A visit every quarter, on time
A quarterly schedule starts the checklist for each site, with the facilities manager and technician assigned and every task due on a date counted from the visit.
HVAC Maintenance Checklist Template
Filters get changed when someone complains about the air. Refrigerant leaks get found when a chiller trips on the hottest afternoon of the year. A seasonal service plan finds both while they are still cheap.
Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning plant is usually the most expensive equipment in a building to run and to replace, and the most likely to generate complaints. It is also regulated in ways most other plant is not: refrigerant leak checks, technician certification, gas safety and, in England and Wales, a periodic energy inspection of larger air-conditioning systems. This free HVAC maintenance checklist gives facilities managers, building managers and multi-site operators one record of each service visit, whether in-house technicians or a contractor do the work. It covers scoping and preparation, the core air-side service, spring cooling and autumn heating start-ups, refrigerant leak checks and records, controls and ventilation, and remedial work with approval. The seasonal and refrigerant phases appear only when they apply.
Four Visits a Year, Two of Them Seasonal
Commercial HVAC is normally serviced quarterly, and two of those four visits do more than the others. The spring visit gets cooling plant ready before the first warm week: condenser coils cleaned, refrigerant circuits checked, cooling towers treated before they run. The autumn visit does the same for heating: burners serviced, combustion tested, flues inspected. The two visits in between are lighter, covering the air side and the controls that drift from one quarter to the next.
This template is one asset class inside a wider programme. The Preventive Maintenance Checklist tracks PM compliance, backlog and statutory examinations across every asset on a site; this checklist is the detailed visit record for heating and cooling plant that feeds it. It is also deeper than the filter and grille checks on the Office Maintenance Schedule Checklist, which an office manager can do without opening a panel.
Every quarterly visit
Air side, controls and records
- Filters, belts, condensate drains and coils
- Fan motors, electrical connections and dampers
- Thermostats, time schedules and fresh-air settings
- Refrigerant leak checks on systems that are due
Seasonal additions
Spring cooling and autumn heating
- Spring: condenser coils, refrigerant circuit, compressors, cooling towers
- Autumn: burners, combustion analysis, flues, safety controls
- Both: start-up under load, with readings recorded
- Both: remedial work quoted before the season starts
What the HVAC Maintenance Checklist Covers
Seven phases cover a service visit from preparation to sign-off. Phase 3 appears only on the spring visit, Phase 4 only on the autumn visit, and Phase 5 only where a system holds enough refrigerant to need leak checks.
Scope
Phase 1: Scope the Visit & Prepare
The scope questions decide which seasonal phase this visit shows and whether the refrigerant phase appears.
- Name the facilities manager and the HVAC technician — later tasks and the remedial approval are assigned from these fields
- Answer the scope questions — spring, autumn or interim visit, and whether any system on site needs refrigerant leak checks
- Pull the plant list for the site — air handling units, rooftop units, splits, chillers, boilers and fans, with locations and refrigerant charges
- Review complaints and defects since the last visit — hot and cold zones, noise, water leaks and plant alarms
- Confirm the technician’s certification — F-gas in the UK or EPA Section 608 in the US for refrigerant work, Gas Safe for gas work in the UK
- Agree access, isolation and occupant notice — roof access, permits and any plant downtime during working hours
Every Visit
Phase 2: Core Service & Air Side
- Replace or clean filters — record the filter size and grade, and the pressure drop where a gauge is fitted
- Inspect belts, pulleys and bearings — tension, alignment and wear, replacing cracked or glazed belts
- Clear condensate drains, trays and pumps — standing water grows bacteria and blocked drains overflow into ceilings
- Inspect coils for dirt and damage — clean fouled coils and straighten damaged fins
- Check fan motors and electrical connections — current draw against the nameplate, tight terminals, no signs of overheating
- Check dampers and actuators — blades move freely and respond to the controls
Spring
Phase 3: Spring Cooling Start-Up
Shown only on the spring visit.
