CF ChatterFix
Preventive Maintenance

Rooftop Unit Seasonal Changeover

A rooftop unit spends its life outdoors, and everything that matters about it degrades from exposure: coils foul, belts stretch, dampers seize, and refrigerant slowly escapes. The seasonal changeover is where you find all of that at once, before the first genuinely hot or cold week makes it everyone's problem.

Interval Semi-annual
Est. Duration 3.0 hrs
Steps 5
Applies To Facilities & Property Management, HVAC & Building Services Contractors

The Procedure

The steps ChatterFix schedules for this PM. Every step is a checkable item on the work order — a technician can speak their way through it without touching a keyboard.

  1. Inspect and clean condenser and evaporator coils
  2. Check refrigerant charge and log superheat/subcooling
  3. Inspect belts, sheaves, and bearings; adjust tension
  4. Verify economizer and damper operation through full travel
  5. Confirm control setpoints and occupancy schedule

Why This PM Exists

A rooftop unit spends its life outdoors, and everything that matters about it degrades from exposure: coils foul, belts stretch, dampers seize, and refrigerant slowly escapes. The seasonal changeover is where you find all of that at once, before the first genuinely hot or cold week makes it everyone's problem.

What Skipping It Looks Like

You discover the failure on the first 35°C day, along with every other building in the city — which is exactly when contractor response times are worst and refrigerant is most expensive. Fouled coils also raise energy cost quietly all season, which nobody attributes to maintenance.

Setting the interval

Twice a year, ahead of the cooling and heating seasons rather than during them. In dusty or coastal locations, add a mid-season coil inspection — salt and grit foul condensers far faster than the calendar suggests.

Equipment This Covers

Common Questions

How often should this PM run?
Semi-annual. Twice a year, ahead of the cooling and heating seasons rather than during them. In dusty or coastal locations, add a mid-season coil inspection — salt and grit foul condensers far faster than the calendar suggests.
How long does it take?
Budget about 3.0 hours for a technician working to the standard procedure. ChatterFix uses that estimate for capacity planning, then learns your plant's actual time from completed work orders.
What happens if we skip it?
You discover the failure on the first 35°C day, along with every other building in the city — which is exactly when contractor response times are worst and refrigerant is most expensive. Fouled coils also raise energy cost quietly all season, which nobody attributes to maintenance.
Can I use this checklist in ChatterFix?
Yes — this exact procedure ships in the Facilities & Property Management and HVAC & Building Services Contractors industry pack. Pick your industry at signup and it is scheduled on the right assets automatically, with no configuration.

Related Procedures

Stop Retyping Your PM Library

This procedure — and every other PM for your industry — is already built into ChatterFix. Pick your industry and it lands on the right equipment, on the right interval, in about three minutes.