AC Installation in Raton, NM
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Raton doesn't ask much of an air conditioner
Summer afternoons here average 81°F, which is mild as far as cooling loads go. A new system in Raton isn't fighting the kind of heat that pushes equipment hard for months at a stretch.
What it does have to handle is what comes with the weather here. Colfax County has logged 80 hail events and 157 damaging wind events over the past ten years, so the outdoor unit needs to hold up outside, not just cool the air. Any new central air conditioner installed today has to meet a federal minimum of 14.3 SEER2, so efficiency is built in from the start. The bigger question for your home is picking the right size unit and making sure it's installed to hold up to what's outside.
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 80 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 $0 a year.
Estimates for a typical Colfax 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.
That license comes from the Construction Industries Division, and it covers the contractor, not each job. It is issued once and tied to the business, not to the air conditioner going into your home.
The license tells you the contractor was tested and is on record with the state. It does not tell you whether this particular installation gets checked. That comes from the local building office, which in most cities and counties requires a permit for this kind of work and an inspection once it is done.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What size air conditioner does my house need?
- The right size depends on your square footage, your insulation, how many windows you have and which way they face, and your ceiling height. It is not something to guess at or size off the unit you're replacing, since that one may have been wrong too. A contractor should run a load calculation on your actual house before recommending a size. Going too big is as much a problem as going too small, since an oversized unit cools the air fast but shuts off before it pulls the humidity out of the room.
- Should I replace the whole system or just the outdoor unit?
- If your indoor coil and outdoor unit are more than a few years apart in age, replacing just the outdoor unit can cause problems. The two are matched to work together, and pairing a new condenser with an old coil can mean the system never hits its rated efficiency, sometimes voiding the warranty on the new part. Summers here don't demand much of a cooling system, so if the indoor coil is in good shape and the two can be matched properly, replacing only the outdoor unit may be reasonable. A contractor can check whether your existing coil is compatible with a new condenser before you decide.
- Do HVAC contractors in Raton 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 is held by the contractor, not tied to any one job, so it's worth asking to see it before work starts. Installing a new air conditioner will also need a permit from the local building office, with an inspection once the work is finished.