AC Repair in Nogales, AZ
Air conditioners here run from May through September. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Santa Cruz County will get in touch.
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Nogales summers put five straight months of load on your AC
From May through September your air conditioner runs against afternoons that average 90°F. That is the stretch where the compressor works hardest and runs longest, and it is where a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge finally shows itself. You notice it as air that is not as cold as it used to be, or a unit that runs and runs and never quite catches up.
Santa Cruz County has also seen 53 damaging wind events and 16 hail events over the past ten years, with hail up to 1.75 inches. Wind can knock debris into the outdoor unit or rattle loose a connection. Hail that size can bend the fins on the outdoor coil, and bent fins block airflow the unit needs to cool the refrigerant.
- 5 months
- May through September, your air conditioner is on duty
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 16 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 53 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $40 a year off cooling for a typical Santa Cruz County home.
Estimates for a typical Santa Cruz County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Arizona 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.
Arizona requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Registrar of Contractors tests contractors before they get that license and keeps a record of who holds one. It covers the contractor as a business, not each job they do, so the same license applies whether they are repairing your unit or installing a new one down the street.
For an air conditioner repair, that license is what stands behind the work. If the repair involves opening the refrigerant side of your system, the technician also needs EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state and applies on top of the Arizona license, not instead of it.
Sources: Arizona State Legislature · Arizona Registrar of Contractors
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- The most common cause is low refrigerant from a leak somewhere in the line set or coil. It can also mean the compressor has failed, or the airflow across the evaporator coil is blocked by a dirty filter or a frozen coil. With summer afternoons here running near 90°F, a system low on refrigerant will struggle to keep up most of the day. A contractor needs to check refrigerant pressure and airflow to know which one it is.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your indoor unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged. Algae and debris build up in that line over time and back the water up until it overflows the drain pan. It can also mean the drain pan itself has rusted through and needs replacing. A frozen evaporator coil will do the same thing once it thaws, so if the air has felt weak beforehand, that may be the real problem.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat batteries and the breaker before anything else, since both are common and easy to miss. If those are fine, the capacitor that starts the compressor and fan motor may have failed, which is one of the more frequent reasons a unit won't start at all. Arizona summer wind events can also trip breakers or damage outdoor units, so check the condenser outside for visible damage if a storm came through recently. A licensed contractor can test the capacitor and electrical components to confirm which part failed.