When And How Frequently Should I Have My Heat Pump Or AC Unit Serviced?
Twice a year in Central Florida: once in late winter or early spring before the cooling season starts, and once in late summer or autumn. A heat pump needs both visits because it runs in both modes. A single annual visit is a northern schedule sold in a nine-month season.
The two visits, and what each is for
Before the season
The important one. Refrigerant charge verified against superheat and subcooling, capacitor microfarads measured against the rating, contactor inspected, condenser coil cleaned, condensate line cleared and treated, blower and evaporator checked, static pressure measured and recorded. This is the visit that finds the failure before August does.
After the season, before the heat
Condensate and drain pan after nine months of water, coil condition after a summer of running, and for a heat pump the reversing valve, defrost control and auxiliary heat strips checked before their short season. Also the visit after hurricane season, for tie-downs and storm damage.
A nine-month season is not a four-month season
Why twice rather than once, specifically here. The cooling season realistically runs March to November — average highs of 83–84°F in April and October, 91–92°F from June to August. A system that runs for nine months of the year has done, by the time of a single annual visit, roughly twice the work a northern system does between visits. The maintenance interval that manufacturers write for a national audience is not written for this.
Heat pumps specifically: a heat pump is the same machine in both seasons, so both modes need checking. The reversing valve and the defrost board sit unused for most of a Casselberry year and then are asked to work on the first cold morning in January. That is exactly when they are found to have failed.
The one measurement to insist on, in either visit: total external static pressure, written down. In a city where the median home was built in 1977 and 57.1% was built 1970–89, the duct system is the constraint, and a trend line of static pressure readings is the only way to see it coming.
What servicing costs, and the visit that is free
What it should cost, and what we will not claim: a one-off diagnostic or service call in this market is a researched $75–$150. A maintenance plan is worth its price when it costs less than the calls it replaces. What a Casselberry plan should include.
And the free visit almost nobody books: Duke Energy’s Home Energy Check. It costs nothing, it is a hard prerequisite for every Home Energy Improvement rebate, and it must have happened within the previous 24 months and before any installation.
Book the free Duke Energy Home Energy Check before you replace anything.
Duke Energy requires a free Home Energy Check completed within the previous 24 months to qualify for any Home Energy Improvement rebate. Replace the system first and apply afterwards and the application is denied — there is no retroactive path back.
It is a no-cost visit and it is the single most common way a Casselberry homeowner loses a four-figure rebate. If you are within a year of replacing, book it now, before you call anyone for a quote. Duke’s rebate line is 800.254.8535.
Never had it serviced?
Start with the pre-season visit and ask for the static pressure and capacitor readings in writing. Those two numbers tell you where you stand.
Phone: (689) 308-3675 · Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Where the facts on this page come from
Every figure above is either a primary-source document or a named third-party cost guide. All of it was checked in September 2026. Fee schedules, rebate amounts and market prices change without notice — if you are about to spend money on one of these numbers, open the source and check it.