As temperatures climb in Colorado, more people are headed indoors to beat the heat. HVAC companies in the Denver metro area are inundated with calls again this summer, after years of struggling to complete requests.
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At the height of the pandemic, shortages of materials used to construct HVAC equipment delayed repair appointments nationwide. Those disruptions in the HVAC — or heating, ventilation and air conditioning — industry are still felt as temperatures begin to rise again.
Carlos and Miguel Valdivia run MC Mechanical HVAC services. The heat wave is keeping the brothers busy.
“Sometimes we get like 50 calls a day. Sometimes in the same hour. No one wants to wait,” said Carlos.
This week they’re installing an HVAC system in a new build. As temps get hotter, they said their priority will be repairs on homes with families already inside.
“We try to do the best we can. When we get emergency calls, we’ll stop and move on and take care of those customers. There’s a lot of people that got kids in the house. We want to make sure we take care of those people first,” said Miguel.
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Supplies needed for residential repairs are more plentiful than last year, but Carlos says regular product availability for larger repairs still aren’t back to normal.
“The commercial rooftop units we ordered last year aren’t supposed to arrive for another two months,” Carlos.
Terry Hartzell at Hartzell Heating and Air Conditioning says many customers are finally getting relief after the supply shortages of summers past.
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“That affected people pretty hard last year, and the year before for that, and people have had to wait till this year to actually address it,” said Hartzell. “The people that have addressed it before this week are grateful that they did.”
As the heat wave progresses, waits for service calls will get longer. He says preventative maintenance could save residents a lot of headaches in the future.
“Change your filter and make sure your filter is appropriate for your system. Clean out the outdoor unit. If you live by cottonwood trees, take a garden hose to it and rinse it off. Your system will be able to reject heat a lot better,” said Hartzell.
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