HVAC and plumbing is the largest co-op category listed today and the one adding programs fastest. Manufacturer programs, distributor-funded programs, and the contractors who run the ads all live in one system.
Source: the 2,171 manufacturer co-op plans listed on CoopConnect as of 2026, compared with the 7,489 plans in the 2018 RECAS export. Analysis by Co-Op Managers.
Heating, air conditioning, plumbing, and hearth run through a three-tier channel: manufacturer to distributor to contractor or dealer. Since 2018 the category has added more active co-op programs than any other, and a good share of them are funded and administered by the distributor, not the factory. Daikin, American Standard, Carrier-Bryant, Climate Master, Central Boiler, and ECR International’s eight lines all appeared with published programs. So did Gemaire, Goodin, Minnesota Air, US Air Conditioning Distributors, and a dozen other supply houses running their own.
| The old way still the industry standard | Co-Op Managers |
|---|---|
| The manufacturer publishes one rate. The distributor tops it up in a spreadsheet nobody upstream sees. | Manufacturer program and distributor program run side by side in the same system, each with its own rules, each visible to the tier that funds it. |
| Contractors accrue on purchases from the supply house but claim through the factory’s administrator, with the supply house invoice as proof. | The distributor tier is configured. The contractor’s balance already reflects the supply-house invoice. Nothing is re-keyed or mailed. |
| Seasonal money expires while the review queue clears pre-season creative. | Pre-season templates approved at configuration. A contractor picks one in August and it runs in August. |
| Dealer-locator listings, yard signs, truck wraps, and search ads are each “ask the rep.” | Every medium in the plan is a switch: eligible, approval-required, or off, with its rate and proof rule. Truck wraps and search ads included. |
Twenty-one HVAC distributor programs are active on CoopConnect today, most of them administered by a marketing coordinator with a spreadsheet and a checkbook. When the distributor is the funder, the distributor is the brand as far as we are concerned. We configure your rules, your rates, your proof requirements, and your contractor list, and your contractors get a portal with a balance instead of a claim form.
When the supply house runs a simpler program than the factory does, contractors use the supply house’s money first. A factory program that runs on Co-Op Command is the simplest one the contractor has, which is how the factory’s brand ends up on the truck instead of the distributor’s.
Manufacturer, distributor, or contractor: we will tell you what is published for your brands today and what it would look like run on Co-Op Command.