HVAC Repair in Española, NM
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Rio Arriba County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heating puts the wear on your furnace
Your furnace in Española works from September through May. That is nine months of the year, most of what your system does. Winter nights average 15°F, cold enough that the burner cycles on and off for hours to keep the house warm, and each cycle puts wear on the igniter and the parts that control the flame. With almost no cooling season here, the furnace carries the load almost by itself.
Rio Arriba County has logged 144 winter storms and 33 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and across New Mexico 13% of households went at least a day without it in 2024. Most gas furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power drops, so does your heat, even with the gas still on.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $100 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Rio Arriba County home.
Estimates for a typical Rio Arriba 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 licenses HVAC contractors in New Mexico. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it stays with them from one repair to the next.
Because the state licenses at the contractor level, that license is what stands behind the work on this repair. If the job involves a gas connection, that connection is the part worth getting right, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is too dirty to detect a flame, so the furnace shuts itself off before it can heat. A clogged filter can also starve the system of airflow until it trips a safety switch. With winter nights here averaging 15°F, do not wait on this one. If the thermostat is set right and you still get no heat, a contractor needs to look at the igniter and the flame sensor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air is not cold, the refrigerant charge is likely low, usually from a leak somewhere in the coil or lines. A dirty outdoor coil or a blocked filter can also keep the system from pulling heat out of the air even though the fan runs fine. Either way the fix means opening the system, which is a job for a licensed contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first, make sure it is set to heat or cool and the batteries are not dead. Then look at the filter and replace it if it is gray with dust, since a clogged filter can choke airflow enough to shut the system down. Check that the breaker for the furnace or air handler has not tripped. If those are all fine and the system still is not working, it is time to have a contractor diagnose it.