AC Maintenance in Asheboro, NC
Air conditioners here run from May through September, so April is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Randolph County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Asheboro summer add up fast
Your air conditioner runs from May through September here, and on the afternoons that hit 88°F it does not get a break. That is the stretch where a weak capacitor or a low charge shows up, usually on the hottest day, when the system has been asked to run the longest.
Randolph County has also logged 202 damaging wind events and 19 hail storms over the past ten years, some with hail up to 2 inches. That kind of weather can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock it out of alignment without you knowing it. A tune-up checks the coil and the cabinet for that kind of damage before the next hot stretch puts a strain on it.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 19 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 202 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.
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state board tests contractors before they can hold this license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers the maintenance visit to your air conditioner as it would a full installation.
For a maintenance call, the license is what stands behind the person in your house, but if the technician opens the refrigerant side of your system to check the charge, federal law also requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That certification exists everywhere in the country, not just North Carolina, because refrigerant work carries its own risk no matter where the system sits.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician cleans the condenser coil outside and checks the evaporator coil, since dirt on either one makes the system work harder to move heat. They check refrigerant level, because too little or too much both cause problems. They test the capacitor and contactor, the parts that get the compressor and fan running, and check amp draw on the motors to catch one that's wearing out. They flush or check the condensate drain so it isn't clogged, and they check the thermostat is calling for cooling correctly and the airflow at the vents is right. Anyone touching the refrigerant side has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement everywhere.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the season it has to work hardest. Around Asheboro that means getting it checked before May, since the system runs from May through September with summer afternoons averaging 88°F. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before a hot afternoon turns it into a no-cool call.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of what fails on an air conditioner fails slowly and gives warning signs a technician can catch before the unit quits. A weak capacitor or a coil caked with dirt makes the system run longer and harder to hold the same temperature, and that strain is what shortens its life. It matters more here given the system runs a full five months a year in summer heat that regularly hits 88°F, so there isn't much slack for a unit that's already struggling.