AC Maintenance in Concord, NH
Air conditioners here run from July through August, so June is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Merrimack County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of work, but hard work while it lasts
Your air conditioner in Concord only has to earn its keep in July and August. Summer afternoons average 79°F, and the unit runs to keep up on the hottest of those days. It sits idle most of the year, then gets asked to work hard in a short stretch.
That pattern of sitting still and then running hard is what a tune-up checks for. A technician looks at the refrigerant charge, the coil, and the electrical connections before the heat arrives, so a weak capacitor or a dirty coil gets found in the spring instead of on a 79°F afternoon when the house needs the cooling most. Merrimack County has also seen its share of hail and wind, 21 hail events and 79 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so a check of the outdoor unit for storm damage is worth doing too.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 21 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 79 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in June, before homes here start needing cooling in July.
- 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.
New Hampshire has no state license for HVAC contractors.
There is no state record of HVAC contractors in New Hampshire at all, no test, no license number, nothing on file in Concord. In Merrimack County, as everywhere else in the state, the trade is open. Anyone can advertise as an HVAC contractor without answering to a state board for the work.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, the protection that does exist comes from Washington, not the state. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side of your system, to check the charge or get at the coil, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal requirement in every state, not a New Hampshire rule, and it covers the refrigerant work specifically, not the contractor generally.
Source: New Hampshire General Court
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant pressure, cleans the condenser coil, tests the capacitor, and checks that the system is drawing the right amount of current. They also change or check the filter and clear the condensate drain so it isn't backing up. Anyone working on the refrigerant side has to hold an EPA Section 608 certification, that part of the law applies everywhere. New Hampshire doesn't license HVAC contractors the way some states do, so ask directly about their experience and what they check before they start.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the weather turns warm, is enough for most systems. Here, that means getting it looked at before July, since cooling season only runs July and August. A yearly check catches a weak capacitor or a dirty coil before it turns into a breakdown during the two months you actually need the system.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, mainly because it catches small problems while they're still small. A dirty coil or a failing capacitor makes the system work harder, and that shows up as a breakdown eventually, usually on a hot afternoon when you need it most. With only two months of real cooling weather a year here, a system that fails in July doesn't get much of a break before it has to run again in August.