AC Maintenance in Holland, MI
Air conditioners here run from June through August, so May is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Ottawa County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of hard running
Your air conditioner in Holland only has to work June through August, but it works hard those three months. Summer afternoons average 81°F, and the unit runs long hours to hold that back. A tune-up before the season starts checks refrigerant levels, cleans the coil, and tightens electrical connections that can loosen when a system sits idle the rest of the year.
Ottawa County has also logged 35 damaging wind events and 6 hail events over the past ten years, one hailstone as large as an inch. A service visit is a chance to check the outdoor unit for that kind of damage before the first hot day, when you need it to start and keep running.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 6 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 35 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in May, before homes here start needing cooling in June.
- 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.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Michigan licenses HVAC contractors through the Board of Mechanical Rules. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it covers the person and business doing the work rather than approving this particular visit.
For maintenance on your air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the person at your door. If the visit involves opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state on top of Michigan's license.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil outside, and looks at the electrical connections and capacitor. They also test how the system starts up and cycles, and make sure the drain line isn't clogged. Inside, they'll check the evaporator coil and confirm airflow is where it should be. None of this takes long, but skipping it lets small problems, like a dirty coil or a weak capacitor, turn into a system that quits on a hot afternoon.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the weather turns hot. Here that means getting it done before June, since cooling season only runs June through August. A yearly check catches the kind of wear that builds up over the rest of the year, so the system isn't working against a dirty coil or low refrigerant on the first 81 degree afternoon.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes. A system that gets checked every year runs more reliably and is less likely to fail during the three months it actually has to work. Cooling season here is short, so there's little room for the unit to be down while it waits on a repair. Regular maintenance also means a technician sees the system every year and can catch a wearing part before it fails outright.