Looking for AC repair in Arlington, TX usually means a system that came with a house built during the city's long boom, from the General Motors plant years through the 1990s. Those houses are solid, but their air conditioners have been replaced, patched and replaced again, often on ducts and wiring from the original build. Here is what is specific to Arlington, and how to reach a local HVAC company through the free line.
First, what the line is. Dallas Air & Heating is a free phone line, not an HVAC contractor, and it has no technicians or trucks. Dial (469) 649-7066 and an automated assistant answers, asks whether it is a cooling or heating problem, then takes your name, number, ZIP and what the system is doing. It transfers the call to an independent, locally owned heating and air conditioning company that works in Arlington. You hire that company, it sets its own price, and you pay it directly.
Arlington: a city that grew more than forty times over in fifty years
The Texas State Historical Association counts 7,692 people in Arlington in 1950. The General Motors assembly plant opened in January 1954, Six Flags Over Texas followed in 1961, and the city reached 89,723 people by 1970, 261,717 by 1990 and 332,969 by 2000. The 2020 Census found 394,266 residents.
Since then growth has slowed. The Census Bureau estimates 402,134 people in July 2025, up only about 2 percent, on roughly 96 square miles of land. In plain terms, Arlington is mostly built out. Since most of its growth came between 1960 and 2000, a large share of its homes are now roughly 25 to 65 years old, which puts many of them in the same stage of life: original ducts, a third or fourth outdoor unit, and owners deciding whether one more repair is worth it.
Arlington by decade: what the house and the system usually look like
Population figures are from the Texas State Historical Association. The rest is a general guide; your own system's data plate, usually on the side of the outdoor unit, gives its actual age and refrigerant.
| Decade | Arlington population at the end | What a technician often finds in those homes |
|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 44,775 (1960) | Small postwar houses near the old downtown, with central air often added later. Ducts may be undersized and supply only part of the house. |
| 1960s | 89,723 (1970) | Ranch homes on slabs with ceiling vents and attic ducts. Metal ducts may be sound but leaky at the joints; returns are often too small. |
| 1970s | 160,123 (1980) | The largest single jump. Many homes have had the outdoor unit swapped while keeping the original indoor coil and ducts, a mismatch that hurts efficiency. |
| 1980s | 261,717 (1990) | Bigger floor plans and higher ceilings. Some systems still run on R-22, which is expensive to recharge now that U.S. production has ended. |
| 1990s | 332,969 (2000) | Two-story homes in the south part of the city. Upstairs rooms that run hot, and attic air handlers with drain pans that rust through. |
Repairs that come up often in Arlington homes of this age
None of these is unique to Arlington, but a city with so many houses from the 1970s and 1980s sees them more than most. Knowing the likely culprits helps you follow what the technician tells you.
- Mismatched indoor and outdoor partsWhen only the outdoor condenser was replaced years ago, the indoor coil may be decades older and a poor match. It can freeze, leak or limit cooling.
- Leaky or crushed ductsAttic ducts in older homes come apart at the joints or get stepped on. Rooms at the end of a long run get little air while the attic gets cooled.
- R-22 leaksA system that still uses R-22 can be recharged only from shrinking supplies. A leak on one is usually where the repair or replace talk starts.
- Electrical wearCapacitors, contactors and fan motors (the parts that start and run the unit) wear out with heat and age. These are jobs for a technician, never for a homeowner.
- Drain troubleAlgae clogs the condensate line, the float switch shuts the system off, or an old pan leaks into the ceiling.
Safe checks you can make before calling: the thermostat mode, setting and batteries; one reset of a tripped breaker; the air filter; and whether the outdoor unit is clear of leaves and grass clippings. If a breaker trips a second time, leave it off.
Tornadoes that crossed Arlington
Arlington has been hit directly more than once. The National Weather Service office in Fort Worth surveyed both of these storms.
March 28, 2000
On the same evening a tornado struck downtown Fort Worth, a second tornado produced F3 damage in Arlington near Bardin Road and Matlock Road, south of I-20, at about 7:07 p.m., then F2 damage northeast of the Grand Prairie airport. The Weather Service reported no deaths or serious injuries in Arlington.
April 3, 2012
An EF2 tornado with winds estimated up to 135 mph began in Kennedale, crossed Highway 287 and I-20, and moved northwest through Arlington neighborhoods, a path of about 4.6 miles in all, before ending near Lake Arlington along Waterview Drive. Eighteen homes were destroyed and 291 damaged.
