Regina heat wave prompts swell in air conditioner repairs

The soaring heat this week has people doing anything they can to stay cool, including turning AC units on.

Because of the heat, local air conditioning companies have been taking calls non-stop.

Adrian Godbold, owner of Regina Plumbing and Heating, said his business has had a busy start to summer, with phones continuously ring off the hook.

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“Lots of people are calling, saying the air conditioners aren’t keeping up or they’re not turning on, or making a mechanical sound like there’s an issue. So, we’re heading over there, and we’re fixing them up and getting them running,” Godbold said.

“It’s been challenging to keep up, that’s for sure.”

Godbold said he expects business to continue booming over the course of the summer.

“This time of year is definitely the busiest,” he explained. “When it’s the first heat wave, it tends to show all the weaknesses in the existing units, or will help convince people that we’re maybe thinking about getting air conditioning to move forward with getting an install, but I expect it to be a hot summer so I think we’re going see lots more days like this and lots more repairs.”

To ensure people’s units are working smoothly, Godbold emphasized the importance of maintaining them. He said it’s necessary to keep the filter and furnace clean.

“That’s huge, because if it’s not, you’re not getting enough air flow and you can end up freezing your coil, or it just doesn’t work well enough to cool your house,” Godbold said.

Outdoor units should be cleaned, too. Godbold said this can be done with a garden hose when the power is shut off. Coils should be cleaned to help the unit continue to operate “worry-free.”

Additionally, Godbold suggested keeping your home set at a reasonable temperature and not waiting until the end of the day to turn on air conditioning as ways to save money, “so that the air conditioner is not working hard when you get home and trying to cool the house down when it’s this warm out.”

He said that can take a long time, also recommending that people close their blinds to keep the sun from heating their homes.

Healther Johnson, SaskPower media relations, said it doesn’t look like the Crown corporation will hit its peak summer record yet.

“It’s definitely, you know, a hot one out there, and power is being used, but we’re not going to hit our peak today,” she said on Thursday.

“The last time we actually hit a peak summer record was July 31, 2023,” she said, adding that day used 3,669 megawatts of power, “so we’re still fairly shy of that number as of right now.”