Busiest time of year for aircon
Summer business boom for FNQ cooling specialists
FAR North airconditioning contractors are bracing for the busiest week of the year as the heatwave hits its peak.
Johnathan Russo, director of Ice Ice Baby Air and Refrigeration in Woree, said his firm did roughly 20-25 jobs a day in the summer.
“The heat can really overwork the units, so it’s normally a good idea to get them serviced in the winter,” he said.
“A lot of people do, but a lot of people forget about it, which leads to them breaking down when it gets hot.”
While householders may feel like they have it tough when their aircon breaks down, for the repairmen, an aircon job can involve climbing on the roof or inside the ceiling in blazing heat.
Mr Russo said temperatures could climb to over 50 degrees inside a ceiling space, so they did their best to schedule those jobs for the early morning.
“We have six staff members and a big fridge full of water and Powerade bottles, which everyone loads up on,” he said.
“I remember last time there was a heatwave, we had 18 phone calls in the first hour on a Monday. I’m expecting that again this week.”
Harvey Norman Electrical Department proprietor Brian Nicholson said they had seen a massive spike in aircon unit sales in the past two months.
“Lots of people are replacing their old units or getting new ones. It’s probably been the best start to a season that we’ve ever had,” he said.
Mr Nicholson said they would guarantee anyone who purchased a new unit between now and December 10 would have it installed by Christmas.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Nicholas Shera said the heatwave would continue, with a top of 39 degrees expected today and 38 degrees tomorrow, which is seven degrees above average.
“On Wednesday morning, we’re forecasting it will be 27 degrees,” he said.