Organizing a business in the field of car maintenance is a labor-intensive process that requires special knowledge, a certain amount of investment and a certain amount of luck, because the market is replete with supply, often exceeding demand. But if you approach this matter more selectively and choose a narrow segment of the field, success will not be long in coming. Alternatively, for these purposes, you can purchase equipment for refilling car air conditioners and start servicing them. Despite the steady demand, not every service station provides this type of service.

Organization procedure

After selecting the premises and obtaining all permitting documentation, it is necessary to purchase basic equipment and consumables. For these purposes you will need:

• Vacuum pump and electronic leak detector for diagnostics.
• Pair of quick release couplings. One of them must withstand high pressure.
• Injector used for oil filling and gauge manifold.
• Electronic scales and industrial thermometer.
• The main consumables are an ultraviolet indicator, synthetic oil and a special refrigerant.

The entire estimate for purchasing the necessary items will be about fifty thousand rubles. All that remains is to find a suitable specialist, or train an existing employee. For these purposes, there are special courses, upon completion of which a corresponding certificate is issued. It will cost around ten thousand rubles.

This is how, without large financial expenses, you can organize a profitable business that will be in stable demand.

Most modern cars are equipped with air conditioning, which saves the driver and passengers on a hot or rainy summer day. It becomes a shame when you turn on the air conditioning in your car, but it doesn’t work as well as when you bought it. And it's all about the loss of freon. Every third car with A/C has this problem. Therefore, you can make good money by refilling car air conditioners.

The service is supposed to be provided on-site to the client or directly to everyone on the road. The procedure is very simple and does not require much training, all the main points are “automatic” and you only have to monitor the indicators. The simplest example of refueling a car air conditioner on the road is the procedure for refueling it with freon.

Concept of making money by refilling air conditioners

To refuel with freon you will need a simple set of equipment. Metrological (manometric) station, popularly called a comb. Several hoses, quick-release adapters for connecting hoses to the air conditioning line in a car, and the brand’s freon itself R-134a(used by almost all cars since 1992).

We connect the red hose to the cylinder with freon, the yellow high-pressure hose can be plugged (since we assume that the system only needs to be refueled and it is working, using this line they check the serviceability of the evaporator and compressor, vacuum the system and perform other services), the blue hose is connected to the low pressure line of the vehicle's air conditioning system through a special fitting.

Then we start the car, raise the engine speed to 1500, turn on the cooling to maximum, turning on recirculation. Don't forget to open the windows.

Using the blue pressure gauge, we check the pressure inside the car air conditioning system. Ideal values ​​are 275-285 kPa. If it is lower, you need to refuel. Carefully and in small doses, open the blue tap. The control eye on the comb will show how the freon is boiling (if not, the cylinder is empty). Having brought the pressure to 280 kPa, close the valve and let the system operate for about 7-10 minutes. The pressure will fluctuate, but it should not exceed 285 kPa. If there are jumps above the data, then the system is faulty (it is not sealed and is sucking in air) and needs to be repaired.

If everything is in order, the system is working and working properly.

The cost of equipment is the amount of earnings. Nuances of the service

The average cost of this service is 1000-2000 rubles for 15 minutes. The cost of equipment with freon is from 3600 rubles. A 10 kg cylinder is enough for up to 90 refills. That is, all equipment will pay for itself by the 4th order.

Questions arise that proper refilling of the air conditioner should include evacuation of the system, refilling with oil and other services. Yes it is. If the system is faulty and all (most) freon gone - here, of course, you need more than refueling. And if a few grams of freon have been lost (it tends to evaporate through seals and connections), then even in a car service they will simply refill you using the method described above, without a deep check, since if the system holds pressure, then it is in good order.

