AC Repair in Farmington, NM
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers San Juan County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Three months of hard running, then hail and wind
Farmington only asks a lot of your AC for about three months, June through August. But those afternoons average 88°F, and the unit has to run hard to keep up, cycling on and off for hours at a time. That kind of steady demand wears on the compressor and the fan motor faster than a mild summer would.
San Juan County has seen 8 hail events and 42 damaging wind events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Hail that size can dent the fins on your outdoor coil, and high winds can knock the unit out of level or loosen the cabinet around it. If your system is blowing weaker than it used to, or cycling more than it used to, it may be feeling both the heat and what the last storm did to it.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 8 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 42 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would save little on running costs in San Juan County, so the repair decision comes down to the unit's condition.
Estimates for a typical San Juan 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 contractors before it licenses them, and it keeps a record of who holds one. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license covers this repair and whatever else that contractor does under it.
For a repair like this one, that state license is what stands behind the work. Because the job means opening the refrigerant side of the air conditioner, the technician doing it also has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state and separate from New Mexico's license. Between the two, the parts of the job that matter, the contractor's standing and the handling of refrigerant, both have someone checking them.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the coil or lines. A dirty air filter or a frozen evaporator coil can also cut off the cold air even though the system keeps running. Refrigerant is a sealed, regulated substance, so only a licensed technician with EPA 608 certification can legally check the charge and repair a leak.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the drain pan has cracked. Algae and dust build up inside that line over time and block it, so the water backs up and finds another way out. A frozen evaporator coil that later thaws can also flood the pan faster than it can drain.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. If those are fine, the problem is often a tripped safety switch, a bad capacitor, or a wiring issue at the outdoor unit. A licensed HVAC contractor can test the electrical components safely and tell you which one has failed.