Dallas AC and Heating: Frequently Asked Questions

A free phone line, run by Dominion Digital Group, that connects Dallas-Fort Worth callers with independent, locally owned heating and air conditioning companies. It is not an HVAC company and never does the work itself. See about the line.

No. The line never charges callers. The HVAC company you are connected with sets its own trip or diagnostic fee and repair prices and tells you directly. The line may receive a referral fee from that company.

An automated assistant answers at any hour, asks whether it is cooling or heating, takes your name, callback number, city or ZIP and what the system is doing, then transfers you to an independent local company that hears a short summary first. If it cannot answer, it gets your details to call back. See how it works.

You can send the short request form on the contact page with your name, phone number, city or ZIP and what you need, and an independent local company calls you back. There is no email address for the line. If the system is out right now, calling is faster, because the assistant can put you straight through.

The line does not vouch for any company's license or insurance. Texas requires air conditioning and refrigeration contractors to hold a license from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), so ask the company for its number and look it up on the TDLR license search before work starts. Ask for a certificate of insurance too.

Start with the company that did the job, since it set the price, did the work and billed you. If that goes nowhere, TDLR regulates air conditioning and refrigeration contractors in Texas and takes complaints; its customer service line is 800-803-9202.

Dallas and the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Allen, Richardson, Garland, Mesquite, Irving, Carrollton, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Denton, Fort Worth, Arlington and Grand Prairie. See all service areas.

Make sure the thermostat is set to cool and below room temperature, and replace the batteries if the screen is blank. Check the air filter. Look for a tripped breaker for the AC and reset it once; if it trips again, leave it off. If the outdoor fan is not spinning or the lines are iced, turn the system off and call. See AC repair.

No. Turn cooling off at the thermostat so the ice can melt, and check that the filter is not clogged. Ice usually points to restricted airflow or a refrigerant problem, and running a frozen system can damage the compressor. Refrigerant work is for a technician, so call once it is off.

Turn the system off at the thermostat, put a bucket or towels under the drip and move anything valuable. Most DFW air handlers sit in the attic, and a clogged condensate drain or a full drain pan is a common cause. If you can safely see the drain line or float switch, note what you see for the technician, then call.

Not always. North Texas heat is hard on any system: DFW Airport logged a record 71 days of 100 degrees or more in 2011. A system that runs constantly and holds a few degrees above the setting may be working at its limit. If the air from the vents is barely cool, the outdoor fan is stopped or the house keeps climbing, turn it off and call. See emergency AC repair.

If the outage is still going on, most DFW homes report it to Oncor, which delivers the electricity you buy from your retail electric provider, at 888-313-4747. A few cities run their own electric utility instead: in Denton, outages go to Denton Municipal Electric dispatch at (940) 349-7000. Once power is back, check the thermostat and the AC breakers. If it still will not start, call the line.

It can be, especially for older adults, babies and anyone with a health condition. Heat stroke signs include confusion, slurred speech, a body temperature above 103 degrees, hot red skin and fainting. The National Weather Service says to call 911 right away for heat stroke. Get people somewhere cool first and deal with the AC second.

Leave the house right away without switching anything on or off. From a safe distance, call 911 and your gas utility. Atmos Energy, which serves much of DFW, lists its 24-hour emergency number as 866-322-8667. Do not go back in until you are told it is safe. A heating company comes after the leak is handled.

It might be, so treat it as real. Get everyone out of the house and call 911. The EPA lists malfunctioning furnaces and water heaters, gas stoves and car exhaust from attached garages among the indoor sources of carbon monoxide, a gas you cannot see or smell. Have a qualified technician inspect the fuel-burning appliances before you use them again.

Heat pump air usually feels less hot than air from a gas furnace, even when the system is working. On cold mornings it may also run a defrost cycle or lean on backup electric heat. If the house will not warm up, the outdoor unit is caked in ice that never clears, or the thermostat shows emergency heat running for long stretches, call. See furnace and heating repair.

Yes, that is the standard advice. The EPA recommends having fuel-burning appliances inspected by a trained professional at the start of every heating season, and ENERGY STAR suggests checking the cooling system in spring and the heating system in fall. See HVAC tune-up and maintenance.

ENERGY STAR says to inspect the filter once a month and change it when it looks dirty. In a DFW summer, when the system runs for hours a day, filters load up faster, and a clogged filter is a common reason a system freezes up or stops cooling well.

No. Existing R-410A systems can still be serviced and repaired. In a final rule issued in May 2026, the EPA also removed the January 1, 2026 installation deadline for residential split systems built with R-410A, so existing inventory can still be installed. Read the free refrigerant guide.

Ask what exactly failed, what the repair costs next to a replacement, how old the system is and how often it has needed repairs. A single inexpensive part on a younger system is usually a repair. A failed compressor on a system near the end of its life is a different conversation. Ask the technician to put both numbers in writing. See AC installation and replacement.

Not from the line, which never quotes. Most companies can tell you their trip or diagnostic fee on the phone, but a fair repair price needs someone to look at the equipment. Ask for it in writing before work starts.

No. The IRS energy efficient home improvement credit (section 25C) covered qualifying equipment placed in service from 2023 through 2025, and it is not available for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025.

Usually, yes. Cities set their own rules: the City of Denton, for example, states that repair or replacement of HVAC or a furnace requires a permit. In Dallas, mechanical contractors register with the city based on their state license before signing permits. The installing company normally pulls the permit, so ask whether it is included in the quote.