To provide a full range of services, in addition to the metrological station, you will need to purchase:

Vacuum pump (vacuum pump)— device for vacuuming air conditioning systems. With its help, all freon is removed from the system, leaving a vacuum (use the yellow hose at the pressure gauge station). The procedure takes up to 30 minutes, depending on the power of the pump; the operation of the device is monitored using the pressure gauge. After reaching the required indicators (0 or 1 on the pressure gauge), the system turns off and is observed in the off state for another 30 minutes. If the readings on the pressure gauge do not change, the system is sealed. If not, you need to look for a leak.

Leak detector- a device for detecting freon leaks, there are various types. The most popular device in Russia is CPS Leak Seeker LS7908 . Allows you to search for leaks with millimeter accuracy. The cost of the device is from $50.

Adding oil to the car air conditioning system— now there are mixtures of freon and oil, using which there is no need to separately pour oil into the air conditioner. If you just use freon, you must use polyalkylene glycol oil (PAG). Filling occurs according to the standards established for a particular vehicle. Oil is added to the system through a hole in the air conditioning compressor crankcase, or using a special device connected to the air conditioning line.

Attention! After the system is evacuated, freon and oil are added to the system by weight, not by pressure (the freon is weighed in the cylinder before and after filling), so you will also need to purchase scales.

Total cost of equipment - from 8500 rubles. Service cost - from 2000 rubles. The procedure takes up to 2 hours.

Similar equipment can be used to refuel (install) household air conditioners (you just need to use a different brand of freon), however, it is more profitable to refuel cars, since there are more of them, and the time required to refuel is much shorter.

How to make money by refilling air conditioners?

How to make money on refilling air conditioners?

The concept of customer lifetime value says that one way to increase the amount of money a customer will leave in your auto repair shop during their “life together” is to sell them as many different additional services as possible. Moreover, the client does not always know about these services and does not always have an idea why they are needed.

Russian servicemen see the introduction of innovations at service stations as a waste of money to purchase additional equipment, train staff, and allocate additional space. It is important to know how to invest!

Equipment- This is an investment that will pay off within a specific period.

"Ready Business Plan"

Service “Diagnostics and refilling of air conditioner”

Probably every third car service center is already doing this. And it’s clear why - there are more and more cars with air conditioning, and the equipment required for this is not so expensive.

One employee can make about 20 refills in a 12-hour working day. Moreover, to perform this type of service, a lift is not required, therefore, during the season (summer) this can be done on the street, in the adjacent territory.

The average cost of the service in Kirov is ~ 1000 rubles. (2-circuit system - 2000 rub.)

Includes diagnostics, complete recharging and evacuation of the air conditioner.

So, a typical set of primary services costs the client an average of 1,500 rubles.

Of which the cost of consumables will be:
A standard refrigerant cylinder holds 13.6 kg ~ 5000 rubles. To refuel one car, on average, 800 g is required i.e. 0.8 kg ~ 300 rub.
3.76 liters of oil = 3500 rub. i.e. 0.03 l ~ 30 rub.

Total - 330 rub.

Remaining: 1500 - 330 = 1170 rub. - 40% (Employee salary)

Accordingly, the average profit from one refueling will be ~700 rubles.

It takes ~20 minutes to refuel one car.

In total, for 1 working day (20 cars), one employee earns you ~ 14,000 rubles.

• Why do you need to choose an automatic installation for recharging your air conditioner?

Process automation,

1. this is a reduction in working time costs (with an automatic refueling cycle, the operator can completely do something else useful, rather than constantly stand, observe and manage the process);
2. This is minimizing the human factor, i.e. reducing the likelihood of error due to the fact that the person is distracted;
3. Compared to purely manual installations, this is an opportunity to control the actual amount of work that is performed on the installations, since there are situations when, according to the foreman, no one came, there is no revenue, and meanwhile the cars of all the foreman’s friends are filled with freon. The installation will not allow this to be done, since it records the work performed, i.e. the owner can fully control his business.

The price depends on the performance and functionality of the station.

Based on our many years of experience, the best choice would be:

~ 137800 rub. (can be equipped with a printer)

It turns out that if your technical center services ~20 car air conditioners per day,

then you will pay for the equipment in just 1 week (7-10 days) and make a net profit!

