NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — As temperatures continue to climb, more calls are coming in to HVAC companies across Middle Tennessee.

“It happens every year,” said Ronnie Shirley. “Every year, we foresee this hot season coming, and it’s here and it’s definitely got us scrambling.”  

Shirley is the project manager for Hiller Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric. They, along with other HVAC companies, are getting more calls and trying to keep up with the demands of people in need of cool air.  

“It’s 95 outside, [so] we expect your system to keep at 75 and no lower,” said Shirley. “So a lot of people are not familiar with that, and when it gets up above 90 degrees, they say, ‘My system’s not keeping up; My system’s not keeping up.’ Well, some systems aren’t designed to keep up on the hottest of days.”  

Shirley says along with being extremely busy, they are now starting to be impacted by a shortage of HVAC parts due to the pandemic.  

“It minimizes the options that the customer has,” he said. “We like to give a customer all their options from repairing to replacing the system when it does fail, and this minimizes our opportunities if some of the equipment is not available.” 

Shirley believes it will only get hotter as the summer continues, so he’s advising people to do all they can to make sure they stay cool and protect their A/C units.  

“Check that [your] indoor filters are clean,” he said. “[You] can pull blinds, block windows…just any way [you].” can block that radiant heat from getting in from outside.”

His biggest piece of advice is to make sure that people clean their A/C units at least twice a year to prevent having issues when the summertime comes around.