AC Maintenance in Moundsville, WV
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 Marshall County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real work, then a long rest outside
Your air conditioner in Moundsville only has to work June through August, with afternoons averaging 82. Then it sits outside the rest of the year, through whatever the weather brings. That kind of stop-and-start life means a problem from last summer can go unnoticed all winter and still be there when you switch it back on.
Marshall County has seen 8 hail events and 36 damaging wind events over the last ten years, with hail as large as 1.75 inches. The outdoor unit takes all of that sitting in the open. A tune-up is when a contractor checks the coil fins and cabinet for that kind of damage, along with the parts that wear from summer use, before the next stretch of hot afternoons asks the system to run.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 8 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 36 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.
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license is issued to the contractor, not to each job, so it is the business and the person running it that West Virginia has tested and put on record, not this particular maintenance visit. Anyone doing HVAC work in the state under that license has already met the Commissioner of Labor's requirements to hold it.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, the part of the job that carries its own separate rule is the refrigerant. If the technician opens that side of the system to check the charge or deal with a leak, federal law requires them to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that holds true in every state, not just here. In West Virginia, that certification sits alongside the state license rather than instead of it.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician cleans or replaces the filter, checks refrigerant charge, and inspects the coils, since dirt on either coil makes the system work harder to move heat. They also check the electrical connections, test the capacitor, and clear the condensate drain so it isn't clogged. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of the system has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, so that part of the job only happens if they're licensed for it.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the weather turns warm. Here that means getting it done before June, since cooling season runs through August and you don't want to find a problem on the first hot afternoon. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge before it turns into a breakdown.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most breakdowns start as small problems that maintenance catches early, like a failing capacitor or a coil losing airflow to dirt. Summer afternoons here average 82°F, and an air conditioner that isn't running right will struggle to keep up on those days. It also matters after a storm. This area has seen 36 damaging wind events and 8 hail events over the past ten years, and a unit that took a hit is worth having checked before it's asked to run hard again.