JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The record heat is causing a lot of problems for air conditioning units all over the Jacksonville area.
News4Jax has spoken with multiple air conditioner repair companies, including Air McCall, that are overwhelmed with service calls.
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"The phone calls are night and day when it gets this hot this time of year. There are more phone calls coming in than we can possibly respond to," said Jonathan Bolden, co-owner of Air McCall.
Bolden said they try to prioritize calls, such as responding to the elderly or people with medical needs first.
On Tuesday night, lightning hit the AC unit of Summer Brook Healthcare, a nursing home on Moncrief Road.
Management said the lightning strike burned out the AC system and immediately after it happened, they started getting workers and an emergency generator in to get everyone cool. There were crews out Thursday morning to repair the AC unit, which is on the roof, and the AC system was back on soon after.
Management said all proper protocols were followed to get the AC system fixed as soon as possible and said there were no medical problems as a result.
Bolden said homeowners should have their AC units inspected at least once a year before it gets too hot out.
"Definitely preseason maintenance," Bolden said. "Don’t procrastinate on that and have that done every year before the summertime comes and have it done as well before the wintertime comes."
He added that you want your inside temperature no more than 16 to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature.
He also said it's not a bad idea to also have your system inspected in the winter months before it gets too cold.