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San Antonio Cooling
Cooling a House Where the Heat Comes With Humidity
Ask anyone who moved here from West Texas or Arizona: the number on the thermometer is only part of it. San Antonio sits close enough to the Gulf that summer air arrives wet, and it stays that way from April into the fall. An air conditioner here does two jobs at once, and a system that only manages one of them leaves you with a house that is cool and clammy or dry and expensive. Good cooling in this city is about sizing, airflow and moisture control as much as it is about tonnage.
We work on every kind of home in the metro. Historic houses in King William and Monte Vista where ductless systems are the only sensible option. Sprawling 1990s and 2000s two-story homes in Stone Oak where the upstairs never quite catches up. Newer builds in Alamo Ranch and Cibolo with tight envelopes that trap humidity. Single-story homes in Converse and Universal City with original ductwork from the 1970s. Radiant has cooled all of them since 1999 under Texas HVAC license TACLB138286E, dispatching from our office on Wye Drive.
For the full picture of how a residential cooling system works and what each component does, start with our air conditioning page. Everything below is specific to keeping a San Antonio home comfortable.
- Licensed in San Antonio Texas HVAC license TACLB138286E. Every technician is licensed, trained, background-checked and bonded.
- Humidity is part of the job We size and set up systems to dry the air, not just chill it. That is the difference between 76 that feels fine and 72 that feels sticky.
- Schmidt Mechanical customers, welcome Schmidt Mechanical in San Antonio is now part of Radiant. Same trucks in your driveway, same standards on the invoice.
Which Service Do You Need?
Match the Problem to the Fix
Most cooling calls fall into one of these. If yours does not, call anyway and describe it; we will sort out which crew to send.
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It stopped cooling, or never got cold today
A repair call. Capacitors, fan motors, refrigerant leaks and blocked drains cover most of them. See San Antonio AC repair.
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It works, but it has not been looked at in years
A tune-up. Coil cleaning, charge check, capacitor test and a drain flush before the season. See AC maintenance.
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It is old, loud and expensive to run
Time to compare repair against replacement with real numbers. See AC installation.
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One room or floor is never comfortable
Duct leaks, poor returns or a missing zone. Sometimes a ductless unit for that room is the cheapest good answer.
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Cool but damp, with a mildew smell
A humidity problem. Fan settings, coil cleaning, a whole-home dehumidifier or right-sizing the equipment.
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A casita, garage apartment or historic home with no ducts
A ductless mini-split. Quiet, efficient and no attic surgery required.
What We Offer
Cooling Services for the San Antonio Area
The whole cooling side of the house, from a same-day capacitor swap to a new variable-speed system with zoning.
- AC repair, 24/7 Tested, priced in writing, and often fixable on the first visit with parts from the truck.
- Seasonal maintenance Spring and late-summer tune-ups. Two a year are included with Care Club.
- Installation and replacement Load-calculated, permitted, and manager-reviewed on installs over $3,000.
- Ductless mini-splits Single rooms, additions and historic homes without ductwork.
- Air handlers and condensers Indoor and outdoor halves replaced or repaired as matched equipment.
- Whole-home dehumidifiers For the house that is cool enough but never dry. Especially useful in tightly built newer homes.
- Smart thermostats Humidity-aware controls and schedules that cut run time during the afternoon peak.
- Heat pumps A cooling system that also covers a mild San Antonio winter.
How We Work
The Radiant Way, on Every Cooling Call
Whether it is a $200 repair or a whole new system, the ground rules do not change.
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Reach a person any hour
Call or book online. We are available 24/7, and there are no surprise fees for nights, weekends or holidays.
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Diagnose the whole system
Equipment, airflow, ductwork and humidity. In this climate the cause is often not where the symptom shows up.
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A written price, your decision
Accurate, honored for 72 hours, no hidden fees. We tell you when a repair beats a replacement and when it does not.
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Backed by the guarantee
If we cannot resolve the issue, the Home Comfort Guarantee provides a 10% inconvenience refund up to $1,000.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
San Antonio
HVAC
25% Off Select Air Purifiers & Filters
Expires 12/31/2026
San Antonio
HVAC
Up To $2,500 OFF Full HVAC System!
Expires 12/31/2026
San Antonio
HVAC
Buy a Complete HVAC System, Get a Furnace FREE!
Expires 12/31/2026
San Antonio
HVAC
Last Chance HVAC Tune-up $68
Expires 12/31/2026
Both Locations
HVAC
Up to $200 off Duct Cleaning
Expires 12/31/2026
Both Locations
HVAC
$99 Furnace Tune-Up
Expires 12/31/2026
Need Cooling Help in San Antonio?
Repair, tune-up or replacement, we will tell you which one you actually need.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Alex performed the winter service on my unit. This business along with Alex, are very professional and upfront about everything. To be transparent, this is the maintenance included with the purchase of a unit from them. I was informed about everything to include pictures as proof. I was told that my unit is 100% and very clean and again pictures to prove it. I was reccomended this business by a friend and glad he did. The initial purchase experience was also amazing. I had contacted 5 other businesses to get quotes about a new unit as my upstairs unit failed. 2 were outrageous quotes and I am technically still waiting on the other 3. On every instance of getting a quote, I waited about 1 week. Luckily my house has two units but still, un acceptable especially during the summer. I guess they all had so much business they did not care for mine. When I called this business not only did they come out the same day, I had the new unit installed with in 48 hrs. Oh and let's not forget the quote they gave me was the lowest of all. I can say enough good things about this business. Keep up the great work.
