AC Maintenance in Delaware, OH
Air conditioners here run from June through August, so May is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Delaware County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of hard running, then nothing
Your air conditioner in Delaware County works hard from June through August and then sits idle the rest of the year. Summer afternoons average 83°F, so on most days the compressor is running for hours at a stretch to keep up.
The outdoor unit also has to survive whatever the weather brings while it sits outside all year. The area has logged 94 damaging wind events and 12 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind can knock the cabinet out of true or bend the fan, and hail that size can dent the fins the coil depends on to shed heat. A tune-up checks that the cabinet is sound, the fins are straight, and the unit is ready for the months it will actually be asked to run.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 12 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 94 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in May, before homes here start needing cooling in June.
- 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.
In Ohio, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties.
Ohio does not license HVAC contractors for home work. That decision is left to the counties, so whether Delaware County requires a license is a question of local rule, not state rule. The state does define what a home contractor is, and that definition requires carrying at least $250,000 in liability insurance. It says nothing about training or testing. It is a condition on the insurance, not a credential on the work.
For an air conditioner maintenance visit, the protection that reaches into this job comes from outside Ohio's rule. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of the system has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that holds true in every state and every county, including this one. That federal certification is the credential that applies to this job regardless of what Delaware County decides to require on its own.
Source: Ohio Legislative Service Commission
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician cleans the condenser coil, checks the refrigerant charge, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the condensate drain, since a clogged drain is one of the more common reasons a system backs up and shuts off. They also check the thermostat calls and look at the filter, though changing that between visits is on you. Everything gets checked for the wear that turns into a breakdown once summer heat pushes the system hard.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, done before the heat sets in. Here that means getting it checked before June, since your system will run hardest through the summer months when afternoons average 83°F. A spring visit catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it turns into a system that won't keep up on the hottest days.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, mainly because it catches small problems while they're still cheap to fix. A capacitor that's starting to weaken or a coil that's getting dirty will keep running for a while, then fail on one of the hot summer afternoons when you need the system most. Regular maintenance also keeps a manufacturer's warranty valid, since most require proof of upkeep if you ever need to make a claim.