- Clean condenser coils — outdoor coils blocked by leaves and pollen push up head pressure and running costs
- Check refrigerant circuit pressures and temperatures — against the manufacturer’s data; a low charge means a leak to find, not just a top-up
- Test compressors and their safety controls — high and low pressure cut-outs, crankcase heaters and starting current
- Prepare cooling towers and evaporative condensers — cleaning, disinfection and water treatment in place before they run
- Check chilled water pumps, strainers and valves — flow, leaks and clean strainers
Autumn
Phase 4: Autumn Heating Start-Up
Shown only on the autumn visit.
- Service boilers and burners — by an engineer qualified for the appliance, Gas Safe registered for gas in the UK
- Run a combustion analysis and record the results — flue gas readings against the manufacturer’s limits
- Inspect flues and combustion air openings — clear, sealed and with terminals unobstructed
- Test safety and limit controls — flame failure, high-limit thermostats and pressure relief valves
- Check heating pumps, valves and system pressure — vent air, check expansion vessels and look for leaks
- Test carbon monoxide detection in plant rooms — detectors present, in date and working
If Covered
Phase 5: Refrigerant Leak Checks & Records
Shown only when a system on site holds enough refrigerant to need leak checks.
- Leak check each system that is due — by a certified technician, at the frequency its charge size requires
- Record refrigerant added and recovered — per system, with the refrigerant type, quantity, date and technician
- Calculate the leak rate whenever refrigerant is added — US systems over the threshold need repair once the rate exceeds the limit for their type
- Repair leaks and record verification tests — US rules allow 30 days from discovery; repair promptly under F-gas rules too
- Check fixed leak detection systems where fitted — required in GB on systems of 500 tonnes CO2e or more
Controls
Phase 6: Controls, Ventilation & Air Quality
- Check thermostats and sensors against a calibrated reading — recalibrate or replace any that have drifted
- Review time schedules and setpoints — matched to occupancy, with heating and cooling not fighting each other
- Check fresh air rates and outdoor air dampers — minimum fresh air not closed down to save energy
- Spot-check CO2 in busy occupied rooms — HSE treats levels consistently above 1,500 ppm as a sign of poor ventilation
- Test plant failure alarms — ventilation and plant room alarms that warn when a system stops
Close
Phase 7: Report, Approve & Close
- Attach the service report and photos — readings, condition found and parts replaced, on the checklist rather than in an inbox
- Log defects with remedial quotes — each with a priority and the risk of leaving it
- Facilities manager approval of remedial work — required before the contractor is instructed
- Update the plant list and next due dates — including leak checks and the next air-conditioning energy inspection
- Note repeat faults for the PM review — so intervals and task lists change where the same unit keeps failing
HVAC Rules in the UK and US
Most HVAC regulation targets refrigerant, combustion and energy use rather than servicing frequency, so the service interval is yours to set. What the law fixes is who may do certain work, how often refrigerant systems are leak checked and what records you keep. The table summarises the main rules for commercial buildings.
| Topic | United Kingdom | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Refrigerant leak checks and repair | Great Britain’s F-gas Regulation: systems of 5 tonnes CO2e or more checked every 12 months, 50 tonnes every 6 months, 500 tonnes every 3 months; intervals double with a leak detection system, which is mandatory from 500 tonnes; labelled hermetically sealed equipment under 10 tonnes is exempt. Northern Ireland follows EU Regulation 2024/573 | EPA Section 608: appliances with 50 lb or more of ozone-depleting refrigerant must be repaired within 30 days once leaks exceed 10% a year for comfort cooling, 20% for commercial refrigeration or 30% for industrial process refrigeration. Since 1 January 2026 the AIM Act rule applies the same rates to appliances with 15 lb or more of an HFC, or a substitute with a GWP above 53; residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps are exempt |
| Who may work on refrigerant | Leak checks and refrigerant work by F-gas certified personnel | Section 608 certified technicians (Type I, II, III or Universal); refrigerant is sold only to certified technicians, and intentional venting is prohibited |
| Records | Operators keep records of the gas type and quantity, additions, recoveries and who serviced the equipment, for at least five years | Owners of 50 lb+ ozone-depleting appliances keep servicing records, refrigerant added, leak inspections and verification tests for three years |
| Periodic inspection | England and Wales: air-conditioning systems over 12 kW effective rated output, including smaller units whose combined output exceeds 12 kW, inspected by an accredited energy assessor at intervals of no more than five years (TM44 is the usual method); a missing report can bring a £300 penalty | ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 180 sets minimum inspection and maintenance tasks for commercial building HVAC systems; a sound baseline for contractor scope |
| Gas heating plant | Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, regulation 35: employers keep gas appliances, pipework and flues at work in a safe condition | Set by the fuel gas code adopted locally, usually the International Fuel Gas Code or NFPA 54 |
| Cooling towers | Notify the local authority under the 1992 notification regulations, and control legionella following HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L8 | Set locally; New York City, for example, requires registration, quarterly inspection and an annual certification by 1 November |
Refrigerant rules moved again in 2026. In the US, EPA finalised a revision of its AIM Act technology transitions rule in May 2026, effective 27 July 2026, which removes the 1 January 2026 installation deadline for residential and light commercial air conditioners and heat pumps using higher-GWP refrigerants, provided the components were made or imported before 1 January 2025. In the same month it proposed exempting road transport refrigeration units from the HFC leak repair rule. In Great Britain, Defra consulted on a faster HFC phasedown in late 2025 and has said it will not legislate in 2026 to change the 2027 step; the leak-check bands above are unchanged. Check the position before you replace a system, not after.
