HVAC Repair in Las Cruces, NM
Homes here need heat from November through April and cooling from May through September. If your system 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.
Eleven months of work a year, with little rest between
Doña Ana County only gives your system about a month off. Heat runs November through April, then by May the cooling season starts and runs through September. The gap between the two is short, so a furnace or AC that struggles at the end of one season heads straight into the start of the next without much of a break.
Winter nights averaging 30°F mean the burner cycles on and off for hours, and each start puts wear on the igniter. Summer afternoons averaging 94°F push the compressor hard for months at a stretch, and that kind of steady load is what wears out a capacitor or a contactor before its time. The area has also seen its share of winter storms and damaging wind over the past ten years, and when the power goes out, a system needs to come back on correctly once it's restored.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 30°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 94°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $100 a year off heating and 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 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 and licenses the contractor, not each job. That means the person or business showing up has passed the state's exam and is on record with New Mexico. The license covers the contractor as a whole, not this particular repair.
For a heating and cooling repair, that license is what stands behind the work. The person doing the repair should be the one the state has on record, not just someone sent out on their behalf.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it comes down to the igniter, the thermostat, or a flame sensor that has gotten dirty enough to shut the burners down. Check your thermostat first. Make sure it is set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature is set above room temperature. Check the breaker for the furnace too, since a tripped breaker or blown fuse will stop it cold. If the thermostat and power are fine and the furnace still will not fire, that points to something inside the unit, like the igniter or the flame sensor, and that is a job for a licensed contractor. With winter nights here averaging 30°F, this is not something to leave for long.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air is not cold, check the filter first. A clogged filter chokes off airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice up as a result, which makes the problem worse the longer it runs. Check the outdoor unit too. If the coil outside is covered in dirt or the fan is not spinning, the system cannot get rid of the heat it is pulling from your house. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit looks fine but the air still is not cold, the system is likely low on refrigerant or has an electrical problem, and that takes a licensed contractor with gauges to diagnose. At 94°F on a summer afternoon, a system that runs without cooling can let the house heat up fast.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Confirm it is set to the mode you want, heat or cool, and that the set temperature is actually above or below the room temperature. Check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, and check that any switch near the furnace or air handler is turned on. Pull the filter and hold it up to a light. If you cannot see light through it, replace it. Outside, clear leaves or debris away from the outdoor unit so air can move through it. If the system still is not working after that, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is left, and in New Mexico that contractor is required to hold a state license through the Construction Industries Division.