AC Maintenance in Madisonville, 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 Hopkins 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 works hardest from May through September, and on a lot of those afternoons it's fighting to keep up with 87°F outside. That is five straight months where the compressor and the fan motor barely get a break.
Hopkins County has also seen its share of rough weather, including 68 damaging wind events and 19 hail events over the past ten years, one dropping hail near two inches wide. Storms like that can bend the fins on your outdoor unit or knock it out of alignment, and it can still run while it's damaged. A tune-up is when someone checks the coil, the refrigerant charge, and the electrical connections before that kind of wear turns into a system that won't cool your house at all.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 19 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 68 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 Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction tests contractors before they can take HVAC jobs in Kentucky, and the license that comes out of that stays with the contractor, not with any one visit. So the license you're checking is the contractor's record, built up over every job they've done, not something issued fresh for this one.
For maintenance on your air conditioner, that same technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification if the visit involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, checking pressures or handling refrigerant. That certification is federal and required everywhere, separate from the Kentucky license. The state license accounts for who is allowed to run the job. The federal certification accounts for who is allowed to touch the refrigerant.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A contractor 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 an AC stops cooling. They also check the filter and take amp readings on the motors to see if any part is drawing more power than it should. Working on the refrigerant side requires EPA Section 608 certification, which any qualified technician will hold.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the season it has to work hardest. Here that means getting it looked at before May, since the unit will run steadily through September with summer afternoons averaging 87°F. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it causes a breakdown in the middle of a hot stretch.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of what causes a summer breakdown is something a contractor can catch ahead of time. A weak capacitor, a dirty coil, or a clogged condensate drain all show up during a check and all can cause the system to fail once it is under real load. With 5 months of cooling season here and afternoons regularly near 87°F, a unit that is not caught up on maintenance has more chances to fail when it matters most.