AC Repair in Las Cruces, NM
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Doña Ana County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Five months of heat, every year, on your air conditioner
Your air conditioner works from May through September here, with afternoons in summer averaging 94°F. That is five months of long runs, most of them in the hottest part of the day, and the system does not get much of a break between them.
That kind of steady load wears on the compressor and the capacitor that helps start it. When the capacitor weakens, the unit hums but the compressor won't kick on, or it shuts off on its own before the house cools down. Doña Ana County has also seen 83 damaging wind events and 47 hail events in the past ten years, with hail up to 2 inches. Wind and hail like that can bend the fins on the outdoor unit or knock loose the wiring and refrigerant lines running to it, so it's worth a look after a bad storm even if the system still seems to be running.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 47 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 83 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $70 a year off cooling for a typical Doña Ana County home.
Estimates for a typical Doña Ana 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 before they can work in New Mexico. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a furnace also qualifies them to repair your air conditioner.
For a repair like yours, the part of the job that falls outside the state license is the refrigerant itself. Any technician who opens the refrigerant side of your air conditioner has to hold EPA Section 608 certification, a federal requirement that applies no matter what state you're in. In New Mexico, that certification works alongside the state license rather than in place of it.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most often the refrigerant charge is low, usually because of a leak in the coil or the lines. A dirty filter can also choke off airflow across the coil enough that the air coming out feels warm. With summer afternoons here averaging 94°F, a system running low on refrigerant falls behind fast, so it is worth having a contractor check the charge and find the leak rather than just adding more refrigerant.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Usually the drain line is clogged and condensation is backing up instead of draining outside. It can also mean the evaporator coil froze and is now thawing and overflowing the drain pan. A dirty filter or low refrigerant can cause that freezing, so the fix depends on which of these is actually happening.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before assuming the worst. If those check out, the problem is likely electrical inside the unit itself, such as a failed capacitor or contactor. Any repair that involves opening the refrigerant lines has to be done by a technician with EPA Section 608 certification, so this is not a job to take apart yourself.