As Charlotte temperatures shot up over the weekend, so did calls to HVAC companies

As temperatures soared during the Fourth of July weekend, many Charlotteans spent time indoors. But some couldn’t even escape the heat at home.

When air conditioning units stopped working properly, customers flooded local HVAC repair companies with requests for help.

McClintock Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electrical received 10 times the number of calls, messages and requests for information compared to a typical summer weekend, according to co-founder Rob McClintock.

While the company typically gets around 20 to 25 requests between Friday closing and Monday opening, McClintock said the group was contacted 276 times between Friday morning and Monday morning.

Temperatures in Charlotte had reached 98 degrees on Friday, July 3, and a heat index of 103 degrees on all three days of the holiday weekend

“They’re not all the exact same call every time, you know, saying, ‘Hey, my air conditioner is out.’ But the volume, as you see, was up significantly,” McClintock said.

Though normal operations were closed, 10 technicians worked to resolve issues in the 50-mile Charlotte radius that the company serves.

Horne Heating and Air Conditioning saw a similar increase during the heat wave.

Eight on-call technicians visited 60 customers’ homes over the long weekend, a spokesperson for Horne HVAC said. On a typical summer weekend, the Charlotte company conducts around 10 house calls.

Issues with air conditioning systems can be because the systems are older, according to the company. “It also could be so hot out that the system is just not meant to keep up (with) such a differentiation,” the spokesperson said. “Like people have their house at 65 when it’s 100 degrees. It’s never going to hit 65.”

Duke Energy customers who are enrolled in its Power Manager program may have also seen an impact. The program gives customers a $150 bill credit to allow Duke Energy to briefly adjust their thermostat temperature during peak demand.

Prepare your AC system before the next heat wave

McClintock said customers who have maintenance contracts typically receive service during the same day or 24-hour period, before those without contracts. He recommends establishing a relationship with an HVAC company before issues arise.

As of Monday afternoon at Horne, there was a three-hour wait time for home visits, according to the company.