Faqs

General (8)

How much do you charge to come out to my house?

Our fee includes sending a licensed, screened and trained technician to your house in a fully stocked truck.  The charges also cover the technicians time diagnosing the issue with your faulty equipment.  The fee to do all this is $95.00 plus tax.

Do you guarantee your work?

Our labor on any repair is good for one year.  The warranty on any part we replace is 5 years.  There are some exclusions, see our warranty page for more details.

Do you come to my house?

We send a background screened, certified, fully trained technician to your house.  Our technicians are in SoBellas uniforms, have company id badges and drive fully lettered and stocked trucks with out logo across the side.

Can I come to your shop?

Yes you can, but we serve all of Las Cruces, El Paso and San Antonio.  We only have one carry in shop located in El Paso.  If you want to make the trip to El Paso we are happy to have you.

What’s your hourly rate?

We stopped charging by the hour because our customers wanted to know the price up front.  They didn’t like open ended pricing. We don’t charge by the hour anymore.  We give you a firm quote up front, before any work begins.  These quotes are based on national standard repair data.  If the repair takes longer than expected, we’ll stand by the quote.  You wont pay more.

Why cant I get a ballpark price?

We used to offer ballpark price estimates.  The problem was the estimates were usually wrong.  Unfortunately in home air conditioning repair and appliance issues can run from as low as $150 all the way to several thousand dollars.  There is just know way to know what the cost will be until we not only see the exact problem, but also see what caused the problem.  It would be unfair to you for us to guess over the phone.

Why cant I get a free estimate?

We do give free estimates.  Bring your broken appliance to us and we do not charge for an estimate.  We also provide free estimates for new AC equipment.

How much is a service call?

Our trip charge and diagnostic fee is $95.00 for all residential home services.  This fee is applied towards the repair cost if you choose to fix the problem.  We will send one of our professional technicians who is certified and background screened to your door step.

You are responsible for the trip charge or your technician’s quoted labor. Not both.

AC Repair (14)

What is Air Conditioning?

The treatment of air so as to control simultaneously the temperature, humidity, cleanness, and distribution of the air to meet the requirements of a conditioned space.

What is an air handling unit?

A blower or fan used for the purpose of distributing supply air to a room, space, or area.

What is a condensing unit?

A specific refrigerating machine combination for a given refrigerant, consisting of one or more power-driven compressors, condensers, liquid receivers (when required), and the regularly furnished accessories.

What is Evaporative cooler? Or Swamp cooler?

A device used for reducing the sensible heat of air for cooling by the process of evaporation of water into an airstream.

What is an evaporator?

That part of the system in which liquid refrigerant is vaporized to produce refrigeration.

What is a heat pump?

A refrigeration system that extracts heat from one substance and transfers it to another portion of the same substance or to a second substance at a higher temperature for a beneficial purpose.

What does HVAC stand for?

Heating

Ventilation

Air

Conditioning

Does an air conditioner really weigh 3 tons?

Just like a “light year” is a measurement of distance (not time), a “ton” in this industry is a measurement of energy needed, rather than weight. A ton in this context is the amount of energy needed to melt a ton of ice in a 24-hour period.

What is a load calculation?

A calculation process for determining the amount of heating and air conditioning required to heat or cool a house.  Most load calculations are based on “Manual J” from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

What is NATE?

North American Technician Excellence, the professional certification body for heating and air conditioning technicians.

What’s your hourly rate?

We stopped charging by the hour because our customers wanted to know the price up front.  They didn’t like open ended pricing. We don’t charge by the hour anymore.  We give you a firm quote up front, before any work begins.  These quotes are based on national standard repair data.  If the repair takes longer than expected, we’ll stand by the quote.  You wont pay more.

Why cant I get a ballpark price?

We used to offer ballpark price estimates.  The problem was the estimates were usually wrong.  Unfortunately in home air conditioning repair and appliance issues can run from as low as $150 all the way to several thousand dollars.  There is just know way to know what the cost will be until we not only see the exact problem, but also see what caused the problem.  It would be unfair to you for us to guess over the phone.

Why cant I get a free estimate?

We do give free estimates.  Bring your broken appliance to us and we do not charge for an estimate.  We also provide free estimates for new AC equipment.

How much is a service call?

