BILLINGS — Wednesday marked Billings' hottest day of 2025 so far, and that heat kept one Billings air conditioning company busy with work.
White Heating and Air Conditioning, located at 1125 Fourth Ave. N., responded to more than 200 calls for broken AC units since the start of the week, according to President Curt White.
Watch this behind-the-scenes look at the work:
"It's been in the upper 90s, and the phone has been ringing off the hook," White said.
White said his team will work longer shifts to accommodate their customers' needs.
"We have to get to them quickly," White said. "The calls ring, people are hot and they don't want to wait for air conditioning. So we run a lot of long hours."
Service Technician Kory Kebler has responded to many of those recent calls. On Wednesday, he was checking out an AC unit in the Billings Heights.
"Let's see what those pressures are doing," Kebler said, as he knelt by the unit.
That unit proved to be blocked by debris, which is something that Kebler said happens often.
"Cotton and dirt like to get up in them coils," Kebler said. "They'll raise your pressures and cause freeze-ups or a few other issues."
Though jobs like these are routine this time of year, White said there are things people can do to avoid bigger problems. First, he said to make sure you're prepared with routine maintenance checks.
"If you get your air conditioning serviced earlier in the year, our technicians can find the problems so it doesn't leave you without air conditioning," White said.
White also said that many homeowners will make the mistake of turning their AC up when the weather gets hot, which can sometimes put too much stress on the unit, causing it to crash.
"The lowest you should really run your air conditioner, unless you have a really high end air conditioner, is around 69 degrees," White said.
White added that turning the AC down a few degrees to try and save money is also not worth it and that the best option is to keep the temperature consistent.
"As far as running it a couple of degrees warmer to save money, I don't believe you save any money there," White said. "The biggest thing is putting it on one temperature and leaving it."
But sometimes, all the precautions aren't enough, which is why White and his team will stay ready to help whoever is in need.
"This is our time to shine," White said.
