Twice a year minimum — once before cooling season, once before heating. Restaurants and heavy-use buildings should be quarterly with monthly filter checks. Warranty terms often require documented service anyway.
Twice a year, minimum
Every commercial system should get serviced at least once before cooling season and once before heating season. That is not a sales pitch — it is what the equipment manufacturers assume when they publish expected equipment life. Skip a few seasons and you are running a system nobody has verified in years.
When twice a year is not enough
- Restaurants — grease-loaded air clogs coils and filters fast. Quarterly is the honest number; monthly filter checks are cheap insurance.
- Heavy-traffic retail — doors open hundreds of times a day and filters do the work of the whole building’s dust load.
- Buildings running 16+ hours a day — equipment hours stack up faster than calendar months. More runtime = more service.
- Anything under warranty — many commercial warranties require documented service. A skipped year can void coverage on the part you will need.
- Allergy complaints or air-quality issues — that is a sign filtration and coil cleaning need attention more often than twice a year.
What a visit actually covers
Filter replacement, coil condition, refrigerant level, belt wear, electrical connections, thermostat and control operation, condensate drains, and a written record of what was found. On a maintenance agreement, that visit is scheduled — you do not have to remember it.
What skipped service costs
The filter that costs a few dollars becomes the frozen coil that shuts down the AC. The belt that would have been a $30 line item on a tune-up becomes the dead blower motor. Small, known costs or big, surprise ones — that is the whole trade. The full math is here.
If it has been over a year since anyone touched the system, the next visit is already overdue. See what our maintenance plans cover or call (267) 227-8115 — we can tell you what your building actually needs.