HVAC Repair in Albuquerque, NM
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through August. If your system 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.
Ten months a year, your system is working
Your furnace runs from October through April here. Winter nights average 23°F, so on the coldest ones the burner is cycling on and off most of the night to keep up. Each cycle puts wear on the igniter, and when it finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all.
Summer is shorter but harder on the system in a different way. Three months of afternoons near 88°F push the air conditioner to run long stretches at a time, and that kind of heat is what wears down a capacitor or strains a compressor until it stops. Over the past ten years the county has logged 79 winter storms and 155 damaging wind events, and in 2024, 13% of households in New Mexico went at least a day without power. Most systems restart on their own once power comes back. If yours doesn't, or won't hold a cycle once it's running, that's worth a look.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $90 a year off heating and 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 one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests contractors before it issues a license, and the license belongs to the contractor rather than to any single job. Whoever holds it had to prove they know the trade before the state let them take on work like this.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the work here. New Mexico ties its protection to the contractor's license itself, not to something checked job by job.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead system. Check the breaker next, since a tripped breaker will shut the furnace down with no warning. If the furnace has a standing pilot, look for the flame. If it uses an igniter instead, listen for the system trying to start and failing, which usually means the igniter has worn out. With winter nights here averaging 23°F, a furnace that won't hold heat needs attention fast, so if the basics check out and it's still not firing, that's a call for a contractor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust chokes off airflow across the coil, and a coil that isn't getting enough air can't pull heat out of the house even though the blower is running. Next look at the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves, grass clippings or debris blocking the coil fins. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear but the air coming from the vents feels barely cool, the system may be low on refrigerant, and that's a job for a contractor with the gauges to check it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the breaker, and the air filter, in that order. The thermostat should be set to the right mode and a temperature that would actually trigger the system. The breaker should be on, since a trip there stops the system cold with no other symptoms. The filter should be clean, since a blocked one can starve a furnace or an air conditioner of airflow and make either one seem broken. If all three check out and the problem is still there, a licensed contractor can diagnose what's actually wrong. New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Construction Industries Division, so ask to see it before letting anyone work on the system.