What an AC tune-up actually includes.

“Tune-up” means whatever the company saying it wants it to mean. That is the whole problem with the word. Here is what the three visits on the price list actually cover, so you have something to compare against wherever you end up calling.

The federal ENERGY STAR maintenance guidance covers the same ground in general terms. This is the Phoenix version, with the prices attached.

The check-up

For a system that is running. It is a measurement visit, not a maintenance visit.

• Supply and return temperatures, and the split between them
• Suction and head pressures
• Voltage and amp draw on the compressor, the condenser fan, and the blower
• Capacitor microfarads measured against the rating on the can
• Contactor condition
• Filter and airflow check
• Drain line flow check
• Condition of the coils, with photos
• A written record of all of it, which you keep

That is it, and that is the point. You get a straight read on where the system stands. Nothing gets cleaned, nothing gets adjusted.

Each additional system in the same visit is priced separately and lower, because the drive is already paid for.

The tune-up

Everything in the check-up, plus the work:

• Outdoor coil rinsed down, water only
• Blower compartment and blower wheel inspected, cleaned where it can be done without pulling the assembly
• Condensate drain cleared and flushed
• Float switch tested, not just looked at
• Electrical connections checked and tightened
• Contactor contacts inspected
• Thermostat operation and cycle check
• Filter changed, if you have one on hand

Roof and attic units carry their own tune-up price, because getting to them and working on them is a different job. It is on the list up front rather than appearing on the invoice afterwards.

A second system on the same visit is less. So is a repeat tune-up inside twelve months, because the second year of looking at the same equipment is genuinely less work than the first.

The deep clean tune-up

Everything in the tune-up, plus a chemical clean of the condenser coil rather than a water rinse.

This is the one that matters in the Valley. Monsoon dust packs into the fin pack and sets, and a garden hose moves the surface of it and nothing else. A fouled coil cannot reject heat, so head pressure climbs, the compressor works harder, run times get longer, and the power bill goes up while the house gets less comfortable.

If it has been several seasons, or if you can see a grey mat through the fins, the chemical clean is the one worth buying. A coil in that state is also a common reason a system runs all day without cooling. A coil deep clean can also be bought on its own, or added to a standard tune-up for less than it costs alone.

How to judge anyone else’s tune-up

Three questions, and they work on any company in the Valley:

1. What is on the checklist? Ask before booking. If the answer is vague, the visit will be too.
2. Do I get the readings in writing? Pressures, amps, microfarads, temperature split. Numbers, not adjectives. A company that measures is happy to show you; one that does not has nothing to hand over.
3. What happens if you find something? The right answer is that you hear the price and agree to it before any work starts.

Every visit here leaves that written record whether anything was wrong or not. Take it to another shop for a second opinion if you want. That is part of what it is for.