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Aircon guides 4 min read Published 3 June 2026

How often should you service your air conditioner?

Skipping aircon servicing costs you on your electricity bill and risks compressor failure. Here's how often to service, and what a service includes.

Founder · FlowLeads
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Service at least once a year

Service your air conditioner at least once a year — ideally before summer, when you'll lean on it hardest. Homes in dusty areas, or units that run most of the day, benefit from twice-yearly servicing.

Why it matters

  • Lower running cost. A clogged filter or dirty coil makes the unit work harder for the same cooling, pushing up your electricity bill.
  • Prevents big repairs. Regular servicing catches low gas, blocked drains, and worn parts before they cause a compressor failure (the most expensive part to replace).
  • Healthier air. Clean filters mean less dust, mould, and allergens blown into your home.

What a proper service includes

  1. Cleaning or replacing filters
  2. Cleaning the indoor and outdoor coils
  3. Checking refrigerant gas pressure (and flagging leaks)
  4. Clearing the condensate drain
  5. Checking electrical connections and the capacitor
  6. Testing cooling performance

A standard split-unit service costs around R450–R900; a service plus re-gas runs R900–R1,600.

Re-gassing is not a service

If a technician keeps topping up your gas every season, that's a red flag — refrigerant is a sealed system, so repeated loss means a leak that must be found and repaired, not just refilled. A good technician fixes the cause.

Book a service with a registered aircon technician — free quotes, no obligation.

About the author
Pieter Muller

Pieter Muller is the founder of FlowLeads, a Durban-based home-services quote platform for South Africa. A software engineer by background, he built FlowLeads to give SA homeowners honest, data-backed matches with verified local professionals — across solar, plumbing, electrical, security installation and the trades that follow. Every niche on the platform is gated to its statutory regulator (SAPVIA, IPSASA, the DEL Wireman register, PSiRA), so homeowners only ever talk to legally compliant partners.

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