Need A/C repairs? Tampa Bay companies warn you’ll have to wait in line

Julie McGill, co-owner of Rick’s A/C, Inc., gauges whether the day ahead will be a busy one by if she and her husband can afford to leave the phone unanswered during their 30-minute lunch break.This summer has been one busy day after another.Daily calls have nearly doubled since last summer, McGill said, from an average of 20 to 35.“You get up. You run for eight hours straight. You go home and crash. You pull over on the side of the road to answer calls,” she said.Her husband and his seven crew members have to be “choosey” about the calls they service, McGill said. The woman with the 10-month-old who hasn’t had air for two days takes precedence over a routine cleaning.“It’s almost a psychological problem,” she said.The small operation, based in Tampa, is approaching its 20th year in business. On top of everything else, they can’t find enough qualified employees.Air conditioning repair companies around Tampa Bay highlight the same problem: it’s busy. Maybe too busy. Ten companies in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties confirmed they’ve been unusually swamped this summer. Three said they’re busy, but not necessarily busier than last summer. One owner said he’s trying to sell off his business — to anyone, seriously, anyone — before hanging up the phone.A newer company, Alien Air, is contending with a double-edged sword. After starting the company with $1,000 to his name in 2019, business has taken off this summer, owner Brendan Douglass said, but quickly enough to overwhelm his staff of three.They’re working 12 to 16 hour days, starting at 6 a.m. each morning. It’s exhausting, and sweltering homes are rife with hazards, Douglass said.“There’s people that pass out and die in the attic all the time. We’re breathing in insulation, fiberglass, mold, bacteria, dust, dirt,” he said. “If you have to do (this work) for more than 20 or 30 years, you’ll die at an early age.”And at the end of the day, Douglass knows some customers consider his company expendable. They’ll scoff when he names his price. Prices for Freon, the cooling ingredient in A/C units, have doubled or tripled in the last year, multiple owners said. Equipment and new units cost more, too.“We get out there and they’re like, ‘Please don’t be expensive,’” Douglass said. “We’re out here to take care of the community, but we can’t do it for free.”At 9 a.m. in Gulfport on Thursday, Douglass and his installer, Jesus Sanchez, were making progress on their first call — one of seven. They had an hours-long task in front of them: replacing a key A/C component called a coil, which regulates the dispensing of Freon. They discovered the problem at the three-story home on Saturday, when they found the unit spewing a mist of Freon, which is highly toxic to breathe.That type of major repair will cost the homeowner somewhere between $1,500 and $2,500, Douglass said.As A/C units work overtime during this extreme heat, serious fixes become more common, said Eddie Arocho, owner of Sub-Zero Air Conditioning in St. Petersburg. He’s split between 60% routine maintenance and 40% on bigger repairs.Often, people call for service because they say their units aren’t cooling their homes “enough,” McGill said. She has to explain that air conditioning units can only do so much. They usually only generate a 15-degree temperature difference compared to outside.While an inability to cool by more than 15 degrees or so may not be a sign of strain, A/C technicians have recommendations to extend a unit’s lifespan. Here are some of those tips:- Clean and replace air filters. Homeowners can tackle this one on their own. Air filters should be replaced or cleaned (if reusable) every 60-90 days, typically a $20 expense. - Keep the outdoor unit clean. Check outdoor A/C units for dirt and debris, and wash off the coils with a hose. - Stay on top of annual maintenance. A/C technicians fulfill routine maintenance calls for a reason: an annual check-up can help prevent issues from getting worse and increase unit efficiency. - Consider replacements. Units older than 10-20 years may be cheaper to replace altogether. New units have higher energy efficiency standards, so investing in a new one may end up saving customers money, Douglass said. - Cut back on usage. Many of the recommendations to lower utility bills also apply to extending an A/C unit’s lifespan. Turning off the unit when possible helps reduce wear and tear.

Need A/C repairs? Tampa Bay companies warn you’ll have to wait in line

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