Holmes Heating

What Holmes Heating does

Holmes Heating, operating as Reliance Holmes Heating and Cooling, is an Ottawa-headquartered residential and commercial HVAC and home comfort services company, originally founded by William Edward Holmes in 1962 and now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership, a privately held Canadian limited partnership. The business serves individual homeowners as its primary customer segment across six Canadian provinces (Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec) through 40+ branch locations, with secondary service to commercial businesses, property managers, and builders via a dedicated Reliance Commercial Solutions division.

Core offerings span the full residential climate and water envelope: central air conditioners and ductless mini-splits, gas and electric furnaces, cold-climate heat pumps rated to operate at -25C to -35C, tank and tankless water heaters, water boilers, geothermal systems, plus plumbing and electrical services. Add-on modules include water purification (softeners, reverse osmosis, whole-house filters, UV disinfection, alkaline filters), smart home bundles built on Google Nest (thermostats, cameras, doorbells, Protect detectors), standby generators, garage heaters, EV chargers, and the SmartAir private-label brand including a Green Series carbon offset product. Equipment is sourced under authorized dealer relationships with manufacturers including Carrier, Trane, Rinnai, Mitsubishi, Bosch, Lennox, Viessmann, Amana, Bradford White, Rheem, Goodman, and Daikin.

The revenue model combines one-time equipment sales (central AC from $4,449 installed; heat pumps from $6,599; ductless from $6,000-$22,000+), recurring equipment rental subscriptions (furnaces, AC, water heaters, heat pumps from $39.99-$81.49/month), monthly Protection Plans covering heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical ($9.99-$66.99/month, 12-month terms), and hourly professional services. Go-to-market relies on field sales through Home Comfort Advisors conducting in-home consultations, 24/7 inside sales via phone with live agents, self-serve online booking for existing customers, and a physical branch network. Regulatory credentials include TSSA and HRAI certifications and ESA electrical contractor license (#7012884). The firm is BBB Accredited, certified as a Great Place to Work in 2025, and claims 165,000+ 5-star Google reviews as a trust signal.

Name

Holmes Heating

Legal name

Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership

Website

https://holmesheating.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1962

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Reliance Holmes Heating and Cooling is an Ottawa-based Canadian HVAC and home comfort services subsidiary of Reliance Comfort Limited Partnership, offering heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, and water solutions to residential homeowners across 40+ branches in six provinces via rent, purchase, and subscription models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential HVAC Services

NAICS

Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (238220), Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (23822)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential HVAC System Installation (Furnace/AC/Heat Pump) (HSAOAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

HVAC Service, Maintenance & Repair (BPABACAA), Heat Pump Repair & Maintenance (HSAOAHAD)

Keywords

• Residential HVAC services
• Furnace installation repair
• Heat pump systems
• Home plumbing electrical
• HVAC protection plans

Headquarters

HQ city

Janesville, Wisconsin

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Equipment Rental: Monthly rental agreements for furnaces, air conditioners, water heaters, and other HVAC equipment. Rentals include repair coverage, regular maintenance, and replacement at no additional cost beyond the monthly payment.
2. Equipment Sales: One-time purchase of HVAC equipment including central air conditioners ($4,449-$12,000+ including installation), heat pumps (from $6,599), and water heaters. Prices vary by system size, brand, and installation complexity.
3. Protection Plans: Monthly subscription plans ranging from $9.99 to $66.99 per month covering heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical repairs. Plans include parts, labour, no deductible, and unlimited service calls.
4. Professional Services: Hourly or job-based fees for plumbing, electrical, repairs, and maintenance services not covered under rental agreements or protection plans.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Holmes Heating (operating as Reliance Holmes Heating and Cooling) sells, rents, installs, services, and maintains residential HVAC equipment — including furnaces, central and ductless air conditioners, heat pumps, water heaters, boilers, and geothermal systems — alongside plumbing, electrical, water purification, smart home, EV charging, and generator solutions for Canadian homeowners. The company complements equipment sales with monthly subscription Protection Plans and rent-or-buy financing, dispatching directly employed TSSA- and HRAI-certified technicians from 40+ branch locations.

Product overview

Reliance Holmes Heating and Cooling is an Ottawa-based HVAC and home comfort services company offering a comprehensive portfolio of heating, cooling, water heating, plumbing, and electrical products and services. The core offering consists of central air conditioning systems (including ductless mini-splits), furnaces, heat pumps (both central and ductless), water heaters (tank and tankless), and plumbing/electrical services. These are complemented by add-on products including water purification systems (softeners, reverse osmosis, whole home filters, UV disinfection), smart home solutions (Google Nest products), generators, garage heaters, geothermal systems, and air purifiers. The company operates on a rent-or-buy model for major equipment and offers bundled Protection Plans that combine heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical coverage with parts, labour, and no deductible. Branded products include SmartAir alongside major manufacturer brands such as Carrier, Trane, Rinnai, Amana, Mitsubishi, Bosch, Lennox, Viessmann, Bradford White, Rheem, Goodman, and Daikin.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SmartAir: HVAC brand offering air purification and indoor air quality products
• Reliance Holmes Heating & Cooling

