AC repair in Dallas

Dallas sits in Oncor's delivery area inside ERCOT's retail-choice market. Oncor owns the poles and wires; your retail electricity provider sends the bill. Oncor does run energy efficiency programs, but only through independent service providers listed on its Take A Load Off Texas site when a program is open, and Oncor isn't a party to your contract with that provider. If a contractor promises an Oncor incentive, ask to see the program listing and get the amount in writing.

Summer load is the other local fact. ERCOT set an all-time peak demand record of 91,089 megawatts on July 22, 2026, topping the 85,508 MW record from August 10, 2023 (ERCOT treats records as unofficial until final settlement). Demand peaks in summer heat, so have a weak Dallas unit looked at in spring rather than waiting for July.

HomeGuide's national figures give a baseline for Dallas quotes. AC repair runs $150 to $650 on average, with technicians charging $75 to $150 an hour. Large out-of-warranty repairs can reach $650 to $2,500 or more. Replacing a central AC unit with a standard-efficiency system costs $5,000 to $8,300 nationally.

When a repair quote lands near the bottom of the replacement range, ask what efficiency the new unit would have. Texas is in the federal Southeast region, so a split-system central air conditioner installed here since January 1, 2023 must be at least 14.3 SEER2 below 45,000 Btu/h, or 13.8 SEER2 at 45,000 Btu/h and up. Refrigerant rules changed too: new residential systems are limited to refrigerants with a global warming potential of 700 or less from January 1, 2025, though systems whose parts were all made or imported before that date have no installation deadline. The full Texas cost guide is on the HVAC hub.

Every contractor who installs, repairs or maintains air conditioning or heating in Texas needs a TDLR license, and a company must employ a licensed contractor at each permanent location. The license is valid statewide, so Dallas doesn't issue a separate HVAC license, and since September 1, 2021 Texas cities may not charge TDLR-licensed HVAC contractors registration fees. They can still charge permit fees.

• Look up the license on TDLR's License Data Search under Air Conditioning Contractors. The number shows class and endorsement, for example TACL/A/000000/C.
• Match the class to the job. Class B covers cooling systems of 25 tons or less and heating up to 1.5 million BTU per hour. Class A covers any size.
• Ask about insurance. Class B contractors must carry at least $100,000 per occurrence in general liability, Class A at least $300,000.
• Check the technician. Helpers must be registered with TDLR and work under the contractor's supervision.

Texas rules bar HVAC licensees from misrepresenting the need for service. If one company says the system is finished and another says it needs a capacitor, that's a reason to get a third opinion.

Replacement and new mechanical work in Dallas goes through DallasNow, the city's permit portal. Since June 1, 2026, Dallas has required plumbing and mechanical rough inspections to be scheduled together on the same day, and the finals together too, because of staffing shortages among those inspectors. On a job that also moves a gas line or a condensate drain, expect your HVAC and plumbing contractors to coordinate one inspection date. Licensees must give cities a list of agents allowed to pull permits under their license, so ask who will pull yours.

Dallas homeowner's permit for mechanical work

Texas's HVAC licensing law doesn't apply to work in a building you solely own as your home, and Dallas offers a homeowner's permit for mechanical work on a homestead only if nobody is paid to help with any part of it. Ask Dallas Development Services about the permit rules before any work starts.

If your plumbing needs work at the same time, see Dallas plumbers. The Dallas guide covers the city's other permit rules, and Garland AC repair works differently because the city runs most of its own power.