Quick answer: twice a year in Florida, once before summer and once in fall. Here's why our climate needs more than the once-a-year advice you see elsewhere.
Quick answer: in Florida, have your AC professionally serviced twice a year, ideally in spring before the heat arrives and again in fall. Change a standard 1-inch filter every month during summer. Systems here run 8 to 10 months a year, roughly twice the hours of a system up north.
Why twice a year
- Long run hours wear capacitors, contactors and motors faster.
- High humidity means the condensate drain works hard and clogs more often.
- Near the coast, salt air builds up on the outdoor coil and needs regular fresh-water rinsing.
- Pollen and lawn debris clog outdoor coils during spring.
What a tune-up should include
- Cleaning and inspecting the outdoor and indoor coils
- Clearing and treating the condensate drain
- Testing capacitors, contactors and electrical connections
- Checking refrigerant pressures and temperature split
- Testing heat mode before winter
What you can do between visits
Change the filter, keep two feet of clearance around the outdoor unit, and pour a cup of vinegar into the drain line access every few months. Our Always Sunny Club covers both yearly tune-ups and puts you first in line when a heat wave hits.
Sunshine State Heating & Air technical team
Florida state certified HVAC contractor, license CAC1817890 · Google Guaranteed · serving Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns counties since 2014
Our guides are written and reviewed by the licensed technicians who run our service calls out of Bunnell, Florida. Family owned and operated since 2014, we work on residential systems across Flagler, Volusia and St. Johns counties every day, and everything published here reflects what we actually find in the field.
Published October 4, 2026 · Reviewed by our licensed team on October 4, 2026