AC Maintenance in La Grange, KY
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 Oldham County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of real heat, every year
Your air conditioner runs from May through September in Oldham County, and on those afternoons that average 86°F it runs long and often. Every hour it runs, the coil pulls heat out of the house and the fan pushes it back outside. That many hours a season builds up dirt on the coil and wear in the parts that start it, and both show up as harder starts and warm air blowing from the vents.
A tune-up catches the coil before it is coated too thick to shed heat, and checks the electrical parts before one of them fails on a hot afternoon. It also gives someone a reason to look at the outdoor unit after storms. Oldham County has had 60 damaging wind events and 23 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches across, and a bent fin or dented cabinet from one of those is easy to miss until the unit is struggling to keep the house cool.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 23 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 60 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.
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not issued per job. It belongs to the company or individual before they ever show up at your house, and it stays on file with the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction.
For maintenance on an air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If the visit involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, checking the charge or recovering refrigerant, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal requirement, the same in every state, separate from Kentucky's license.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks the refrigerant level, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and electrical connections. They also check the condensate drain, since a clogged drain can back up and cause water damage. The filter gets looked at too, though that part is something you can do yourself between visits. Anyone touching the refrigerant side has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, so that part of the job always falls to a licensed technician.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before cooling season starts. Homes here run the air conditioner May through September, so getting it checked in spring means it is ready before the summer afternoons hit 86°F. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it turns into a breakdown once the system is running every day.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of what fails in an air conditioner shows warning signs first. A weak capacitor, a dirty coil, or a low refrigerant charge all make the system work harder before they cause it to quit. Catching those during a yearly check means fewer surprise breakdowns during the months you actually need the system running.