AC Maintenance in Sanford, FL
Air conditioners here run from March through November, so February is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Seminole County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of cooling wears on a system
Your air conditioner runs from March through November here, nine months a year. On a 92 degree afternoon it doesn't get much of a break, it just keeps working to hold the house down. That kind of run time adds up on the parts that keep the unit going, the capacitor, the contactor, the condenser fan.
Seminole County has also seen 52 hail events and 30 damaging wind events over the past ten years. A condenser sits outside through all of that. A tune-up checks the coil fins and the cabinet for storm damage along with the wear that comes from nine months of steady use, so a problem gets caught while it's still small.
- 9 months
- March through November, your air conditioner is on duty
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 52 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 30 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in February, before homes here start needing cooling in March.
- Jan
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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.
That license means the state tested this contractor before letting them work, and the Construction Industry Licensing Board keeps a record of who they are. It covers the contractor, not the individual visit, so the same license that lets them wire a new system also lets them come out for a routine tune-up.
Maintenance on an air conditioner usually means checking the refrigerant charge, the coils, and the electrical connections. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system to check the charge or add refrigerant, federal law requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that rule applies the same way in every state. In Florida, the state license is what stands behind the work itself.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and electrical connections. They also check the blower and the condensate drain, since a clogged drain line is one of the more common reasons an AC stops cooling. Outside, the condenser sits exposed to weather, so the technician looks it over for corrosion or damage while they're there.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year is the standard, ideally before the weather turns warm. Homes here run their AC from March through November, nine months of the year, so the unit gets far more hours of work than it would somewhere with a short summer. That long run time makes a yearly check worth doing before the season starts rather than after something fails.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, especially here. Summer afternoons average 92°F over nine months, and a unit that's low on refrigerant or has a dirty coil has to work harder to keep up, which shortens its life. The area has also seen 52 hail events and 30 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so a yearly check is a chance to catch storm damage to the outdoor unit before it turns into a bigger repair.