HVAC workers power through heat wave

Alyssa Seibel isn’t the technician one expects to see if their AC unit buckles under this week’s intense summer heat.

Under 5 feet tall, blonde and 19 years old, Seibel, an HVAC tech apprentice with MW Mechanical Services in New Kensington, is just one of a battalion of HVAC workers across the Pittsburgh region strapping on their cooling vests and bravely stepping into the heat — even entering sweltering attics, to restore air conditioning to elderly clients and those with health conditions.

Seibel clocked 14 hours Monday, cleaning and fixing malfunctioning AC units. She’s using special gloves to clean the metal coils within the units as the metal heats up under the blistering temperatures.

The heat wave is a “controlled chaos,” said Robert Champe, president of Shearer Heating, AC & Refrigeration in Washington County.

Part of his team’s job is talking with customers over the phone and easing their concerns as they wait to receive air conditioning services.

Cooling is crucial, both on the residential and commercial scale. From living rooms to blood storage facilities — HVAC workers are working around the clock to service the Pittsburgh region.

Some HVAC workers not so lovingly call this time of year “pull-your-hair-out season.”

This June heat wave shows little sign of relenting with the National Weather Service Pittsburgh predicting temperatures in the 90s through the rest of the week.

Mike Kennedy, National Weather Service meteorologist, said the region is experiencing higher than average atmospheric pressure above the eastern U.S., which is why we’re seeing stagnant, warm conditions with low winds parked over the region.

“These conditions will continue through the week,” he said. “And, then, the early part of next week, we will get a little relief.”

Meteorologists are predicting a summer a little warmer than normal, with a few cool periods.

MW Mechanical reports its staff was out until midnight on Monday night and went back out at 7 a.m. Tuesday. Some HVAC workers said they didn’t even have the time to respond to a quick telephone interview because they were on their way to fix another air conditioner.

Cameron Kimmell, sales manager at Highlands Quality Climate Control in Ligonier, said his team is starting at 5 a.m. for attic jobs to avoid the heat as much as possible.

“When it gets hot like this, every weak link is exposed,” Kimmell said. “You can have systems going down on problems that can be avoided with routine maintenance.”

Kimmell emphasizes the importance of yearly maintenance and quick tips and tricks to care for AC units.

Keeping the blinds shut, cleaning the air conditioner, and clearing weeds and vegetation surrounding the unit are all ways to make sure the unit is performing at peak efficiency.

Michael McCarl, president and owner of McCarl’s Services Inc., provides HVAC services to commercial buildings and industrial facilities.

Preparing those facilities for the summer heat started back in March and April with “maintenance season.” This proactive approach helps reduce breakdowns in summer’s heat. This is common in the commercial markets, and McCarl recommends the practice for homeowners as well.

Some residential HVAC companies are struggling with under staffing. McCarl said, on the commercial side, they are still able to find labor, partially because McCarl’s trains their own technicians through a certified apprenticeship program.

He recognizes many residential companies don’t have that available. Even with the extra help, though, McCarl says every day is an emergency in the HVAC field.

“I know people think HVAC companies love this time of year as they are busy and making a lot of money,” he said. “But the truth is we would much rather spend our time doing preventative maintenance so we can try to avoid as many fire drills as we can when it is 90-plus degrees.

”It’s better for our customers operations, and safer for our employees.

“That’s the biggest misnomer about this business. Yes, we get busy in the summer, but we’d prefer to prepare our customers so we are all not pulling our hair out this time of year.”