It is also necessary to offer additional services:

• Replacement of filters - 400 rub.
• Departure of a specialist - 350 rubles. at one o'clock.

Everything else depends on how many clients will be in your service today...

The fact of providing a service is not as important as your ability to sell this service to a client

According to GiPA Russia research, more than 55% of cars under 2 years old are equipped with air conditioning. Among 3-4 year old cars, about 40% have air conditioning, and among 5-6 year old cars, even a little more than 40% of cars. If we take a breakdown by car brands, we will see an even more joyful picture - according to data for 2008, the level of equipment among foreign cars does not fall, below 65% (among the Germans) and reaches almost 88% (among the Japanese). And only among Russian brands the level of equipment is around only 5.5%.

Let's reveal a big secret - many people have no idea that the air conditioner needs to be serviced. Especially the owners of new foreign cars.

Educate clients

The best way to sell a service to a client is a full and detailed story about how this service will be useful to him, what benefits it will give and what problems it will save him from.

Constantly contact customers, once a week, sending advice on car care, place information about air conditioning maintenance on your website. And if possible, it is worth making a separate brochure. In these materials, you should promote the importance of regular air conditioner maintenance and describe all services. Why, what for, what are they for, what is the frequency, what can happen if this is not done, and so on.

If you teach the client that it is necessary to periodically carry out routine maintenance of the air conditioner and at least once a year to refuel, change the cabin filter, receiver-dryer and antibacterial treatment of the system, then consider that you have received a guaranteed annual increase in profit.

A business in the installation and maintenance of split systems and air conditioners is a profitable and relatively simple undertaking for new entrepreneurs. Climate control equipment is used everywhere, so there will be no shortage of potential clients in need of high-quality installation and service of such equipment.

Where to start a business

Initially, you need to register your future activities with the tax authorities, that is, register as an individual entrepreneur. Why do you need these documents:

• passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation and application for state registration;
• a receipt (cheque) confirming payment of the state duty,
• scanned copy of TIN certificate.

Registration of an individual entrepreneur is the least expensive in terms of finances and time. In this case, a simplified taxation system will be applied, in which 6 to 15% is levied in favor of the state (either on net profit or on gross income). When submitting your application, please indicate the following OKVED codes:

• 29.23.9, is responsible for the provision of installation, repair work and maintenance of industrial refrigeration and ventilation equipment;
• 45.33, regulates sanitary and technical work at facilities.

The following additional codes may also be useful, which will allow you to expand the scope of the enterprise’s activities in the legal field:

• 51.43.1 - Wholesale trade in household electrical goods;
• 52.45.1 - Retail sale of household electrical goods;
• 74.20.15 - Design in the field of air conditioning, refrigeration equipment, etc.

Licensing of activities

If we are talking only about servicing air conditioners (without installation work), then no permits are required for this. When the activity also extends to the installation and repair of climate control equipment, which are equated to the construction industry, then to be admitted to such a business you need to be a member of a self-regulatory organization (SRO). To enter the SRO, you must pay an entry fee, as well as prove a sufficient level of competence and the ability to competently carry out engineering surveys and installation work.

Office organization

At the start of business You can do without an office by negotiating with clients on their or neutral territory, as well as by telephone. But in the future it is better to have your own representative office, and in an area where it will be convenient for you to serve the largest number of customers. To organize an office, a room of 20-30 square meters is sufficient; it will be possible to place office equipment, furniture, communications equipment, accept orders, and draw up service contracts.

It is advisable for a novice businessman to locate office space in a large residential area, where there will be a large volume of work in multi-apartment high-rises. It’s good if residential areas with developed infrastructure are being built nearby. Then it will be possible to receive orders for maintenance or installation of climate control not only in apartments, but in shopping centers, beauty salons, pharmacies and other organizations.

How much money do you need to start a business?

