Flame + Snowflake = Invisible: When every HVAC logo uses the same elements, none of them stand out. And 94% of initial brand impressions are logo-related¹
Differentiation Starts with Research: Define your target customer before picking colors or designing logos
Green Beats Red/Blue: Shelter Air chose green specifically because competitors dominated red and blue. 40% of Fortune 500 companies use blue²
Spend $200, Not $2,000: DIY your first logo. You’ll change it anyway once you know your business
Your logo probably looks exactly like your competitor’s.
Do a Google image search for “HVAC company logos” and you’ll see the same thing repeated endlessly: a flame on one side, a snowflake on the other, split down the middle. Red/Orange for heat. Blue for cool. Maybe a cartoon tech giving a thumbs up.
It’s the visual equivalent of blending into traffic. And since logo color makes up 90% of a consumer’s first impression,³ that flame/snowflake combo might be costing you calls before customers even read your company name.
The Sea of Red and Blue
Kimberly Sevilla from Shelter Air put it perfectly on a recent podcast:
“Put all of their logos, all their websites up on the screen. And then I said, how can I be different? How can I stand out in the sea of red and blue?”
The flame/snowflake combination is so overused it’s become meaningless. The same goes with a logo bearing an HVAC technician with guages. Once you’ve got enough of them in a market, none set you apart. A homeowner scrolling through three Google results sees: flame/snowflake, blue/red, thumbs-up/gauges… octopus. Who do they remember?
Consider that consumers need 5-7 impressions before they recognize a business logo.⁴ If your logo is indistinguishable from competitors, you’re essentially starting from zero every time. That’s money and time wasted on standing out from the competition when your visual identity is working against you.
🎙️ Listen: Evolution Of An HVAC Business Series – Gary’s journey starting McCreadie HVAC
Start with Who, Not What
Here’s where most new contractors get it backwards. They pick colors, design a logo, wrap a truck, then hope someone likes it.
Kimberly’s approach flipped that entirely:
“I began with who I was selling to… I did a big deep dive into that avatar: what that person looked like, where they live, what magazines they read, where they shop.”
You can’t sell to everybody, but you can sell to somebody. Before you touch Canva or call a designer, write down five characteristics of your ideal customer. Age, neighborhood, income level, what they value. That profile should drive every branding decision.
A premium residential customer in a high-end suburb responds differently than a price-conscious homeowner in a starter neighborhood. Your brand needs to speak to one of them clearly, not whisper to both.
The Differentiation Playbook
Visual differentiation isn’t about being clever. It’s about being noticed.
Color choices matter. Kimberly chose green because it wasn’t red or blue, the colors dominating her market. Other underused colors in HVAC include orange, yellow, purple, and black. Color psychology works: green signals eco-friendly, black reads premium, orange conveys energy.⁵ Research shows 60% of consumers avoid companies with logos they find unappealing, even with good reviews.⁶
Imagery creates memory. Shelter Air uses an octopus. Memorable, unexpected, a conversation starter. Skip the generic mascot (guy with wrench, superhero tech). What represents YOUR differentiator? Heat pumps? Air quality? Speed?
Typography affects trust. Modern sans-serif reads better on phones than script fonts. Your logo needs to work on a truck AND a 50-pixel favicon. Over 75% of Fortune 500 companies use sans-serif fonts in their logos.⁷
The goal is being noticed before your competitors. Make choices that stand out from contractors who never bothered to ask what their customer actually wants to see.
The Budget Reality
New contractors often obsess over logos while neglecting what actually generates calls. Here’s a practical breakdown:
Year 1: $0-200. Use Fiverr, Canva, or a basic freelance designer. Your first logo will change once you understand your market. Small businesses can find quality logo design services in the $100-500 range.⁸
Year 2-3: $500-1,500. Work with a local designer once you know what your brand actually stands for. You’ll have customer feedback, market positioning, and real data to inform the design.
Avoid: $3,000+ “brand packages” before you’ve served 50 customers. Put that money toward what generates calls first: your Google Business Profile, website, and building operational foundations. You can’t build brand recognition if nobody knows you exist.
Most HVAC contractors invest 7-10% of revenue in marketing.⁹ In year one, prioritize lead generation over brand awareness. A great logo on a truck nobody calls is just expensive paint.
Stop Blending In
The flame and snowflake made sense when HVAC branding was new. Now it’s wallpaper. Customers scroll right past it.
Differentiation doesn’t require a $5,000 design agency. It requires thinking about who you serve and making choices that stand out from competitors who never bothered to ask that question.
Start with the customer. Then build the brand that speaks to them. The contractors who figure this out early don’t just get more calls. They get better calls from customers who already connect with what their brand represents.
Additional Sources
The Logo Company. Logo Statistics and Brand Recognition Data. 2024.
Website Planet. Fortune 500 Logo Color Analysis. 2021.
Website Planet. Consumer First Impression Research on Logo Design. 2021.
Moore P. Brand Impressions and Consumer Recognition Study. 2014.
Huddle Creative. Logo Statistics and Design Trends Analysis. 2024.
Crowdspring. Branding Statistics for Entrepreneurs. 2024.
SBE Odyssey. HVAC Industry Trends and Marketing Statistics. 2024.
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