Demand Increases For AC Fixes & Installation In Heat Wave, But Materials Face Shortage
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Snelling Company in St. Paul, a 90-year-old family cooling and heating business, is seeing an influx in calls for air conditioning installation and repairs that's double their normal demand amid a record-breaking and unrelenting heat wave in the Twin Cities.
"We're receiving probably two to three times what we would normally receive in terms of calls," said company president Phil Krinkie. "We have service people working from seven in the morning to 10 to 11 o'clock at night."
But the surge in demand for AC to stay cool is met with a supply shortage fueled by an encumbered supply chain in the pandemic. Some of the scarcity includes common air conditioners for homes and the refrigerant that works as the cooling agent.
Krinkie's company typically usually orders 20 tanks of it, but a supplier recently said it can only fulfill one tank per order.
"We're starting to see sporadic changes or delays in receiving just very common, everyday material we need for repair or new air conditioning installation," Krinkie said.
Before calling an HVAC company like Snelling for help, check for easy fixes that could save you the hassle. Make sure the furnace is clean, and that cottonwood has not plugged the unit outside, Krinkie said.
"Be patient – everybody is working diligently to try to connect the dots and provide cool, comfortable environment for those people who are either at home or working from home," he said.
The temperature is expected to stay in the 90s through Friday.
