The annual contract principle is simple: instead of waiting for a breakdown and paying emergency repair costs, you pay a smaller regular amount and receive preventive maintenance that prevents most breakdowns before they happen.
Abha: February (pre-dust) — May (summer start) — September (summer end) — December (pre-winter). Khamis Mushait: March — June — August — October. Jazan: February — April — July — October (humidity requires higher summer frequency).
What the Annual Contract Includes
- 4 scheduled maintenance visits
- Filter and coil cleaning every visit
- Gas level check and top-up as needed (included in some tiers)
- Condensate drain clean and anti-algae treatment
- Capacitor and electrical connection inspection
- Emergency priority response (faster than standard)
- 20% discount on spare parts during contract period
- Condition report after every visit
| Contract Type | Best For | Approximate Price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic — single unit | One room or office | SAR 450–600/year |
| Home — 3–5 units | Average home | SAR 1,200–1,800/year |
| Villa — 6+ units | Large home or villa | SAR 2,000–3,500/year |
| Commercial — office/retail | Business environment | By size — free assessment |
What an annual maintenance contract actually includes
"Maintenance contract" is a phrase used to describe completely different things. A serious one covers, on every visit:
- Washing the condenser and evaporator coils — not a surface wipe. A clean coil is the single biggest factor in electricity consumption.
- Cleaning or replacing filters at a frequency that suits the dust season, not a fixed schedule.
- Clearing the drain pan and condensate line — the most neglected item, and the source of most water-leak and odour calls in our climate.
- Measuring refrigerant pressures and leak-testing — with a manifold, calculating superheat and subcooling.
- Measuring compressor current draw — the number that reveals a tiring compressor before it stops.
- Inspecting and tightening electrical connections — a loose contact heats, and heat destroys.
The measurements are the whole difference. Cleaning removes dirt; measuring is what reveals the next failure before it happens. A contract that records no numbers is a cleaning visit under another name.
The calculation that decides whether a contract is worth it
We're not asking you to believe a slogan. The arithmetic is simple and you can do it yourself:
- First: electricity. A clogged condenser coil raises discharge pressure, so the compressor draws more current for the same cooling. That difference shows up on every month's bill through the running season — not once.
- Second: the compressor. Most compressor failures we're called to at peak summer were detectable weeks earlier with a simple check of pressures and current draw. Replacing a compressor costs many times what an annual contract does — and that isn't marketing exaggeration, it's what any quotation will show you.
- Third: timing. Failures don't happen in March. They happen on the hottest day of the year, when every technician in the city is already busy.
Why one schedule cannot serve all three cities
This is the point that everyone selling an off-the-shelf "maintenance contract" ignores:
- Khamis Mushait: the priority is washing the condenser coil before summer — in May, not August. Dust raises the bill for weeks before it disables anything.
- Jazan: the priority is salt corrosion and treating algae in the drain line. A coastal unit needs a higher frequency — and proximity to the sea determines that frequency more than the type of unit does.
- Abha: the priority is inspecting the drain and checking for mould after the rains. The problem here is biological, not particulate.
The same name, three different jobs. A contract that doesn't distinguish between them wasn't written for your region.
What to ask about any contract — from any company
- How many visits, and when? A contract with one visit in August prevents nothing.
- Are the readings recorded? Without a written record, nobody can compare this year's pressures against last year's — and that comparison is how a failure gets predicted.
- What is the response time when something fails? And do contract holders genuinely get priority?
- What's covered and what isn't? Labour and routine servicing is one thing; a major part such as a compressor is another. Any contract that doesn't make that clear will make it clear to you at invoice time.
We answer those four questions before you sign, not afterwards.
A record per unit — not per household
Where there are several units, we keep a separate record for each: its age, its pressures at every visit, its compressor's current draw, and its fault history. That record is what makes it possible to say "this unit needs attention this season" before it stops — instead of discovering it alongside you on the hottest day of the year.