After any storm, the outdoor unit is worth a look from a safe distance. Bent coil fins, a fan blade that hits its guard, a unit pushed off its pad or loose wiring all call for a technician before you run the system hard. If you will file an insurance claim, photograph the unit before anything is moved.
Arlington's permit rules for a new system
The City of Arlington's permitting guide lists HVAC replacement as work that needs a permit. If the job is mechanical only, the city issues a stand-alone mechanical permit. If replacing the system also means new electrical or plumbing work, the city wants a single remodel permit covering everything instead. All permit applications go through the city's online portal, ArlingtonPermits.com.
The same guide says any mechanical, electrical or plumbing work must be done by a person licensed in that trade. For air conditioning, Texas licenses contractors through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Before you sign, it pays to confirm a few things.
- Who pulls the permit. Ask the company to apply for it and to list it on the written quote.
- How the size was picked. A 1970s house with new windows and extra insulation may need a smaller unit than the one it has. Ask whether a load calculation was done.
- Whether the indoor coil is included. New outdoor units use newer refrigerants and need a matching indoor coil.
- What happens to the ducts. Ask if they were inspected, and get any sealing or replacement priced separately so you can compare quotes.
Check the license yourself. In Texas, air conditioning and refrigeration contractors are licensed by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), and the license number belongs on the company's quotes and invoices. Ask for it and look it up with the TDLR license search (opens in a new tab) before work starts. It is also fair to ask for a certificate of insurance.
Electric and gas service in Arlington
Arlington is inside Oncor Electric Delivery's territory, and residents choose their own retail electricity provider in the Texas market. Oncor owns the lines and restores power; your provider bills you. Neither one repairs air conditioners, so when the lights are on and the AC is not, the next call is to an HVAC company.
Natural gas comes from Atmos Energy, which holds the city's gas franchise under Arlington's code of ordinances. Many Arlington homes heat with a gas furnace in the attic or a hall closet, while others use an electric heat pump. If you smell gas, get everyone outside before calling 911 and Atmos. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, leave and call 911.
Why Arlington homeowners call the line
Older systems, big decisions
With so many Arlington homes past 25 years, a breakdown often turns into a repair or replace question. Calling the line gets you to a local company that can price both, and the call itself is free.
Day and night, summer and winter
The assistant answers around the clock, whether it is a dead condenser on an August night or a furnace that will not light during a freeze.
After a storm, one call
When hail or wind has hit your street, describe the damage and your ZIP. The summary reaches an independent local company before it picks up, so you are not repeating yourself.
Permit and license questions answered
This page lays out Arlington's permit rules and how to check a TDLR license, so you can hold the company you hire to them. You pay that company, never the line.
Services Arlington homes need most
Most summer calls are for AC repair: warm air, ice on the lines, short cycling or a unit that will not start. Because so many systems here are older, AC installation and replacement is worth reading before the next big failure, not after. A spring tune-up catches weak electrical parts and clogged drains on aging equipment, and furnace and heating repair covers no-heat calls when North Texas freezes.
AC Repair
Warm air from the vents, a unit that hums but will not start, ice on the lines or water in the ceiling. What a proper diagnosis covers in Dallas heat and what to ask before you approve a repair.
AC Installation and Replacement
When replacing beats repairing, why a load calculation matters more than the brand, and what a complete installation quote should list.
Furnace and Heating Repair
No heat on a cold North Texas morning, a furnace that short cycles or a heat pump stuck in defrost. Gas safety first, then what a technician checks.
HVAC Tune-Up and Maintenance
What a real spring or fall tune-up includes, what it does not, and the simple filter and drain habits that keep a system out of trouble.
How an Arlington call works
- Call any hourAn automated assistant answers (469) 649-7066 and asks whether it is about cooling or heating.
- Describe the problemGive your name, a callback number, your city or ZIP and what the system is doing.
- Get put throughThe call goes to an independent, locally owned heating and air conditioning company, which hears a short summary before it picks up.
- Deal with them directlyThat company diagnoses, quotes, does the work and is paid by you. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back.
How this line works: Dallas Air & Heating is a free phone line, not an HVAC company. It answers your call and connects you with an independent local heating and air conditioning company, which inspects, quotes and does the work, and which you pay directly. The line holds no HVAC license and does not repair, install or schedule anything itself. Those companies may pay Dallas Air & Heating a referral fee. You never pay the line. How it works.
Nearby service areas
Every Dallas-Fort Worth city the line answers for: