Billings-area HVAC companies are fielding hundreds of calls and running 12-hour shifts as temperatures push past 110 degrees across the state.
White Heating and Air Conditioning lead technician Kaleb Simcox has been on the job since Friday afternoon, part of a crew of 33 technicians working through the weekend.
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By noon Monday, White's had answered more than 430 calls on just its main line.
Curt White, owner of the business, said deferred maintenance is a major factor in the surge of breakdowns,
Dirty filters, air conditioners clogged with cottonwood, and small refrigerant leaks that have gone unaddressed can all cause a unit to fail when temperatures peak.
"We see fan motors that die," White said. "We see compressors that die. We see capacitors that blow up."
White said his team prepared after reviewing the forecast and expects the calls to keep coming as the heat is expected to stay well into the week.
"When we hit the extremes 111, 112 degrees, that's when any weak part in the system will fail," White said. "It'll find the weak parts when we hit that temperature."
For those whose AC does fail, some businesses are turning to portable cooling units as a backup.
Advanced Solutions deployed portable AC units to a wedding and a high school reunion over the weekend.
"The overwhelming majority of what we do is construction," said Talis Milam, Advanced Solutions general manager. "We support the construction market and supply those to new builds. Maybe they don't have those systems put into place yet."
The company noted that portable cooling units from cooler parts of the country are being brought in as Montana's temperatures climb.
Milam said keeping workers safe in the heat is central to what they do.
"That is a big part of the reason why we're in the business," Milam said.
Work carries on even in this heat.
"And our guys are heroes," White said. "I mean, they go out every day."
One Billings resident whose unit was repaired Monday said she was relieved to have it working again.
"So far so good, you know, hopefully it continues to work," said Bob Moats. "That's the main thing."
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