AC Maintenance in Gaithersburg, MD
Air conditioners here run from June through September, so May 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.
Four months of hard running, every year
Your air conditioner in Gaithersburg works hardest from June through September, with summer afternoons averaging 85°F. That is four straight months of long run times, and it is where wear shows up first.
A tune-up before that stretch catches what those months will find on their own. Low refrigerant, a dirty coil, a capacitor going weak. Caught in spring, these are a simple fix. Found in the middle of summer, they are a breakdown on the day you need the unit most.
- 4 months
- June through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 58 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 443 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.
Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so the person the Maryland board tested and recorded is the business itself. Maryland's board keeps that record for HVAC contractors across the state, not by county or city.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the work. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system, checking the charge or the sealed line set, federal law requires EPA Section 608 certification on top of the state license, no matter what state the work is done in.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and electrical connections. They also change or check the filter and make sure the condensate drain isn't clogged. Anyone working on the refrigerant side has to hold an EPA Section 608 certification, and in Maryland the contractor they work for has to be licensed by the state HVACR board.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the season it runs hardest. Here that means getting it looked at before June, since the system runs from June through September with afternoons averaging 85°F. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a dirty coil before it causes a breakdown during the months you actually need the system.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes. Problems like a failing capacitor or a low refrigerant charge often don't show themselves until the system is under load, and maintenance catches those before the first hot week. This area has also seen frequent damaging wind and hail over the past ten years, so a yearly check is a chance to look at the outdoor unit for storm damage too.