★★★★★
We needed a new air conditioning system because ours was over 15 years old. I decided to get several estimates from different companies here in San Antonio. Each company seemed to have outrageous prices and wanted to put me into something that was above what I needed. I decided to try one more company, Schmidt Mechanical. I went on their website early in the morning and filled out my information asking for someone to contact me. By the end of the same day, Jared was sitting at our table. I told him specifically what I wanted and what I did not want, since I had gained quite a bit of information from my interaction with other companies. We had a lot of fun sitting at the table and talking about many things, but when he put pen to paper, and gave us three choices of product, service, warranties, etc., we knew right away that Schmidt Mechanical was far superior to other companies in town. We sealed the deal and decided that the following Monday would be installation day. Keeping in mind, that would be one week from the day that we sat down and closed. The very next night, our old unit decided to call it quits and we still had six more nights to go until we get the new system. I called the after hours service line and they sent someone out by 10 o’clock that night, but unfortunately the unit couldn’t even carry electricity to be repaired. They didn’t even charge me for that service call. The next morning I called the company to ask if they had any suggestions on what we could do in the meantime. They put their heads together to come up with a solution. We were very thankful to Keith when he called to tell us they were able to rearrange schedules and carve out time in order to have our new AC unit installed two days later. Schmidt Mechanical - professional, honest, dependable, excellent customer service -- a company you will not regret doing business with. Thank you Team Schmidt!
★★★★★
I would highly recommend Radiant Plumbing. After our 17 year old system broke we bought a new AC unit from Radiant. All the people I dealt with were highly professional, explained everything well and were thorough in their inspection. They were very easy to contact, including a number customers can text with concerns or questions. They kept me well informed through the whole process. They even installed at no cost a portable AC to keep us cool before the installation. The installers, Arturo and Rene, were prompt; they arrived at the exact time we were told, and were very respectful of our home.
Radiant helped us quickly; the AC broke Thursday evening, we scheduled the repairman to come Friday, and Saturday they installed the new unit. I know it isn't always able to happen that fast but it was an extra bonus and relief to finally find an AC company that is actually available and answers the phone, unlike A US Air Conditioning, and is efficient and thorough with no high pressure salesmen, unlike ARS.
Thank you Radiant!
11/4/2020 - update
Had CJ out for the system check and he was very professional, informative, and respectful. He had some recommendations and was able to get us a replacement part for free even though we were just outside the 2yr warranty. It was a very unexpected blessing and I greatly appreciate him and the whole Radiant team.
Radiant helped us quickly; the AC broke Thursday evening, we scheduled the repairman to come Friday, and Saturday they installed the new unit. I know it isn't always able to happen that fast but it was an extra bonus and relief to finally find an AC company that is actually available and answers the phone, unlike A US Air Conditioning, and is efficient and thorough with no high pressure salesmen, unlike ARS.
Thank you Radiant!
11/4/2020 - update
Had CJ out for the system check and he was very professional, informative, and respectful. He had some recommendations and was able to get us a replacement part for free even though we were just outside the 2yr warranty. It was a very unexpected blessing and I greatly appreciate him and the whole Radiant team.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
San Antonio Cooling Questions
What temperature should I set my thermostat to during a San Antonio summer?
Whatever keeps you comfortable without running the system into the ground, and in this climate that is usually a little higher than people expect, because a properly dehumidified house at 76 feels better than a damp one at 72. Two settings matter more than the number itself. Leave the fan on “auto” rather than “on”, so the blower does not blow moisture off the wet coil back into the house between cycles. And avoid big setbacks on the hottest afternoons; dropping the setting from 80 to 72 at 5 p.m. asks the system to catch up during the worst hour of the day. A smart thermostat that manages humidity as well as temperature makes both of these automatic.
Is a ductless system a good option for an older San Antonio house?
Often the best one. Homes in Monte Vista, King William, Alamo Heights and the older neighborhoods around downtown were built without ductwork, and retrofitting ducts means giving up closet space and cutting into plaster walls and ceilings. A ductless mini-split puts a quiet indoor head in each room served by one outdoor unit, with no ducts at all. Each room gets its own control, and because there are no ducts there are no duct losses in a hot attic. The same logic applies to casitas, garage apartments and additions in any part of the city. We install and service them alongside central systems; the details are on our ductless mini-split page.
Why is the upstairs of my Stone Oak house always hotter than the downstairs?
Heat rises, the roof radiates into the second-floor ceiling, and in most two-story San Antonio homes the ductwork serving the upstairs runs through the hottest part of the attic. Add a few disconnected or crushed flex ducts and a return that is too small, and the upstairs never gets its share of the cooling. The fixes range from cheap to significant: sealing and insulating the attic ducts, adding a return upstairs, balancing the dampers, adding a zoning system with its own thermostat for the second floor, or, in a large house, a second system. We start with a duct inspection and airflow measurements so you are not paying for a bigger fix than the house needs. Our San Antonio duct cleaning page covers what we find in attic ductwork.
Does Radiant still service homes that were Schmidt Mechanical customers?
Yes. Schmidt Mechanical in San Antonio is now part of Radiant, and homes they installed or serviced are homes we know. If you had a maintenance relationship with Schmidt, the same kind of seasonal service continues through Radiant, and our Care Club plan is open to you at the same $9.99 a month as any other San Antonio homeowner. There is more on the transition on our Schmidt Mechanical page. If you are not sure whether your equipment records carried over, call and give us the address; we will look it up.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
