AC Repair in Albuquerque, NM
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing 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 hard running in the heat
Your air conditioner in Bernalillo County works hard for a short stretch. June through August, with afternoons averaging 88°F, it runs long hours to keep up. That kind of steady demand wears on the compressor and the capacitor that starts it, since both spend the summer working near their limit.
The county has also logged 63 hail events and 155 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Hail dents the fins on the outdoor unit and bends the coil behind them, and a bent coil cannot shed heat the way it should. If your air conditioner is blowing warm air or struggling to keep the house cool on the hottest afternoons, this is often why.
- 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
- 155 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $30 a year off cooling for a typical Bernalillo County home.
Estimates for a typical Bernalillo County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New Mexico fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests and licenses HVAC contractors in New Mexico. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so the same license covers this repair as it would any other AC or heating work that contractor takes on.
For a refrigerant repair like this one, the state license is not the only thing in play. Anyone who opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner, anywhere in the country, has to hold EPA Section 608 certification. That is a federal requirement, separate from New Mexico's license, and it applies to this job specifically because refrigerant is involved.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time the refrigerant is low from a slow leak, or the coil is frozen over from restricted airflow. A dirty filter or a blower struggling to push air can drop the coil temperature until ice builds up on it, and once that happens the air coming through your vents turns warm. A contractor needs to check the refrigerant charge and inspect the coil, and if refrigerant is involved, that work has to be done by someone with EPA 608 certification, which is required nationwide for anyone opening that side of the system.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the drain pan has cracked. Your AC pulls a lot of moisture out of the air on an 88 degree afternoon here, and that water has to drain out through a small line that can clog with algae and dirt over time. When it clogs, the water backs up and finds another way out, often right onto your floor. A contractor can clear the line or replace the pan depending on what they find.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with your thermostat batteries and your breaker panel, since both are common causes and both are easy to check yourself. If the breaker keeps tripping when you reset it, something inside the unit is drawing too much power and it needs a licensed contractor to look at it rather than keep flipping the switch. New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Construction Industries Division, so whoever diagnoses it should be able to show you that license.