HVAC Questions & Answers

We are based in Celina, TX and serve Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Plano, Allen, Parker, Little Elm, The Colony, Carrollton, Richardson, Garland, Aubrey, Melissa, Anna and the wider Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex across Collin, Denton and Dallas counties.

Yes. Our regular hours are Monday to Saturday, 8 AM to 6 PM, and our emergency line at 469-919-7646 is answered 24 hours a day for no-cool, no-heat and commercial refrigeration emergencies — including weekends and holidays.

Yes. Panda Heating and Cooling is a fully licensed and insured Texas HVAC contractor, license number TACLA128438C, serving North Dallas since 2008. Every technician is background-checked and continuously trained.

We charge a flat diagnostic fee that covers a full system evaluation and a written repair quote, and we tell you that number before we come out. If you approve the repair on the same visit, the diagnostic fee is credited toward the work. Comfort Club members pay a reduced rate.

Yes — we are a registered dealer for Service Finance Company, and their equal-payment plans go up to 60 months at 0% interest on approved credit. Term and rate are set by the lender under its own programs and approval criteria. We apply with you at the quote, usually get a decision in minutes, and show you the monthly payment alongside the purchase price.

Our maintenance membership. Members get two precision tune-ups a year scheduled automatically, priority dispatch ahead of non-members, a standing discount on repairs, reduced after-hours rates and documented service records for warranty claims.

All of them. Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, American Standard, York, Amana, Bryant, Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric, Heil and every other major residential and light commercial brand — no matter who installed it.

Absolutely. A large share of our work is repairing, correcting and maintaining systems installed by other contractors, including builder-grade equipment in new construction.

We hold same-day slots for no-cool calls every day in Celina, Prosper, Frisco, McKinney, Plano and the surrounding Collin County cities. Call 469-919-7646 and we will give you a real arrival window, not a vague “sometime today.” After hours, our emergency line is answered 24/7.

The most common causes are a failed capacitor stopping the outdoor compressor, a tripped breaker on the condenser circuit, a refrigerant leak, or a dirty condenser coil that cannot reject heat. A frozen indoor coil from a clogged filter will do the same thing. All of these are diagnosable in one visit.

Yes — a flat diagnostic fee covers a full system evaluation and a written repair quote. If you approve the repair on that visit, the fee is applied to the work. Comfort Club members pay a reduced rate.

Yes. We service Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, American Standard, York, Amana, Bryant, Daikin and every other major brand — regardless of who installed it.

Most complete residential AC replacements in this area land between roughly $6,000 and $14,000 depending on tonnage, efficiency (SEER2), whether the furnace or air handler is being replaced with it, and any duct or electrical work required. We give a firm written quote after a free in-home evaluation — never a phone estimate.

A straight change-out is a one-day job. If we are replacing the furnace or air handler at the same time, or correcting ductwork, plan on one to two days. We protect floors, haul off the old equipment and clean up completely.

The federal minimum in the South is 14.3 SEER2. For a house that runs air conditioning eight months a year, stepping up to 16–18 SEER2 with a two-stage or variable-speed compressor usually pays for itself in comfort and humidity control long before it pays for itself in kilowatt-hours. We will show you the operating-cost math on each option.

Yes — through Service Finance Company, with equal monthly payments over terms up to 60 months at 0% interest on approved credit. The plans you qualify for are the lender’s decision and their programs change through the year, so ask us for the current terms when we quote your system.

We quote a flat rate before we book, so there is no meter running and no surprise at the end. Comfort Club members pay a reduced rate and get priority scheduling. Call 469-919-7646 and we will give you the number on the phone.

About 60 to 90 minutes for a single system. A two-system home runs closer to two hours. If we find something that needs repair we quote it before touching it, and you decide whether it happens on that visit.

It depends on the system, and we will tell you honestly. On anything over five years old it usually pays for itself the first time it catches a weakening capacitor or a blocking condensate drain. On a two-year-old system still under warranty the case is weaker, and we would rather say so than sell you one.

We run seasonal pricing in spring and autumn. If you have more than one system, or you plan to stay in the house, the Comfort Club is usually better value than a one-off — it bundles both seasonal visits with priority scheduling and a repair discount.

Yes. Our emergency line at 469-919-7646 is monitored around the clock. If we cannot get a technician to you immediately, we will tell you straight and give you a real time — we do not leave people guessing in the heat.

