AC Maintenance in Montgomery, AL
Air conditioners here run from May through October, so April is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Montgomery County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Six months of Alabama heat wears on your AC
Your air conditioner runs from May through October here, six months a year, with summer afternoons averaging 91°F. That kind of heat keeps the compressor working hard for most of the year, and that wear shows up in a few places.
A tune-up checks the refrigerant level, since a low charge makes the compressor work harder and cool less. It includes cleaning the outdoor coil, since a coil caked with pollen or grass clippings cannot shed heat the way it should. And it includes checking the capacitor that gets the compressor and fan started, since a weak one is a common reason a unit will not start on a hot afternoon.
- 6 months
- May through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 11 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 34 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in April, before homes here start needing cooling in May.
- 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.
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors tests and licenses HVAC contractors before they can take on work like this. The license belongs to the contractor, not to the individual visit, so it tells you the business behind the work has met the state's standard, not that any one technician showed up with fresh paperwork.
For a maintenance visit, the part of the job that carries real risk is anyone touching the refrigerant side of your air conditioner. Federal law requires that technician to hold EPA Section 608 certification, no matter what state they work in. That certification is separate from the Alabama license. Between the two, you have a contractor the state has vetted and a technician who is federally certified to handle refrigerant safely.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant levels, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the electrical connections and capacitor. They also check the condensate drain for clogs and look at airflow across the evaporator coil. Part of the visit should include checking that the thermostat is calling for cooling correctly and that the system cycles on and off the way it should.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, ideally before the season it works hardest. Homes in Montgomery run their air conditioner from May through October, six months straight, with afternoons averaging 91°F. Getting the system checked in spring, before that stretch starts, catches a weak capacitor or a dirty coil before it has to carry that kind of load.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, especially somewhere the system runs six months a year like it does here. A neglected coil or a low refrigerant charge makes the system work harder and wears it down faster over a long cooling season. Montgomery has also logged eleven hail events and thirty four damaging wind events over the past ten years, so a yearly visit is also a chance to catch storm damage to the outdoor unit before it turns into a bigger repair.