Preventive maintenance contracts exist on a wide spectrum, from a genuinely thorough quarterly inspection to a technician spending ten minutes glancing at a filter before moving to the next stop on the route. Both get called a “PM contract” and both get invoiced at a similar price, which is exactly why it is worth knowing what should actually be on the checklist before you sign one.
What a real PM contract should include
Filter changes on a real schedule
This sounds basic because it is, but it is also the item skipped most often on a bare-minimum contract. Filters should be changed on a set interval — typically every 1 to 3 months for most commercial package units in Florida’s dust and pollen load — not “as needed,” which in practice often means not at all until the airflow problem becomes visible.
Coil cleaning
Evaporator and condenser coils accumulate dust, pollen and, on a rooftop, a surprising amount of airborne debris over a season. A dirty coil reduces heat transfer efficiency, which forces the compressor to run longer to hit the same setpoint — the same mechanism behind the rising-utility-bill warning sign we cover in our RTU failure signs article. Coil cleaning should be a scheduled line item, not something that only happens once someone notices reduced airflow.
Refrigerant and electrical checks
A real visit measures refrigerant pressures and subcooling against manufacturer spec, and checks electrical connections, contactor condition and amperage draw at the compressor and motors. Loose electrical connections are one of the more common causes of an unplanned failure, and they are also one of the cheapest things to catch during a scheduled visit versus during an emergency call.
Belt and bearing inspection
Belt-driven blower assemblies wear predictably — belts stretch and glaze, bearings dry out and start to run hot or noisy. Catching a belt at 80% worn during a scheduled visit is a $50 part. Catching it after it snaps during business hours is an emergency call plus however long the building goes without airflow in the meantime.
Written reports with findings
Every visit should produce documentation — what was checked, what was found, what was serviced, and any recommendations with a real cost estimate attached. Without a written report, there is no way to track a unit’s condition over time, no record for insurance or lease requirements, and no way to catch a slow-developing problem across multiple visits.
Red flags of a bare-minimum contract
- No written report after the visit — if you cannot show what was actually checked, there is no way to verify the visit happened beyond a technician’s word.
- Vague scope language like “routine inspection” with no itemized checklist attached to the contract.
- No mention of coil cleaning or electrical checks — a contract that only lists filter changes is a filter-change contract, not a maintenance contract.
- Visit frequency buried or vague — a contract should state exactly how many visits per year and roughly when, not “periodic” service.
- A price that seems too low relative to competitors — a $150-per-unit annual contract usually cannot include real coil cleaning and a full electrical check; something on the list above is being skipped to hit that price.
How to evaluate a contract before signing
Ask for the actual checklist, not a marketing description of the service. Ask how many visits per year and what specifically happens at each one — a quarterly contract that does the full checklist every visit is different from one that does a full check once a year and a filter swap the other three times. Ask whether reports are provided in writing, and ask to see a sample report from an existing customer if the company has one. A contractor confident in their service should have no issue sharing an example.
What PM contracts typically cost
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| PM contract, per unit / year | $450 – $900 |
Price within that range depends mostly on visit frequency and the number of units on the same contract — a quarterly contract at the top of the range should include everything covered above at every visit, not just once a year. A price meaningfully below $450 per unit is worth asking hard questions about, since the labor time to do coil cleaning and a full electrical check properly does not leave much room below that.
Is a PM contract worth it?
For most commercial accounts running units near-continuously through Florida’s cooling season, yes. A real PM contract catches the kind of failing components covered in our RTU warning signs article before they become an emergency shutdown, and the math on catching a $400 repair before it becomes a $2,000 emergency call plus lost building comfort tends to favor the contract. The exception is a very new unit still under manufacturer warranty with low run hours, where the annual failure risk is lower and a contract may not pay for itself as quickly.