Lower Utility Bills & Stop AC Breakdowns
In a climate where an air conditioner runs close to year-round, maintenance isn't seasonal housekeeping — it's what keeps a hard-working system from failing in August. A/C Now runs preventive tune-up plans across the Treasure Coast and northern Palm Beach County that look after the cooling side of your system and, if you have a heat pump, the heating side as well.
The salt-tinged coastal humidity works on your equipment all year — corroding coils and clogging condensate drains with algae. A 21-point tune-up gets ahead of the parts that wear fastest, and its checklist includes a rinse of the salt and road grime off the outdoor coil, an inspection of the blower wheel that moves air through your home, and a test of the capacitor, a small part that tends to give out in peak heat. Between visits, keep the condensate drain clear, because a backed-up line can put water on your floor.
Maintenance Comfort Shield Protection Plans
Gold Plan
- 🟢2 Annual 21-Point Precision Tune-Ups
- 🟢$39 Member Diagnostic Fee (Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM; $129 after-hours/weekends)
- 🟢15% Discount on Parts & Labor Repairs
Platinum Plan
- ★4 Annual 21-Point Precision Tune-Ups
- ★$39 Member Diagnostic Fee (Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM; $129 after-hours/weekends)
- ★15% Discount on Parts & Labor Repairs
One-Time Precision Tune-Up
Get a full 21-point tune-up, including the outdoor coil rinse, blower wheel inspection and capacitor test, for a flat one-time rate of $99 (Normally $129). A good fit if you want a single visit without joining a plan.
$99 per system, residential only. Repairs and parts extra. Offer ends October 31, 2026.
Request Your Maintenance Appointment
Book your tune-up today. Choose a plan or a one-time visit, pick a preferred date, and use the notes box to flag any noise, leak or warm room.
*Standard business hours diagnostic fee is $89 ($39 for Comfort Shield Protection Plan members). After-hours weekdays and weekend emergency diagnostic service is $169 ($129 for members).
Florida AC Hurricane Hardening & Snowbird Re-Open Checklists
Protect your air conditioner from tropical storm power surges, salt-air corrosion, and long-absence humidity damage with these two practical Florida checklists.
AC Hurricane Hardening Checklist
Steps to take before and after a Florida tropical storm:
- ✓ Pre-Cool Thermal Mass: While you still have power, set the thermostat a few degrees cooler so the house holds some coolness.
- ✓ Tie-Down Strap Audit: Confirm straps and pad anchors are tight.
- ✓ Pre-Storm Breaker Cut: Then turn off the AC breaker to block surges.
- ✓ Post-Storm Restart Check: Wait for steady power; if the unit flooded or took debris, leave it off until it's inspected.
- ✓ $59 Pre-Storm Inspection: Have a technician check the system early in the season (Learn More & Book $59 Inspection).
Snowbird Home Re-Open Checklist
Essential pre-occupancy inspection steps for seasonal homeowners coming back after the summer away:
- ✓ Condensate Line Vinegar Flush: Pour 1/2 cup white vinegar into drain line T-pipe to clear algae build-up from summer vacancy.
- ✓ Humidistat & Wi-Fi Sync: Calibrate humidistat targets (under 55% RH) and test remote Wi-Fi thermostat accessibility.
- ✓ Coil & Filter Inspection: Replace media air filter and inspect indoor air handler drain pan for standing water before continuous operation.
- ✓ Book Pre-Season Tune-Up: Schedule your $99 one-time 21-point precision tune-up (normally $129) to help maintain peak efficiency.
HVAC Equipment & Environmental Factors in Hobe Sound, FL
In Hobe Sound, where homes range from wooded inland lots near Jonathan Dickinson State Park to coastal properties by Jupiter Island, maintenance needs are genuinely different across the community. The park-adjacent homes deal with heavy pollen and leaf debris; the island-side properties face salt air off Jupiter Sound. One visit cadence doesn't fit all of them.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park's oaks, pines and palms put a lot of pollen and leaf litter into the air around Hobe Sound, and outdoor units on wooded lots collect it on the coil faster than units in open neighborhoods. Oak pollen season in late winter and early spring is the worst of it, so a spring tune-up with its coil rinse is well timed, and sweeping leaves and pine needles away from the unit between visits helps it breathe. For seasonal rentals and businesses along Bridge Road that get busiest in winter, a fall tune-up booked before the season fills up catches whatever wore out over the summer. Across the bridge, Jupiter Island homes face the full force of the salt air, and a larger home there may have several systems; each one needs its own tune-up. In older Hobe Sound homes, the drain pan under the indoor coil deserves a look as well. Metal pans can rust through with age, and a leaking pan can drip into the ceiling or the floor around the air handler long before anyone notices, so if you see rust or water near your air handler, call before the damage spreads.
🌧️ Climate Reality Check: High Water Table & Humidity Control
Long, humid summers make moisture removal as important as cooling, and an oversized system that cools fast and shuts off leaves the air damp. Downpours on ground with a high water table can also leave a unit at grade standing in water; an elevated equipment stand, which A/C Now installs, lifts it clear.
Hobe Sound covers a wide range of homes, from modest concrete-block ranches inland to large waterfront houses near Jupiter Island, but the salt air doesn't care about the difference. Whatever the house, the outdoor coil gets rinsed of salt and debris as part of every tune-up. Homes right on Jupiter Sound and the Intracoastal take the heaviest salt, and two tune-ups a year, the rhythm the Gold Plan covers, is a sensible minimum there; the Platinum Plan includes four visits for owners who want more. Toward Tequesta and the south end of town, older systems eventually reach the point where repairs stop making sense. When one does, the new system is sized to the house with a load calculation rather than matched to the old unit, and A/C Now pulls the permit and hauls the old equipment away. For snowbirds, fall is the time to book: a system that sat idle all summer should have its drain cleared, its filter changed and its thermostat batteries checked before you're back in the house.
Frequently Asked AC Maintenance Questions
Common questions about maintenance schedules and the Comfort Shield plan.
My Hobe Sound home is used seasonally — what maintenance should happen before and after we're away?
Before you leave: clear the drain line, put in a fresh filter, and set a higher away temperature instead of turning the system off, so it keeps drying out the closed house. If you have a pool, check that its pump timer is set. When you return: book a 21-point tune-up, coil rinse and capacitor test included, so the system gets a full look after the idle months.
How do I protect a Hobe Sound AC system during hurricane season when the home is vacant?
Leave the thermostat in away mode at a raised setting rather than off, so the system keeps dehumidifying and mildew doesn't take hold in a closed-up house. Keep the system powered so it can run while you are away, unless someone can switch it off before a storm and back on afterward; clear the drain line before you go, and have a neighbor or property manager check the house after any storm.
Does the proximity to Jonathan Dickinson State Park affect indoor air quality as well as the outdoor unit?
It can. Pollen and fine particles from the park's vegetation find their way inside on clothes, pets and open doors, and whatever the filter misses can settle on the indoor coil. A higher-MERV media filter catches more of it, and a UV lamp mounted at the indoor coil helps keep mold and other growth in check between visits. The outdoor coil, meanwhile, gets rinsed at every tune-up.