No cooling when outdoor temperatures are above about 95°, no heat below about 45°, any burning smell or electrical arcing, water pouring from an indoor unit, or a commercial refrigeration failure putting inventory at risk. Anything involving a gas smell is a fire-department call first — leave the building and call 911, then call us.

There is an after-hours rate, and we quote it to you before we dispatch, not after the work is done. Comfort Club members receive a discount on emergency rates.

Commercial refrigeration is our highest-priority dispatch category, 24 hours a day, because the cost clock is running on your inventory. Call 469-919-7646 and tell us it is a refrigeration emergency.

Most often an iced-over evaporator coil from a defrost failure, a dirty condenser coil, a refrigerant leak, or a door gasket letting warm humid air in. All four are same-visit diagnoses.

Yes — new walk-in cooler and freezer boxes and refrigeration systems, plus replacement condensing units and evaporators on existing boxes.

Both, plus convenience stores, medical and dental practices, churches, warehouses and schools. Anywhere with a walk-in, an ice machine, reach-in cases or rooftop units.

Yes, and for most kitchens that is the sensible way to do scheduled work. Emergency cover runs 24/7 at the after-hours rate, which we tell you on the phone before we dispatch.

Yes. Multi-site agreements are worth setting up properly rather than calling ad hoc — you get consistent reporting per unit, one schedule, and negotiated labor rates.

Generally 35–38°F for a cooler. If yours is climbing above 41°F you are into the food-safety danger zone and it needs attention immediately.

The defrost cycle is not doing its job: a failed defrost timer or board, a burnt-out defrost heater, or a defrost termination sensor out of calibration. Melting it manually is a temporary fix at best.

We are in Celina, so Prosper and Frisco are a short run and McKinney is not much further. For a walk-in with product in it we treat the call as an emergency regardless of the hour. What we will not do is promise a fixed arrival time during a heatwave when every commercial system in North Texas is under load at once.

Usually yes, and usually you should — a cooler holding 45°F is still doing more for your product than a cooler that is off. The exception is a compressor making a grinding or screaming noise, which means switch it off and move the stock. Running that turns a compressor repair into a compressor replacement.

Often. Most residential HVAC companies in this area do not do commercial refrigeration at all, which is why restaurants end up calling three places. We carry the common walk-in failure parts — contactors, fan motors, defrost timers, thermostats and door gaskets — so most calls finish on the first visit.

0°F or below, typically between -10°F and 0°F. Product quality degrades quickly above that even before it thaws.

The door frame heater wire or the gasket has failed, letting humid air condense and freeze at the seal. It is a straightforward repair, but leaving it damages the door and drives up the refrigeration load.

0°F is the working standard for frozen storage. A few degrees above will not spoil product immediately but it shortens shelf life and starts the freeze-thaw cycle that ruins texture. If your freezer is sitting at 15°F it is not 'a bit warm' — something is wrong.

It is not an emergency tonight, but do not leave it. Ice buildup means the defrost cycle has failed, and it gets worse in one direction only. Left long enough it blocks the evaporator entirely and the box warms up with the compressor running flat out, which is how a $300 defrost repair becomes a compressor.

That is a food safety judgement rather than an HVAC one, and it depends on how warm it got and for how long. This is exactly why we tell people to write down the temperature and the time when they first notice a problem. Your health inspector will ask.

At minimum twice a year, and quarterly in hard-water areas or high-volume kitchens. North Texas water is hard enough that quarterly is the realistic answer for most restaurants.

Usually scale on the evaporator plate, a water supply or float problem, or a low refrigerant charge. Cloudy ice specifically points at water quality and mineral content — a filtration issue as much as a mechanical one.

Almost always scale on the evaporator plate, low water pressure, or a failing water inlet valve. It is a water problem before it is a refrigeration problem, and it is usually fixed in one visit.

Every three to six months in North Texas, and closer to three if you are on hard municipal water. Manufacturers require documented cleaning to honour a warranty claim, so it is also the paperwork that protects the machine.

Could be water supply, could be a stuck harvest cycle, could be refrigerant. The useful detail for us is whether it completes a cycle and drops nothing, or never gets to harvest at all. Tell us which when you call and we will bring the right parts.