Products and services

• Furnaces Gas and electric furnaces for residential heating, available for rent or purchase with professional installation services. Branded units include Carrier, Lennox, Goodman, Amana, and Rheem.
• Central Air Conditioners Central air conditioning systems for residential cooling, available for rent or purchase with professional installation. Standard installations priced from $4,449.
• Ductless Mini-Split Air Conditioners Ductless mini-split air conditioning systems for homes without existing ductwork, providing targeted single-zone cooling.
• Heat Pumps Dual-purpose heat pump systems providing both cooling and heating from a single unit. Includes central heat pumps and ductless mini-split heat pumps designed to operate efficiently in extreme cold climates down to -25°C to -35°C.
• Water Heaters Residential tank and tankless water heaters available for rent or purchase, with tankless options starting at $39.99/month rental.
• Plumbing Services Comprehensive residential plumbing services including repairs, installations, drain cleaning, leak detection, and emergency plumbing response.
• Electrical Services Full-service residential electrical solutions including repairs, panel upgrades, and installations performed by ESA-licensed technicians (License #7012884).
• Generators Standby residential generators sold and installed for backup power during outages.
• EV Chargers Level 2 electric vehicle charging station sales and installation services for home charging.
• Geothermal Systems Geothermal heating and cooling systems that use the earth's thermal energy for efficient residential climate control.
• Protection Plans Subscription-based maintenance and warranty plans covering heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems. Plans include parts, labour, no deductible, and unlimited service calls on 12-month terms. Tiers range from $9.99 to $66.99 per month.
• Water Softeners Residential water softening systems to reduce water hardness and improve overall water quality.
• Reverse Osmosis Systems Residential reverse osmosis water filtration systems providing purified drinking water.
• Whole Home Water Filters Whole-house residential water filtration systems that treat all incoming water at the point of entry.
• UV Light Water Disinfection Systems Residential UV water purification systems that use ultraviolet light to neutralize bacteria and viruses in well water.
• Air Purifiers and Indoor Air Quality Residential indoor air purification products including HEPA filters and UV air purification systems to improve indoor air quality.
• Smart Home Solutions Residential smart-home product sales and installation including Google Nest thermostats, Nest Protect smoke/CO detectors, Nest Hub, Nest Doorbell, and Nest Cam devices.
• Garage Heaters Residential heating solutions designed for garage spaces.
• Water Boilers Residential boiler systems for hydronic home heating, available for rent or purchase with installation.
• SmartAir Private-Label Products Reliance-owned private-label HVAC and indoor air quality brand, including the SmartAir Green Series carbon-offset product line.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 165,000 5-star customer reviews on Google nationwide
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Habitat for HumanitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership with Habitat for Humanity in Sault Ste. Marie where the local Reliance team donated a furnace to bring comfort to deserving new homeowners. Demonstrates community commitment and corporate social responsibility through housing support.
• Partners in Mission Food Bank (Kingston)minorOthersKingston branch collected over 900lbs of food for the local food bank to help address food shortage in the community.
• Covenant House and Good Sheppard Ministries (Toronto)minorOthersToronto office donated 400 pairs of socks and mittens to these organizations providing shelter, meals and social services to vulnerable community members.
• Canadian National Institute for the Blind - Phone it Forward ProgramminorOthersTeam members donated 65 used mobile phones to the program which securely wipes and loads phones with apps for visually impaired individuals.
• Equipment Manufacturers (Carrier, Trane, Rinnai, Google Nest, Amana, Mitsubishi, Bosch, Lennox, Viessmann)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer/reseller relationships with major HVAC equipment manufacturers enabling sale and installation of branded products including Carrier, Trane, Rinnai, Google Nest, Amana, Mitsubishi, Bosch, Lennox, and Viessmann equipment.
• Employer Affinity PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partnerships with employers offering employee discount programs on HVAC rentals through the Affinity Program, providing discounted furnace and air conditioner rental rates to qualifying employees.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• HomeServe: Specializes in subscription-based home protection plans covering HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and water heater repairs — directly comparable to Holmes/Reliance's Protection Plan portfolio ($9.99–$66.99/month).
• Reliance Home Comfort: The direct parent company of Holmes Heating and itself a national Canadian HVAC, plumbing, water heating, and protection-plan provider; operates the same subscription and rent-or-buy model under which Holmes Heating functions as the Ottawa-region brand.
• Enercare: Canadian home services provider offering furnace, air conditioner, water heater, and protection plans on a rent-or-buy and subscription basis — a near-identical business model to Holmes/Reliance across Ontario and other provinces.
• Direct Energy Home Services: Canadian home services division of Direct Energy offering HVAC rentals, maintenance plans, plumbing, and electrical across multiple provinces; overlaps directly with Holmes/Reliance's subscription-based home comfort model.

Others

• Trane Technologies: Global HVAC equipment manufacturer whose Trane and American Standard brands Holmes/Reliance is authorized to install; included as an adjacent OEM peer reflecting the supplier side of Holmes's business.
• Carrier Residential (Carrier Global): HVAC equipment OEM whose Carrier, Bryant, and Payne brands Holmes/Reliance is licensed to sell and install; included as an adjacent peer reflecting the OEM-channel relationship central to Holmes's product offering.

Broad incumbents

• ARS / Rescue Rooter: American Residential Services Network (including Rescue Rooter) provides HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services across North America — a broad-incumbent peer with a multi-trade residential services model comparable to Holmes/Reliance.
• Roto-Rooter: Largest North American provider of plumbing and drain cleaning services with growing HVAC adjacency; a relevant broad-incumbent peer in the residential trade services category where Holmes operates.
• ServiceMaster: Diversified home services platform spanning HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and restoration; a broad-incumbent comparable in multi-trade residential service delivery, though primarily US-focused.
• Mr. Rooter Plumbing: Large North American franchise network offering plumbing, drain cleaning, and HVAC services to residential customers — comparable as a residential services incumbent with cross-trade breadth, though broader in scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/reliancehome
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@reliancehomecomfort
• Facebookfacebook.com/RelianceHomeComfort
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/holmes-heating
• Instagraminstagram.com/reliancehomecomfort

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Holmes Heating