The amount of initial investment depends on the climatic conditions of the region, local pricing policy and demand for the service. At the initial stage, you can only deal with servicing air conditioners and split systems.

Your responsibilities: replacement, refilling of components and other services without dismantling/installing equipment. Therefore, the starting capital will go to:

• rent of office space - 20,000 rubles;
• advertising campaigns - 25,000 rubles;
• purchase of office equipment, household expenses, office equipment - 8,000-10,000 rubles;
• Fuel and lubricants and other expenses - 40,000 rubles.

If you plan to install purchased air conditioners or split systems, then it makes sense to purchase (order) several options of equipment in bulk of different price groups and configurations. To then resell them with installation. This will require, in dollar terms, from 20 to 50 thousand in the regions of the Russian Federation, and up to 150 thousand in Moscow and the region.

How profitable is the business?

The peak demand for services for installation, testing or repair of climate control equipment occurs in spring and summer. Prices for services depend on the device model. For example, diagnostics of a regular window air conditioner costs 1,150 rubles, and a split system (cassette) costs 1,300 rubles. Checking the operation of a multi-split system (both units) will cost the client 6,500 rubles. and so on. Cleaning the indoor unit (including the evaporator and drainage) in various modifications and without dismantling can cost from 1,500 to 2,500 rubles. A service with dismantling costs up to 7 thousand rubles, and serious repairs have an upper price limit of about 20 thousand rubles.

Plus - refilling cooling systems with freon averages 1,200 rubles, and the price of freon is 1,000 rubles per kg. The average cost of delivery and installation of one air conditioner reaches 25-30 thousand rubles. By servicing two or three orders per week for installation and several for diagnostics, you can achieve an income of 300-700 thousand in the first month of activity.

In the future, having gained experience and clientele, it makes sense to expand the range of climate services, since business registration in accordance with OKVED codes allows this. Since it is not only air conditioning, but also ventilation and heating. In addition, reputable companies enter into contracts for year-round climate control service.

A one-time service during the operation of the equipment can cost the client between 3500-4000 rubles. Regular maintenance, for example, of 3 split systems under a contract, which includes refueling, can cost from 3 to 20 thousand per year. The price depends on how much service work the company undertakes to do and on the type of equipment.

Technology of installation and service of climate control equipment, installation equipment

Air conditioner maintenance service consists of: cleaning the filters in the indoor unit and in the drainage system, monitoring the temperature difference and cleaning the heat exchanger of the unit inside, checking the operating pressure in the system, charging with freon, as well as diagnosing various malfunctions. It is possible to dismantle equipment in order to detect malfunctions, repairs, and more.

The installation process of air conditioning equipment consists of: installing outdoor and indoor units, laying inter-unit communications. A fairly simple technology requires a certain professionalism from installers. Since dirt and dust getting into the refrigeration circuit will damage the unit. The aesthetic appearance of the entire system and its connecting elements is also important. Therefore, it is better to have your own trained staff rather than hire third-party workers who can create an unattractive image for your company.

To perform work on installing air conditioners, you will need the following list of tools:

• hammer drills (at least 2 pcs.);
• wall chaser, or, in extreme cases, an angle grinder;
• vacuum pump - removes moisture/air from the cooling circuit;
• industrial concrete pump;
• charging cylinder and pressure manifold;
• apparatus for testing the cooling circuit for leaks;
• tools for cutting, bending, scraping and rolling pipes;
• equipment for soldering pipes.
• kits for working with freon.

The cost of a set of tools (installation, repair, diagnostic) can range from five hundred to five thousand in dollar equivalent.

Advertising and promotion of climate services

When starting a business, you will need a large advertising campaign so that you are recognized in the services market. To do this, you need to use banners, banners, print media and online advertising. Distribution of booklets in residential and office areas, personal acquaintance with the heads of construction companies, and so on. Do not skimp on the website, where information about the service, prices, contacts and the ability to order any work online will be presented in an accessible form.