Air con is one of the most seasonal, highest-value trades on Facebook. Here's how the ads actually work, what leads cost, and how to fill your calendar before the summer rush.
Short answer: yes, and air con is one of the better trades to advertise on Facebook, because the job value is high and the demand is deeply seasonal. When someone's house hits 32 degrees inside, they don't shop around for a week. They want a quote today. Facebook ads let you get in front of those homeowners in your service area before your competitors do.
We run Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns for licensed trades across Sydney, the Northern Beaches, and Newcastle. We haven't run an air-con-only account long enough to publish a full case study yet, so we're not going to invent numbers. What we can do is show you the real pattern from the trade campaigns we do run, and explain exactly how it applies to air conditioning.
Quick note on wording, because it trips a lot of tradies up. "Facebook ads", "Meta ads" and "Instagram ads" all run through the same ad platform. Meta owns both Facebook and Instagram, so when you run Meta ads for an air conditioning business you're really just choosing which of those feeds your ad shows in. For trade services aimed at homeowners, Facebook Feed does most of the heavy lifting, with Instagram chipping in a smaller share. So if one agency pitches you "Meta ads" and another pitches "Facebook ads", they're describing the same thing.
The honest version: across the licensed-trade Facebook campaigns we run in NSW, leads come in at roughly $14 to $44 each depending on the city, averaging around $28. That's real data from electrician accounts. Air con should land in a similar range with the right offer, cheaper in the off-season, pricier during the summer rush.
Three things make air con work particularly well on Facebook compared to a lot of other trades:
Air conditioning is the most seasonal trade we deal with. Get the timing right and your leads are cheap and plentiful. Get it wrong and you're bidding against every other installer in town during the two weeks everyone remembers they need air con.
| Season | What to advertise | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Early spring | Pre-summer installs, "beat the rush" offers | Cheapest leads of the year, homeowners planning ahead |
| Summer | Fast install, emergency repair, servicing | Peak demand and peak competition, budget up |
| Autumn | Reverse-cycle heating, off-season discounts | Second demand window as it cools down |
| Winter | Heating, maintenance plans, keep a small budget ticking | Stay in learning phase so you're ready for spring |
The single biggest mistake we see air con businesses make is switching ads on only once it's already 35 degrees. By then every competitor is advertising, costs have spiked, and Facebook's algorithm needs a week to learn your account before it hits its stride. Start in early spring, and let it run.
An ad without a clear offer just says "we exist". These are the angles that turn a scroll into an enquiry for air con:
Whatever the offer, run it as a lead-form ad. That's the kind where the homeowner fills in their name, phone and suburb inside Facebook without leaving the app. Across our trade accounts, lead forms beat website-traffic ads on cost per lead almost every time, because they remove friction. From scroll to enquiry in about eight seconds.
In the trade campaigns we run, the buyer skews towards homeowners, and older men in particular, usually 45 and up. That's the person who owns the house, notices the old system struggling, and picks up the phone. For air con, widen slightly to include younger homeowners and renters-turned-buyers in newer suburbs, but keep the core aimed at property owners in your service radius.
Keep the geography tight. Air con is a local, van-based service, so there's no point paying to reach people an hour outside your area. A clean radius around your base, or a specific list of suburbs you actually service, keeps every dollar working. For how lead costs vary by area and trade, see our full breakdown of cost per lead for Sydney tradies.
Based on the trade accounts we run, here's a realistic starting point for an air con business:
Remember the maths. If your average install is worth $1,500 to $4,000 and you close even one in five leads, a month of ads pays for itself many times over. The trap isn't the cost of the ads, it's judging them after five days and one lead. Give a campaign four to six weeks before you call it. For a wider view of what to expect, our guide on how much Facebook ads cost for tradies breaks down the numbers across trades.
It's not really either-or, but here's the short version. Google ads catch people who are already searching "air conditioning installer near me", so they're high-intent but you're paying top dollar per click, especially in summer. Facebook ads put your offer in front of homeowners who need it but haven't started searching yet, usually at a lower cost per lead. Most air con businesses do best starting with Facebook lead ads for volume, then layering Google in over summer. We compare the two properly in Google Ads vs Facebook ads for a small business.
This is exactly what we do: Facebook and Instagram ads for licensed trades across Sydney, the Northern Beaches, and beyond. We build the creative, write the copy, set the targeting, run the campaigns, and send you a plain-English report each month. Every campaign starts with a free quote and a realistic plan for your area and your season, no lock-in contract, no jargon.
If you'd rather have everything in one bundle (ads, Google Business Profile, SEO, reviews, and reporting) our Monthly Growth Retainer is the best-value option. You deal directly with the founder, not an account manager, and you can see exactly what's being spent and what's working at any time.
Related reads
Facebook Ads for Tradies (Complete Guide) · Facebook Ads for Electricians · Cost Per Lead for Sydney Tradies · How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost for Tradies? · Google Ads vs Facebook Ads · Monthly Growth Retainer
Tell us about your business and your area. We'll come back with a tailored Facebook ads plan, a realistic cost per lead for your market, a seasonal budget, and clear pricing. No obligations, no pressure.
Get a Free Quote