What is it doing? The Dallas version
Same physics as anywhere, different order of likely causes. Dallas homes are newer on average, ducts are in the attic, and the weather throws hail and 20°F swings at the equipment.
Cooling, but it never catches up
the DFW signature call
Attic ducts. Most homes in Plano, Frisco, McKinney and Arlington built since 1990 run flex duct through an attic that hits 130°F in July. Twenty to thirty percent leakage is normal on an untested system, and the air that does arrive has been reheated on the way. Static pressure and a duct leakage test find it. Sealing is the fix, and Oncor pays participating contractors toward it.
Undersized return. Builder-grade single returns starve the blower. The system runs constantly and the split across the coil sits under 12°F.
Marginal charge or a dirty evaporator. After the ducts are ruled out.
Fine until the hailstorm
spring, north and west suburbs
Dallas County and Collin County take some of the most hail in the country. Hail folds condenser fins flat; the coil cannot breathe; capacity drops and head pressure climbs. A fin comb restores light damage. Heavy damage — fins crushed to the tubes — is a coil or condenser replacement and a homeowner's insurance conversation. Photograph the unit before the tech straightens anything.
Would not restart after the power blinked
storms, grid events
Compressors that stop mid-cycle try to restart against full head pressure. On an aging unit the hard-start is the moment the capacitor or the compressor windings give up. Contactor chatter and a tripped breaker after a storm are the same story. Reset the breaker once; if it trips again, stop and call.
Warm air, fan running
the usual list, Dallas order
Filter (spring oak and cottonwood pollen loads them fast here), thermostat, then outdoor unit: capacitor, contactor, then refrigerant. Ice on the lines means shut it off and let it thaw before anyone can diagnose it.
Water under the air handler
attic units especially
A clogged condensate drain in an attic air handler shows up as a stained ceiling. Most Dallas attic installs have a secondary drain pan with its own line to an exterior eave — if water is dripping from a pipe over a window, that is the secondary telling you the primary is blocked. Clear it now; the pan is the last line before drywall.
The Dallas cooling calendar
About 3,125 cooling degree days and just under 2,000 heating degree days a year (NOAA normals, climate zone 3A). A real summer, a real if short winter, and a violent spring in between.
| Window | What happens | What we see in calls |
|---|---|---|
| March–May | Pollen, then severe storms and hail | Filters, fin damage, post-outage restarts. Best month for a tune-up is April. |
| June | First sustained 95°F | Capacitors, contactors on units that sat since September |
| July–August | 100°F+ runs, attic ducts at 130°F+ | Weak-cooling and duct calls, compressor failures late August |
| September–October | Cools quickly | Deferred leak repairs, evaporator coils, the quiet season |
| November–February | Heat mode; occasional ice storm | Heat pump defrost questions, strip heat bills |
Where in DFW
Dallas County is the core — Dallas proper, Irving, Garland, Richardson, Carrollton, Grand Prairie — and the network runs north through Plano, Frisco and McKinney in Collin County, west through Arlington to Fort Worth in Tarrant County. Lakewood, Oak Cliff and the Park Cities inside Dallas, Las Colinas in Irving, and the newer subdivisions along the Dallas North Tollway are all in coverage. Ask about a ZIP outside that ring and we will tell you honestly whether a contractor is close.
The split that matters for dispatch: pre-1985 homes in Lakewood, Oak Cliff, the M Streets and older Richardson often have retrofitted central air with undersized ducts and closet air handlers; 1995-onward suburban stock in Frisco, McKinney and Grand Prairie has attic air handlers and the duct problems above. Tell us the rough age of the house and we route accordingly.
Dallas repair costs
Dallas labor is at the low end of the five metros. Typical ranges; diagnostic usually credited.
- $75–$140Diagnostic visit
- $140–$350Run capacitor, installed
- $140–$320Contactor
- $90–$220Condensate drain clear and treat
- $150–$400Fin comb / hail repair, light damage
- $300–$1,400Duct sealing, before Oncor incentive
- $400–$1,400Leak repair and recharge
- $1,400–$2,800Compressor
A compressor quote on a unit over twelve years old, or a hail total: what replacement costs in Dallas and what Oncor pays toward it. The full symptom tree for any metro is on the AC repair page. Storm and heat outlooks: National Weather Service Fort Worth/Dallas.