FIFE, Wash. — Western Washington may be several days away from experiencing another summer heat wave, but people who are still in need of air conditioning in their homes should consider booking an installation appointment now.
Hunt's Services, based in Fife, is among many HVAC installation businesses that are seeing the typical rise in demand for AC units.
This summer is bringing two new elements in the mix: inflation and supply chain issues.
"Prices have been raised on everything, so not even for customers in general, but also for us," said Damian Dunn, lead HVAC installer for Hunt's.
Dunn and his colleague, Dwayne Graham, said they're receiving high volumes of calls asking for central HVAC systems and ductless air conditioning units.
Memories of last summer's record-breaking temperatures are still on the minds of customers according to Graham, who said they fielded about 150 calls that weekend alone.
"A lot of customers were saying, oh, we don't need AC. It's Washington. The Pacific Northwest. Well, that Monday, we got calls saying OK, we need AC," Graham said.
Hunt's Services is experiencing high demand among supply chain woes that have delayed service and installation. Hunt's Services, however, said they anticipated this and prepared for shortages by investing nearly $500,000 in air conditioning supplies in advance of the peak season.
"Everything from COVID has just pushed everything from manufacturers having to shut down for one to two weeks at a time," Dunn said.
Dunn and Graham advised customers to set an appointment at least a week in advance of any anticipated hot weather.
"That way, they can be one of the first people in line and just in case they have to have a replacement that's a week out," Graham said.