Maintenance in Washington DC
A tune-up before each season: cooling in spring, heating in autumn. Flat priced, booked in advance, and the cheapest hour you will spend on the system all year.
- Diagnostic fee
- Not charged
- Typical total
- $150 – $250
- Usual response
- Booked in advance
- On site
- 45 – 90 minutes
At a glance
Findings quoted, never auto-repaired
What a tune-up covers
A visit is flat priced, so a technician has no reason to rush it or to find things that are not there. Anything that does need fixing is quoted and approved like any other repair.
Coil and condenser cleaning
A condenser packed with cottonwood or a coil furred with dust makes the system work harder for the same result. This is most of where the efficiency goes.
Included
Refrigerant charge check
Measured, not guessed. A system low on refrigerant has a leak — topping it up without finding the leak is a bill you pay again next year.
Included
Electrical and capacitor test
Capacitors fail gradually and can be measured before they strand you. Replacing a weak one in April is a tune-up line; replacing it in July is an emergency call.
Included
Condensate drain clearing
The clog that eventually finds your ceiling. Two minutes with a vacuum in spring, versus drywall in August.
Included
Safety checks on gas heat
Heat exchanger inspection, flue draft, and a carbon monoxide reading. This is the part of an autumn tune-up that is not about comfort.
Included
Filter change and airflow
Filter replaced, static pressure checked. High static pressure is the quiet cause of a lot of expensive failures.
Filter at cost
Between visits, these are yours
None of this needs a technician, and doing it makes the difference between a tune-up finding nothing and finding something.
- 01Change the filter every 1–3 months — sooner with pets or during renovation work
- 02Keep two feet clear around the outdoor unit, and cut back anything growing into it
- 03Pour a cup of vinegar down the condensate line each spring
- 04Listen for new noises; a sound that changed is worth reporting before it becomes a failure
Still not sorted?
Request in the app and a verified company usually accepts within a few minutes.
Ranges are indicative of the DC market, not quotes, and not yet drawn from completed NovaAir jobs. Your price is whatever the technician quotes for your system, and you approve it before any work starts.