Every detail has a source.
Here is how we get it.

AC Repair Scout lists 634 residential AC repair and HVAC companies across 26 Tampa Bay areas. This page describes the research and checks behind every listing — the same written method our researchers and scripts follow — so you can judge how far to trust what you read. Latest source check: November 7, 2026.

1. Finding businesses.

Leads come from a sweep of public map listings across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee and Polk counties; our first research round in November 2026 started from 1,369 of them. A map listing is only a lead: nothing from it is published until we have checked the business’s own website.

A business is listed only when it has a website of its own, the site shows it is operating, it repairs, maintains or installs air conditioning and heating for homes, and it is based in or serves Tampa Bay. Companies that also do commercial work count if they serve homes. We leave out commercial-only contractors, parts suppliers and distributors, equipment manufacturers, appliance and auto AC shops, handymen and home-warranty companies that don’t do the work themselves, plumbers, electricians, roofers and solar installers without an HVAC service of their own, lead-generation sites and call centres, and sites that are dead, parked, for sale or say the business has closed. Each franchise branch with its own page or phone is its own listing; duplicates are merged by website and phone.

2. Where each detail comes from.

We record a fact only when we saw it on one of these sources:

• The business’s own website (or its own branch page): services, phone, published business email, address, service areas, hours, prices, Florida contractor licence number, EPA 608 and NATE statements, insurance wording, maintenance plans, 24/7 service, warranties and logo.
• Its matching Google Business Profile, used only when it clearly matches the listing (the same street number, plus the same phone or name). From it we take a link to its reviews, and hours, phone or map position only where the business’s own site doesn’t publish them — the business’s own site always wins. Conflicts and listings with no matching profile are reported for a person to check.

Every listing shows its sources, which fields each one supports, and the date we checked it. Unknown stays unknown: if a business doesn’t publish its hours, prices, licence or insurance, the listing says so instead of filling the gap.

Before anything is published, every record is validated against our written research spec. Records whose “website” is a directory, review site or social profile are rejected; a licence number without the page that shows it, and hours or postal codes that don’t check out, are dropped rather than guessed.

Before the site opened to search engines on November 6, 2026, every listing was checked again on its own website and had to match by phone or name. Listings whose site didn’t load or didn’t match, and businesses whose address turned out to be outside Tampa Bay, were removed.

3. The trust check.

Every profile shows the same nine items — real sourced business, Florida contractor licence shown, EPA 608 certified technicians, NATE-certified technicians, insurance as stated, a published service-call or tune-up price, a maintenance plan, 24/7 emergency service and published prices — each as a plain yes or not-yet-confirmed. It is a checklist of what the business publishes, not a rating. A licence number appears exactly as the business publishes it; we don’t look numbers up to fill gaps, and we don’t state whether a licence is active — check it on myfloridalicense.com (see how to check a licence). The full list is on our About page.

4. Logos and photos.

Logos come from the business’s own website; when we have no usable logo, the listing shows initials. We don’t show business photos yet. When we do, they will come only from the business’s own website, reviewed by eye and credited to their source. We never use stock images or map imagery.

5. How often we re-check.

Weekly, automatically. Our checker visits every website, booking page and source page listed on AC Repair Scout about once every 7 days. It looks for pages that have gone down and for changes in what matters — dollar amounts and opening times. A page that stays unreachable for days, a changed price or time, or a published price that has disappeared is flagged for a person to review against the business’s site. The checker never edits a listing by itself.

With every research round. When we add businesses, we re-run the Google Business Profile match for every listing and review the report by hand: changed hours or phones, and listings whose profile has disappeared (a possible closure). Businesses that have closed or left the area are taken down.

A check date means we looked at the source that day. It does not mean the business updated its page that day.

6. What we never publish.

• Star ratings or review counts copied from other platforms. We link to the reviews instead, and keep testimonials a business chose for its own site separate.
• Invented or estimated prices, hours, licence numbers, certifications, warranties or insurance. Insurance wording is a short paraphrase of what the business states; we don’t see the policy — ask for a certificate of insurance.
• EPA 608 or NATE claims the business doesn’t make in words. A badge in a row of logos is not enough.
• Stock photos or map imagery.
• A street address the business doesn’t publish itself. Many AC companies come to you, so we show the area they are based in and the areas they say they serve.
• People’s names, personal emails or mobile numbers — only the business contact details the business publishes — and never the personal details of anyone who sends us a request.
• Paid placement passed off as merit. Featured listings are labeled, and featuring never changes a listing’s trust check, credentials or review sources.

7. Pages are data, not instructions.

We read business websites as evidence. Nothing a page says can change our rules, and we never bypass a site’s access controls; a page that blocks automated checks is recorded as blocked, not treated as down.

8. When we get something wrong.

Businesses change prices, hours and service areas all the time, and we make mistakes. Anyone can suggest a correction, free. Read our corrections policy for how to send one and what happens next.

More about who runs AC Repair Scout and why: About AC Repair Scout.