Back to Blog

Your AC Tune-Up Checklist

Woman smiling and watching HVAC technician perform AC maintenance.

Wondering what exactly goes into an AC tune-up/routine maintenance? There’s actually quite a bit for our technicians to get through when they visit your home for seasonal maintenance before the summer hits!

Here’s a list of the things your technician does while giving your AC unit its seasonal check-up:

Check the unit’s refrigerant level and add more if necessary

Refrigerant is the substance that helps remove heat from your home. Without enough refrigerant, nothing else works!

Remove dirt or debris from outdoor units

Dirt and debris can impede the function of the complex systems in your outdoor unit, physically block moving parts, or cause shorts.

Inspect coil and cabinet

The evaporator coil lives in a cabinet that’s attached to your air handler inside your home. This is where the AC system picks up heat from your home for the refrigerant, producing cold air. If it’s dirty or has drainage issues, then you’re likely to have freezing problems.

Lubricate fan motor, belt, and blades

No fan blowing means no air pushing around your home and cooling you off. Lubrication makes sure it all works efficiently.

Inspect tubing for any damage

Any problem with the tubing of your AC unit can cause loss of efficiency or even complete non-functionality. By spotting these problems early, we can spare you a lot of headaches (and a potentially hard-to-diagnose problem).

Clean blower assembly and housing

Keeping your blower assembly clean greatly reduces the risk of it failing, makes sure it runs efficiently and helps keep your air quality good.

Replace or clean air filters

Every HVAC system has air filters of one type or another. If they’re replaceable, we’ll go ahead and replace them, though most should be replaced more frequently than your annual or semi-annual tune-up. If they’re cleanable, we’ll go ahead and clean them; some of these can’t wait for annual maintenance, so make sure you read up!

Inspect ductwork

Faulty ductwork can cause a lot of problems. Poorly designed ducts will always waste energy by making it harder for your blower to push air to all the rooms that need it. They can also build up dust and debris over time making that problem worse. Even good ducts can develop leaks or become obstructed over time, wasting your electricity during the summer.

Operate system, inspect starting capabilities, and identify any abnormal noises, odors, or other facets of the system

We want to power on your system and make sure nothing jumps out as an immediate problem. Trouble starting your system or odd behavior on startup can end up costing you a lot, even if it’s not actually preventing the system from working; ACs use a lot of energy during startup.

Measure outdoor and indoor dry bulb temperatures

Thermostat problems account for a huge amount of trouble in air conditioner systems, so we want to make sure your bulbs are showing the temperatures they ought to.

Inspect heat exchanger

Outside of your home, your air conditioner has a second heat exchanger, akin to the evaporator coil we talked about earlier. This is where hot refrigerant cools back off so it’ll be able to pick up heat again inside of your home. If it’s not working, the refrigerant can’t pull heat in and leave cool air.

Complete system operation report and recommend any necessary repairs or replacement parts

Once all of that is done, we want to put together an accurate, transparent report including any repairs or component replacements we think are necessary to keep your system running healthy. These may not be immediate problems that are preventing your system from running, but they might develop into much bigger issues if you leave them unattended.

Now you know what our Arronco Comfort Air technicians do during one of our thorough AC tune-ups. If you’re ready to schedule your seasonal tune-up, contact us online to schedule service!

Contact Us

Today!

Subpage Bottom

  • If this is an emergency service request, please call 859-525-6407

Proudly Serving

Northern Kentucky
and Cincinnati, OH

Lexington   |   Cincinnati   |   Louisville   |   And Surrounding Areas

View More