics of each of your HVAC customers. You can adjust monthly fees, add extra maintenance tasks, and upgrade for extra services.
Meanwhile, ServiceTitan will also cost all labor and materials, which avoids invoicing errors and ensures all your costs are covered.
Tools to Manage HVAC Service Operations
37. HVAC Scheduling Tool
ServiceTitan’s Service Scheduling Software makes it simple to schedule HVAC visits in advance. When you know which jobs are coming up in the next few days, weeks, or months, it’s more straightforward to make sure that the right techs are available on those days.
Knowing that some portion of your visits are guaranteed, the software also provides your business with a greater degree of financial stability.
You can schedule in longer time slots for more complex jobs that are coming up and add tags for the technical specifications of every job. This helps you to send out an HVAC technician who is qualified and ready to deal with the job. Plus, your techs will know exactly what to expect when they arrive at the customers’ premises and have the right tools on hand to finish the job that day.
38. HVAC Dispatching Tool
Our field dispatch software helps you send your HVAC techs to each of their jobs on time. ServiceTitan’s smart schedule optimization adjusts for longer-than-expected visit times, traffic, and other delays in real-time. You can extend or shorten the time allotted for each job as these changes happen.
ServiceTitan also sends out job confirmations and other appointment notifications directly to the customer by text message. This feature cuts out the need for confirmation calls to customers, and significantly reduces no-shows.
See this article for more tips on HVAC dispatching with ServiceTitan.
39. HVAC Payroll & Timesheet Tool
We’ve designed ServiceTitan’s Contractor Payroll Software for home services contractors to effortlessly manage payroll, pay staff correctly and on-time, and to see how profitable their business is at a glance.
Monitor timesheets while including overtime, commissions, and bonuses earned. Each individual timesheet shows you how long your techs spend on essential tasks, including driving to and from visits, time spent buying materials, and time spent working on every job.
40. Mobile App & Tablet
Make it easy for customers to order, buy, and pay for your company’s HVAC services with a simple tap, click, or swipe on a mobile tablet.
Using ServiceTitan’s Mobile App, techs build tiered estimates out in the field with access to vibrant photos, manufacturer videos, and detailed product information, so customers can browse and buy at their own pace — just like shopping online.
Give your HVAC customers the mobile-driven service they prefer by adding ServiceTitan’s Mobile App to your techs’ arsenal of tools. Other key features include:
Data Access: Give techs access to all information collected by CSRs, such as customer names, addresses, contact information, outstanding estimates, job histories, property details, prior invoices, call recordings, notes, and more, with a few taps on their mobile tablet.
Customization: Upload your own forms and pricebooks, and manage pricing and product updates easily across the entire ServiceTitan cloud-based system.
Job Automation: Automatically trigger certain forms to appear as the job progresses, so techs know which steps to take at every stage — from diagnosis and repair to invoicing and asking for a review.
Mobile Payments: Get paid faster by capturing checks and credit cards via the mobile tablet camera, or add a credit-card swiper. If customers prefer to pay with cash, techs can accept that, too, and automatically document payment in the field.
» Check out our guides and lists of best electrician tools and best plumbing tools.
41. Free Business Valuation Calculator
Want to know the current value of your HVAC company? The free ServiceTitan Business Valuation Calculator can help you decipher key metrics to track growth and profitability, or show how much your local HVAC business might be worth if you consider selling it.
42. ServiceTitan’s SEER Energy Savings Calculator
UseServiceTitan’s SEER Energy Savings Calculator to visually appeal to customers’ financial sense by showing how much they can save on energy bills with a new, more efficient HVAC system. Add this free tool to your HVAC service company website, so homeowners or commercial customers can easily compare the cost of running their current system to what a new A/C or heat pump with a higher SEER rating costs.
43. ServiceTitan’s Free Invoice Generator
With ServiceTitan’s free Invoice Generator Tool, your HVAC technicians working in the field can create, save, email, and text customized invoices from a mobile device. Eliminate paperwork, streamline invoicing, and give customers a convenient digital invoice they can pay on the spot.
44. ServiceTitan’s Labor Rate Calculator
Figure out how much it costs to employ HVAC technicians at your company using the interactive ServiceTitan Labor Rate Calculator. Plug key metrics into this free tool to tabulate a billable hourly labor rate that covers the full cost of doing business, and determine the flat-rate price your HVAC company should ideally charge for labor to maximize profitability.
45. ServiceTitan’s ROI Calculator
With ServiceTitan’s ROI Calculator, you can ensure that your HVAC company can capitalize on ServiceTitan’s field management platform features and yield a positive return on investment.
Discover your profit potential by evaluating metrics for average tickets, number of daily calls, booked appointments, estimates, and jobs sold by HVAC technicians.
46. ServiceTitan’s Service Business Grader
Gauge the performance of your HVAC company with ServiceTitan’s Service Business Grader Tool. In less than a minute, discover how your HVAC techs and dispatchers stack up by evaluating average ticket sales and other key metrics.
ServiceTitan: Manage and Run Every Aspect of Your HVAC Business with One Software Platform
Having the right toolkit is essential to successfully growing your HVAC business. Manual and calculation tools are clearly a must for every HVAC tech, but adding ServiceTitan’s home service software will also help you organize and succeed in:
Call booking
Scheduling
Dispatching
Invoicing
Marketing
Advertising
Lead generation
And more
To find out more about how ServiceTitan can help you manage your HVAC business, schedule a free demo here.
ServiceTitan HVAC Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive HVAC business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
