AC Maintenance in Scranton, PA
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 Lackawanna County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Two months of work, ten months of sitting still
Your air conditioner in Scranton only has to work in July and August, when afternoons average 78°F. The rest of the year it sits outside, doing nothing, exposed to whatever the weather does.
And the weather here does something. Lackawanna County has logged 127 damaging wind events and 21 hail storms over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can drive debris into the cabinet or bend the fins on your outdoor coil, and hail that size can do the same. None of it stops the unit from running when you finally switch it on, but it can mean the system is working harder than it should to do the same job. A tune-up before summer is when a contractor checks the coil, the refrigerant charge, and the electrical connections, so the two months you need cooling aren't the two months you find out something is wrong.
- 2 months
- July through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 21 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 127 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.
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
The registration puts the business on file with the Bureau of Consumer Protection. It does not mean anyone tested the contractor's trade knowledge, and it is not a license. Cities and towns in Pennsylvania cannot layer their own HVAC license on top of it, so this registration is the only state-level record you get, wherever in Lackawanna County you are.
For a maintenance visit on your air conditioner, the protection that matters is federal, not state. If the technician opens the refrigerant side of the system, checking charge, hunting a leak, recovering refrigerant, they are required to hold EPA Section 608 certification, and that requirement holds in every state regardless of what Pennsylvania does or doesn't license.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant levels, cleans the condenser coil, and tests the capacitor and contactor for wear. They also check the evaporator coil, clear the condensate drain, and confirm the thermostat is calling for cooling correctly. Outside, the condenser unit sits through hail and wind here, so the technician also looks over the fins and the unit's cabinet for storm damage. A clean filter is part of the visit too, since airflow across the coil affects how well the whole system cools.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, ideally before the weather turns warm. Scranton only needs cooling through July and August, so scheduling the check in late spring means the system is ready before those two months hit. Waiting until a hot afternoon to find out something is wrong means going without cooling while it gets fixed.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because a system that only runs two months a year still needs a working capacitor, clean coils, and correct refrigerant charge when that stretch of heat arrives. A yearly check catches a worn part before it fails on one of the few weeks the system actually matters. It also gives a contractor a chance to look at the outdoor unit for any damage from wind or hail, since Scranton has had both over the years.