AC Maintenance in Crowley, LA
Air conditioners here run from April through October, so March is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Acadia Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Seven months of work in Crowley heat
Your air conditioner runs April through October here, seven months of the year, with summer afternoons averaging 91 degrees. That is a long stretch of the compressor cycling on and off to hold the house at temperature, with no real break in between.
A tune-up during that stretch checks the refrigerant charge and the condenser coil, the parts that move heat out of the house. A coil caked with dirt or a charge that has drifted low makes the system run longer to do the same job, and that strain is what wears a compressor down before its time.
- 7 months
- April through October, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 19 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 48 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in March, before homes here start needing cooling in April.
- 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.
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors issues that license after testing the contractor. The license covers the contractor, not each job, so the same license applies whether the work is a repair, a new install or a maintenance visit like this one.
For a maintenance visit, most of the work is mechanical. The technician checks the coil, the airflow, the electrical connections. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system, to check the charge or add refrigerant, federal law requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That rule applies no matter what state they work in. It is separate from the state license and covers a different part of the job.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil and the condensate drain to make sure it isn't clogged. They also check the filter and test the system through a full cooling cycle to see that it turns on, cools, and shuts off the way it should. Anyone working on the refrigerant side needs to hold EPA Section 608 certification, since that's federal law everywhere.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, in spring before the heat sets in. Homes here run the air conditioner April through October, seven months of cooling, so the system logs a lot of hours before summer even peaks. A check before that stretch catches a weak capacitor or a low charge before it turns into a system that won't keep up on a 91°F afternoon.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, especially with the kind of season this system has to get through. Seven months of cooling and summer highs averaging 91°F put real hours on the compressor and coils, and a system that's never checked is more likely to lose efficiency or fail during that stretch. Regular maintenance also gives a contractor the chance to catch a failing part while it still works, rather than after it quits on the hottest day of the year.