Our trip charge and diagnostic fee is $95.00 for all residential home services.  This fee is applied towards the repair cost if you choose to fix the problem.  We will send one of our professional technicians who is certified and background screened to your door step.

You are responsible for the trip charge or your technician’s quoted labor. Not both.

Heating Repair (12)

What is an air handling unit?

A blower or fan used for the purpose of distributing supply air to a room, space, or area.

What is BTU?

Abbreviation for British thermal unit, which is the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water 1ºF (1 Btu = 1055 J).

What is a furnace?

A completely self-contained heating unit that is designed to supply heated air to spaces remote from or adjacent to the appliance location.

What is a heat pump?

A refrigeration system that extracts heat from one substance and transfers it to another portion of the same substance or to a second substance at a higher temperature for a beneficial purpose.

What is AFUE?

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, a measure of heating efficiency.  A higher AFUE denotes higher efficiency.  The current minimum is 80%.

What does HVAC stand for?

Heating

Ventilation

Air

Conditioning

What is a load calculation?

A calculation process for determining the amount of heating and air conditioning required to heat or cool a house.  Most load calculations are based on “Manual J” from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

What is NATE?

North American Technician Excellence, the professional certification body for heating and air conditioning technicians.

What’s your hourly rate?

We stopped charging by the hour because our customers wanted to know the price up front.  They didn’t like open ended pricing. We don’t charge by the hour anymore.  We give you a firm quote up front, before any work begins.  These quotes are based on national standard repair data.  If the repair takes longer than expected, we’ll stand by the quote.  You wont pay more.

Why cant I get a ballpark price?

We used to offer ballpark price estimates.  The problem was the estimates were usually wrong.  Unfortunately in home air conditioning repair and appliance issues can run from as low as $150 all the way to several thousand dollars.  There is just know way to know what the cost will be until we not only see the exact problem, but also see what caused the problem.  It would be unfair to you for us to guess over the phone.

Why cant I get a free estimate?

We do give free estimates.  Bring your broken appliance to us and we do not charge for an estimate.  We also provide free estimates for new AC equipment.

How much is a service call?

Our trip charge and diagnostic fee is $95.00 for all residential home services.  This fee is applied towards the repair cost if you choose to fix the problem.  We will send one of our professional technicians who is certified and background screened to your door step.

You are responsible for the trip charge or your technician’s quoted labor. Not both.

Appliances (8)

I have an old refrigerator/freezer that doesn’t work anymore, and I need to get rid of it. What can I do?

The best option is to take it to your local landfill. However, the law does require that you have the refrigerant evacuated first. Your local appliance repair company should be able to do that for you.

Can I put my refrigerator all the way up against the wall?

Yes you can, as long as there is not a metal grid on the back of it. If there is, you should make sure you leave 1? of space between the unit and the wall.

Why would my washer be using cool water during the warm cycle?

Your washer is actually combining hot water and cold water to create the warm water and during certain times of the year cold water gets colder. So, during the colder months, you can expect your warm cycle to run cooler. You might also want to check to see if there is anything blocking the hot water coming into your machine.

Is it bad to use softener sheets?

Softener sheets won’t cause any damage to your dryer, but they can lead to clogged lint filters or the coating of your moisture sensor. If you use them, be sure to periodically clean the screen of your lint filter and wipe off your sensor.

What’s your hourly rate?

We stopped charging by the hour because our customers wanted to know the price up front.  They didn’t like open ended pricing. We don’t charge by the hour anymore.  We give you a firm quote up front, before any work begins.  These quotes are based on national standard repair data.  If the repair takes longer than expected, we’ll stand by the quote.  You wont pay more.

Why cant I get a ballpark price?

We used to offer ballpark price estimates.  The problem was the estimates were usually wrong.  Unfortunately in home air conditioning repair and appliance issues can run from as low as $150 all the way to several thousand dollars.  There is just know way to know what the cost will be until we not only see the exact problem, but also see what caused the problem.  It would be unfair to you for us to guess over the phone.

Why cant I get a free estimate?

We do give free estimates.  Bring your broken appliance to us and we do not charge for an estimate.  We also provide free estimates for new AC equipment.

How much is a service call?

Our trip charge and diagnostic fee is $95.00 for all residential home services.  This fee is applied towards the repair cost if you choose to fix the problem.  We will send one of our professional technicians who is certified and background screened to your door step.

You are responsible for the trip charge or your technician’s quoted labor. Not both.