AC Maintenance in Kissimmee, FL
Air conditioners here run from February through December, so January is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Osceola County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of cooling wears a system down
Your air conditioner runs February through December here, 11 months out of the year. One month off is not much rest for a compressor and fan motor.
Summer afternoons averaging 91°F keep that compressor working long hours to hold the house at temperature. A tune-up checks refrigerant levels, tests the capacitor before it fails, and cleans the coil so the unit is not fighting dirt on top of the heat. Catching a weak part early beats losing cooling on a 91°F afternoon.
- 11 months
- February through December, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 17 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 14 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in January, before homes here start needing cooling in February.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state license comes from the Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it is tied to the contractor, not to any single visit. Florida tested that contractor before handing out the license, and the license covers the business doing the work, not this particular maintenance call.
For a maintenance visit, that license is what stands behind the person in your driveway. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner to check the charge or recover refrigerant, federal law also requires EPA Section 608 certification, and that requirement holds in every state, not just Florida.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks the refrigerant charge, cleans or replaces the filter, and clears the condensate drain so it isn't blocked. They inspect the coils, since a dirty coil makes the system work harder to cool the same air. They also check electrical connections and test the capacitor and contactor, since those are the parts most likely to wear out from the system cycling on and off. Outside, they clean debris off the condenser unit and check that it's still sitting level and draining properly.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, ideally before the heat sets in. Homes here run their AC from February through December, so there's almost no real off season to catch a problem before it turns into a breakdown. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it leaves you without cooling on a 91 degree afternoon.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because a system that runs 11 months a year has almost no downtime to hide a small problem before it grows into a bigger one. Regular maintenance catches things like a failing capacitor or a coil caked with dirt, both of which make the unit work harder and shorten its life. It's also a chance for a technician to check the outdoor unit after storms, when wind and hail can knock debris into it or loosen connections without it being obvious from the outside.