Lawsuits Against HVAC Contractors Are on the Rise – GreenBuildingAdvisor

By Justin R. Wolf | August 5, 2025

Some Americans tend to adopt a Sue first, ask questions later mentality when it comes to just about anything. Coffee too hot? Sue. Walkway too icy? Sue. Red Bull didn’t “give you wings”? Yep, sue! One area where civil lawsuits have been on the rise of late concerns HVAC systems.

A quick internet search using the terms “HVAC” and “faulty” (or something similar) will yield a bevy of articles—most of them living on law firms’ websites—with headlines like “How to Sue an HVAC Company” and “Improper Installation Lawsuit.” Once you look at the data, however, it becomes clear that such cases aren’t nearly as frivolous as the above examples.

The numbers are pretty eye-opening. According to a 2018 report from the U.S. Department of Energy, between the mid-1990s and 2016, 70% to 90% of home air conditioners and heat pumps had at least one problem caused by poor installation or lack of proper maintenance. Now, factor in the exponential growth of air-source heat-pump adoption in just the last five years, with an estimated 16% of U.S. homes now using electric heat pumps (and projected 9.6% compound annual growth rate through 2032), and that spells the following: declining gas furnace sales, home energy savings, and further upticks in lawsuits against HVAC contractors.

Supply, demand, and litigation       

More litigation in almost any consumer category is rarely a good thing. However, when it comes to faulty HVAC installations, a windfall of lawsuits may be a needed kick in the pants.

There are many contributing factors, but ultimately it comes down to a lack of training, code enforcement, and oversight. That’s according to Dustin Kramer, a building performance advisor with project:HOMES, a Virginia nonprofit that provides energy-efficiency and weatherization services for low-income customers. “The climate is changing, and between new codes and building efficiencies,…