Ventilation is part of the job. In the UK, regulation 6 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires every enclosed workplace to be ventilated by a sufficient quantity of fresh or purified air, with a warning device where plant failure would affect health or safety, and regulation 5 brings mechanical ventilation into the maintenance duty. Closing outdoor air dampers to save energy can quietly breach both.
Why Run HVAC Maintenance in CheckFlow?
The right season, the right tasks
One answer in Phase 1 shows the spring cooling or autumn heating start-up, and a second shows refrigerant leak checks only on sites that need them. Interim visits stay short.
Records that answer the auditor
Service reports, combustion readings and refrigerant logs are attached to the tasks that produced them, and every task records who completed it and when. Remedial spend waits for a named approver.
HVAC sits inside the wider Preventive Maintenance Checklist, which tracks compliance and backlog across all plant. Individual repairs and contractor call-outs run through the Equipment Servicing Workflow Checklist.
Plant condition also shows up in the annual Facility Inspection Checklist, and landlords can cover heating and safety checks in rented homes with the Annual Property Inspection Checklist. See how recurring checklists keep quarterly and seasonal work on schedule across sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should commercial HVAC be serviced?
Quarterly is the usual pattern for commercial systems, with the spring visit focused on cooling and the autumn visit on heating. Filters in busy or dusty buildings may need changing more often than that. Refrigerant leak checks and energy inspections have their own legal frequencies, set by the size of the system rather than by your service contract.
How often do F-gas leak checks have to be done?
In Great Britain it depends on the charge in tonnes of CO2 equivalent: every 12 months from 5 tonnes, every 6 months from 50 tonnes and every 3 months from 500 tonnes. A working automatic leak detection system doubles each interval, and one is mandatory from 500 tonnes. Northern Ireland and the EU follow Regulation 2024/573, so check that version for sites there.
When do US refrigerant leak repair rules apply?
Under EPA Section 608, to appliances holding 50 lb or more of an ozone-depleting refrigerant. Since 1 January 2026, the AIM Act Emissions Reduction and Reclamation rule also covers appliances holding 15 lb or more of an HFC or substitute with a GWP above 53, except residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps. Once the leak rate passes 10% for comfort cooling, 20% for commercial refrigeration or 30% for industrial process refrigeration, the leak must be repaired within 30 days.
Does my building need a TM44 air-conditioning inspection?
In England and Wales, yes, if the air-conditioning systems you control have an effective rated output of more than 12 kW, counting smaller units together where they form one system. An accredited energy assessor must inspect them at intervals of no more than five years, and you must keep the latest report. It is an energy inspection, not a service, so it does not replace the quarterly visits.
What should an HVAC service record include?
The units serviced, the technician and their certification, filters and parts replaced, readings such as pressures, temperatures, current draw and combustion results, defects found, and refrigerant added or recovered for each system. Attach the contractor’s report and photos so the record survives a change of contractor.
Is CheckFlow free for this template?
14-day free trial, no card required. The Business plan is $10 per user per month after the trial. Full details at checkflow.io/pricing.