AC Maintenance in Hobbs, NM
Air conditioners here run from May through September, so April is the time for a tune-up. Tell us about your system, and a licensed contractor who covers Lea County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of Hobbs heat, every year
Your air conditioner works hardest from May through September here, with summer afternoons averaging 94°F. That is five straight months of long run times, and the unit does not get much rest between cycles. Hail and wind are part of the picture too. Lea County has logged 91 hail events and 127 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a unit sitting outside through that is worth a look before the next stretch of hot days.
A tune-up before summer checks the things that fail quietly under this kind of load. Low refrigerant, a dirty coil, a weak capacitor. Any one of these makes the system run longer to cool the same house, and a system that is already running five months a year does not have room to spare.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 91 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 127 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Book your AC tune-up in April, before homes here start needing cooling in May.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
A tune-up checks the refrigerant charge, cleans the coils, tests the capacitor and tightens the electrical connections.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the Construction Industries Division, and it covers the contractor, not the individual job. It is not tied to your address or to this particular visit, it is tied to the contractor doing the work.
For a maintenance call on an air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the contractor showing up at your door. If the technician needs to open the refrigerant side of the system to check the charge, they also need EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies in every state regardless of what New Mexico requires on top of it.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- What does AC maintenance include?
- A technician checks refrigerant pressure, cleans or replaces the filter, and clears dirt and debris off the outdoor coil. They test the capacitor and contactor, check the fan motor, and look at the electrical connections for anything loose or corroded. They also check the thermostat and confirm the system is actually cooling the way it should. Anyone touching the refrigerant side of the system has to hold an EPA Section 608 certification, which is true everywhere in the country.
- How often does an air conditioner need maintenance?
- Once a year, before the cooling season starts. Homes in Hobbs run their AC from May through September, so getting it checked in spring gives a technician time to catch a weak capacitor or a dirty coil before the system has to work through 94 degree afternoons. Skipping a year does not always cause a breakdown, but it means small problems get found by the system failing instead of by an inspection.
- Is AC maintenance worth it?
- Yes, because most of what fails in an air conditioner fails slowly. A capacitor weakens, a coil gets coated in dirt, refrigerant drops a little at a time, and the system keeps running while it does. A yearly check catches those before they turn into a system that will not turn on during one of the hot months. Hobbs also sees hail and high wind most years, and a maintenance visit is a chance to catch storm damage to the outdoor unit before it turns into a bigger repair.