Federal obligations in plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 238220)

A named trade code, not residual 238990

NAICS 238220 is the named plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractor class. Boiler work, duct, refrigerant, and pipe trades can land here when the award is tagged 238220. Electrical contractors (238210) and all other specialty trades (238990) are separate six-digit lines. The $4,319,358,881.23 total is the HVAC/plumbing tag, not “all mechanical contractors.”

A general contractor whose SAM primary NAICS is 236220 can still appear under 238220 on a mechanical task order. SpendingVault reports the USAspending award tag, not the firm’s full registration. The code is not an FEC employer string such as “contractor” and not a union craft jurisdiction.

9,944 awards on a $4.32 billion obligation stock

Nine thousand nine hundred forty-four awards produced $4,319,358,881.23 in obligations. That action count is thicker than sparse heavy-civil codes and thinner than wholesale files with hundreds of thousands of delivery orders. Service calls, IDIQ task orders, and larger plant retrofits can share the tag. The packet does not split those types.

Obligations move with new awards, options, and modifications, including deobligations when a job is descoped. Outlays are payments for work performed and are not this $4,319,358,881.23 rollup. A multi-year HVAC vehicle can show a large commitment while invoices follow work tickets. The industry page does not convert obligations into a job calendar.

Contract NAICS versus facilities grants

USAspending.gov stores NAICS on contract actions. Energy-retrofit grants, public-housing rehabilitation assistance, and many school-HVAC awards are assistance and often have no NAICS field. Those dollars will not add to the 9,944 awards even when the work is duct and pipe. Open program pages for grant-funded mechanical work.

The label is a Census specialty-trade classification. It is not a PSC rollup by itself and not campaign-finance text. Cite USAspending.gov via SpendingVault for $4,319,358,881.23 and the 9,944-award count.

Reading the 238220 table

The hub lists recipients and awards that share this NAICS tag. A large obligation is a disclosed commitment. It is not a finding that a system failed inspection, that refrigerant was mishandled, or that a small business was excluded. SpendingVault does not score mechanical performance from the dollar total.

Use award IDs, not the $4,319,358,881.23 headline, to separate two companies. Subcontracted sheet-metal shops may be missing if the prime coded plumbing/HVAC. UEI and name changes are ordinary in the file.

Neighboring 2382 trade codes

Electrical contractors (238210) and residual specialty trades (238990) are separate pages. Adding them to $4,319,358,881.23 would mix wiring and catch-all trades with plumbing/HVAC. That recode is not this page.

Assistance without NAICS remains outside the 9,944-award count. For a mechanical firm that also performs grant-funded retrofits, open the recipient record. This guide stays on contract NAICS 238220 from USAspending.gov. Keep obligations distinct from outlays.

Service calls versus new-building mechanical packages

A new courthouse mechanical package tagged 236220 building construction will not raise the 9,944-award count. A chiller replacement tagged 238220 sits in $4,319,358,881.23 even if the same prime also holds a building-construction vehicle. SpendingVault does not merge those rows. The residual 238990 page is not a remainder subtracted from this named trade.

Searchers who want “all mechanical work” must still add construction, residual trades, and assistance. This page does not perform that recode. Cite contract NAICS 238220 only. Do not treat the row as an FEC occupation called plumber. The $4,319,358,881.23 figure remains an obligation stock on USAspending.gov. Modifications that cut a retrofit will lower the running total without publishing a comfort-complaint statistic on this hub. Open award rows for system-level descriptions. Neighboring 2382 lines stay on their own pages unless those awards were tagged 238220. A chiller swap tagged 238220 still sits in $4,319,358,881.23; a new-building package tagged 236220 does not. The 9,944 awards remain an action count, not a count of mechanical shops. Keep residual 238990 on its own page. Cite USAspending.gov contract NAICS 238220 only. Pipe and duct work tagged 238220 remains inside this rollup; electrical tagged 238210 does not. The $4,319,358,881.23 headline is still obligations, not outlays. Open award rows for equipment lists the NAICS hub does not publish.

Questions

How much has the federal government obligated under NAICS 238220?

USAspending.gov contract aggregates on SpendingVault show $4,319,358,881.23 in obligations across 9,944 awards tagged plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors. The number is obligations, not outlays. Assistance awards without NAICS are omitted. It is not residual specialty trades 238990, not electrical 238210, and not an FEC “contractor” string.

Does this include electrical contractors?

Electrical wiring contractors are NAICS 238210. Those awards will not add to the $4,319,358,881.23 total unless tagged 238220. The 9,944 awards are the plumbing/HVAC contract tag from USAspending.gov via SpendingVault. Adding 238210 is a recode you must document, not this page’s figure.

Is 238990 included in this total?

No. All other specialty trade contractors is a separate residual code. An award tagged 238990 will not add to the $4,319,358,881.23 figure. The 9,944 awards are NAICS 238220 only. Open the 238990 industry page for the residual trade rollup on USAspending.gov.

Are these figures cash outlays for HVAC work?

No. They are obligations: legally binding commitments on contract actions. Outlays are payments for work performed and are not this $4,319,358,881.23 rollup. A multi-year mechanical vehicle can obligate a large amount while invoices follow work tickets. SpendingVault cites USAspending.gov contract NAICS for the 9,944 awards.