AC Maintenance in Conway, AR
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 Faulkner County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Arkansas heat is hard on a system
From May through September your air conditioner is working most days, and on a lot of those afternoons it's pushing against 91°F. That kind of stretch doesn't let a system rest. The compressor runs long hours, the coils stay under load, and anything already worn gets pushed closer to failing.
Faulkner County also sees its share of hail and wind, 64 hail events and 90 damaging wind events over the last ten years, with hailstones as large as 2.75 inches. That kind of weather can bend fins on the outdoor unit or knock it out of alignment without you noticing right away. A tune-up is when a contractor checks the coil and fins for that damage, tests refrigerant levels, and confirms the system is running the way it should before the next stretch of hot afternoons finds the problem for you.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 64 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 90 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.
Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor's business, not issued job by job, so the same license that qualifies them for a full installation covers a maintenance visit. Because the state sets this rule, no county or city in Arkansas can add its own license on top of it. Wherever you are in Faulkner County, the requirement is the same one.
For a maintenance visit, that state license is what stands behind the work. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system to check the charge or deal with a leak, they also need EPA Section 608 certification, which is federal and required everywhere, not something Arkansas adds on its own.
Source: Arkansas Department of Labor and Licensing
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor in the outdoor unit. Inside, they check the evaporator coil, inspect the blower, and confirm the condensate drain isn't clogged. They'll also test the system's startup and shutdown, since a unit that struggles to cycle on a mild day will struggle more when it's 91 degrees outside. A dirty coil or a low refrigerant charge makes the system run longer to cool the same house, and that's usually where the visit earns its keep.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the season it works hardest. Conway homes run the AC from May through September, so having it checked in spring catches problems before the heat sets in rather than during it. A yearly visit is also when a technician spots a weak capacitor or a coil going bad, the kind of wear that causes a breakdown on the hottest afternoon of the year instead of a mild one.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, for a system that has to run five months a year in summer highs averaging 91 degrees. Maintenance catches the parts that wear down under that kind of load, like a weak capacitor or a dirty coil, before they cause the unit to quit outright. Arkansas requires HVAC contractors to be licensed, so whoever does the check has met the state's requirements for the work.