Houston is not the hottest Texas metro on paper. It is the one where the air conditioner runs longest with the least rest. The 90°F season starts in early May and ends in October, and July nights barely drop below the mid-70s. That is hard on equipment, and good for replacement demand. Here is how we would set up HVAC marketing in Houston.
Why is HVAC marketing in Houston different?
Because the Houston season is about length, not peak heat. NWS figures for the City of Houston show about 95 days a year at 90°F or more but only about 4 at 100°F. NOAA normals put Intercontinental at 3,288 cooling degree days. Ads sell comfort through a five-month grind, not survival in a heat wave.
| Houston climate figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cooling degree days a year, Intercontinental | 3,288 | NOAA normals |
| Heating degree days a year, Intercontinental | 1,266 | NOAA normals |
| Days at 90°F or more, Intercontinental | 111.3 | NOAA normals |
| July normal high and low, Intercontinental | 94.5°F and 75.7°F | NOAA normals |
| Average first and last 90°F day, City of Houston | May 6 and October 7 | NWS heat stats |
| Days at 100°F or more, City of Houston | about 4 (46 in 2011) | NWS heat stats |
Look at the nights. A July normal low of 75.7°F means the system gets no break after sunset. A tired, oversized or undersized system shows up in Houston first, usually as "it runs all day and the house still feels sticky". That is a replacement conversation, and it is the hook we would test first in Meta creative.
What housing do Houston contractors work in?
A metro where owners cluster in the outer counties. Census data for 2024 puts owner occupancy at 53.8% in Harris County, 71.4% in Montgomery County and 76.0% in Fort Bend County. In Harris County, 36% of owner-occupied homes were built before 1980. In Fort Bend and Montgomery, the median home was built in 2006.
| Census ACS 2024 | Owner-occupied share | Median year built | Median home value | Heated by utility gas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston metro | 60.8% | 1997 | $327,400 | 44.4% |
| Harris County | 53.8% | 1991 | $301,700 | 43.1% |
| Fort Bend County | 76.0% | 2006 | $408,100 | 58.7% |
| Montgomery County | 71.4% | 2006 | $363,200 | 44.4% |
The metro has 1,682,182 owner-occupied homes, and 740,437 were built between 1980 and 2009. Fort Bend stands out: 58.7% of homes heat with gas, so a Sugar Land or Katy replacement is often an AC plus furnace job. Your job history tells us the real mix. The ads follow it.
Where is Greater Houston growing?
North and west. Census estimates put the metro at 7,904,627 people in 2025, up 10.6% since 2020. Montgomery County grew 25.9% and Fort Bend 18.3%. Among cities, Conroe grew 33.0%, Katy 29.7% and Tomball 28.1%, while Houston itself grew 4.2%.
Houston also permitted 46,219 single-family homes in 2025, more than DFW, Austin or San Antonio. Most of those are not replacement jobs for a decade. What they do is keep adding owners in Montgomery and Fort Bend, next to neighborhoods built in the 1990s and 2000s, where the qualifier's system-age question sorts replacement jobs from repairs.
How does CenterPoint change HVAC marketing in Houston?
It gives participating contractors a verified incentive to mention. CenterPoint says its HVAC replacement incentives start at $200, apply to systems from 15.2 SEER2, cover central AC, heat pumps and mini-splits, and are applied directly to the installation invoice when the homeowner uses a participating contractor.
That last condition decides the ad. If you are a participating contractor, the offer can say the incentive comes off the invoice, with the CenterPoint page linked. If you are not, we leave it out. CenterPoint also says it does not generate electricity in Greater Houston; it delivers it, and customers choose their own retail provider. So there is no bill figure we can honestly promise, and we do not try.
How would we run Meta and Google in Houston?
Google-heavy from May to September, Meta-heavy the rest of the year. Google Search catches "AC not cooling" and "AC replacement" searches through the long summer. Meta reaches owners in Katy, Cypress or The Woodlands whose system is aging before it fails. Every lead goes through the six-question qualifier first.
What changes in Houston:
- A longer peak. Houston averages 5.0 days at 90°F or more in October, against 3.6 at DFW. The default flip back to Meta-heavy is October 1, but we watch your search volume and may hold Google-heavy longer.
- Area bands. West (Katy, Cypress), southwest (Sugar Land, Missouri City), north (The Woodlands, Spring, Conroe, Humble, Kingwood), south and east (Pearland, Friendswood, League City, Pasadena, Baytown).
- Speed matters more here. A Houston homeowner with a dead system in August calls three companies. The text and call inside 60 seconds is what gets the estimate booked. More on that in HVAC lead follow-up.
- Qualifier weight on renters. Harris County is close to half renters, so the homeowner question filters hard before a comfort advisor drives anywhere.
What does the Houston season calendar look like?
| Month | Days at 90°F or more (NOAA normal, IAH) | Ad split | Offer focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| January and February | 0.0 each | Meta $2,500 / Google $1,500 | Heat pump and furnace plus AC changeouts |
| March and April | 0.1, 0.9 | Meta-heavy | Replace before summer, maintenance agreements |
| May | 9.5 | Google $2,500 / Meta $1,500 | Central AC and heat pump replacement |
| June to August | 23.1, 27.3, 27.1 | Google-heavy | Replacement, fast install dates |
| September | 18.3 | Google-heavy | Replacement, "still hot" install slots |
| October | 5.0 | Meta-heavy (Google longer if searches hold) | Replace before next summer |
| November and December | 0.0 each | Meta-heavy | Heating, financing, pre-summer booking |
Worked example: a Houston August at minimum spend (planning assumptions, not results)
Peak split: Google $2,500 + Meta $1,500 = $4,000 ad spend
$4,000 ÷ $100 to $130 assumed blended cost per lead = about 35 leads
35 × 60% pass the qualifier = about 21. 21 × 60% book = about 12 to 13 booked estimates
12.5 × 30% close = about 3 to 4 jobs sold
About $320 ad cost per booked estimate. About $520 all-in with the $2,500 fee
If you are a CenterPoint participating contractor, each qualifying job also carries an incentive that starts at $200 on the homeowner's invoice
Break-even jobs = ($2,500 + $4,000) ÷ your gross profit per replacement
Every number above is a planning assumption. We have no Houston data yet, and your first month of results replaces it.
Is the Houston territory available?
Yes. Greater Houston is open, with one contractor per service line. We are based in Sydney, work Central Time hours, and have no Texas office, staff or clients. See the Texas overview, our pricing, or book a strategy call.
How the replacement-first offer works is on our AC replacement leads page, and the other Texas territories are Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio.
Sources
- U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020, annual/seasonal, Houston Intercontinental AP (USW00012960), NOAA NCEI
- U.S. Climate Normals 1991 to 2020, monthly, Houston Intercontinental AP (USW00012960), NOAA NCEI
- Heat Stats, NWS Houston/Galveston
- Vintage 2025 population estimates, metro and county totals, US Census Bureau
- Vintage 2025 population estimates, cities and towns, US Census Bureau
- American Community Survey 2024 1-year, tables B25003, B25035, B25036, B25040 and B25077, US Census Bureau
- Building Permits Survey, 2025 annual by CBSA, US Census Bureau
- Heating and cooling incentives, CenterPoint Energy
- Electric utility service, CenterPoint Energy