AC Installation in Albuquerque, NM
A new air conditioner in Albuquerque will run from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Bernalillo County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of real heat, and hail to think about
Albuquerque only asks for cooling from June through August, but those afternoons average 88°F. A new air conditioner here spends most of the year sitting idle, then has to carry the full load of summer without much of a warm-up.
Bernalillo County has logged 63 hail events over the past ten years, with hailstones up to 1.75 inches, plus 155 damaging wind events in that same stretch. The outdoor unit sits outside through all of that, so where it goes and how it is protected matters. Any new system installed now also has to meet the federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 63 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 13.4 SEER2
- the federal minimum any new unit must meet
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Going above the federal minimum saves little here, about $10 a year.
Estimates for a typical Bernalillo County home, from EIA household energy data, New Mexico fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the Construction Industries Division, and it belongs to the contractor, not to this particular job. That means the state has tested and recorded this contractor, separate from any single installation they take on.
For the installation itself, most cities and counties in New Mexico also require a permit from the local building office, along with an inspection once the work is done. The license says the contractor is qualified to do the work. The permit and inspection are what say this particular installation was done right.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- There is no single answer without looking at your house. A contractor figures this out with a load calculation that accounts for your square footage, insulation, window area and orientation, and how many people are usually home. Putting in a unit that is too big cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity down, so rooms feel clammy. Too small and it runs constantly on the hot afternoons here without ever catching up. Ask whoever quotes the job to walk you through the load calculation rather than just matching the size of your old unit.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit were installed together and are close in age, most contractors will tell you to replace both. The coil and the compressor outside are matched to work at a specific capacity, and pairing a new outdoor unit with an old indoor coil can leave the system running below the efficiency it is rated for, sometimes voiding the warranty on the new equipment. If your indoor coil was already replaced recently, or the outdoor unit failed well before the coil, a contractor can tell you whether the two are still a workable match. This is worth asking about directly rather than assuming either way.
- Do HVAC contractors in Albuquerque need a state license to work on my home?
- Yes. New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, issued through the Construction Industries Division. The license covers the contractor as a business, not each individual job. Installing a new air conditioner also typically needs a permit from your local building office, with an inspection once the work is done. Ask to see the contractor's license number and confirm the permit is pulled before the work starts.