SWFL homeowners turn up the heat, seek AC repairs

NORTH NAPLES, Fla. – The number of calls to a local air conditioning company began to shoot up as temperatures in Southwest Florida dropped. The reason? Broken heaters.

North Naples homeowner John Ordway made a call to Conditioned Air Tuesday when he discovered his house would not get warm.

“Sixty -five degrees,” he said. “That’s too cold. I’m freezing my butt.”

This was the first time Ordway turned on his heater this year. Sadiel Najarro of Conditioned Air inspected Ordway’s air conditioning unit and concluded that some wires had been burnt through.

The problem has been widespread, he said. Homeowners flooded his company’s phone lines with requests for repairs and inspections.

“We’ve had a lot if homeowners unfortunately have their heaters fail,” Najarro said.

It is difficult for inspectors, like Najarro, to determine when AC units and parts became defective because so many people have not needed to use heat for weeks, he said.

“It may have happened this morning or because he wasn’t using the AC it probably happened a week ago,” Najarro said.

Getting air conditioners checked at least once a year will help maintain units, Najarro said.

When switching over to heat, many people may become concerned about a burning smell but that’s normal. The smell is caused by burning dust on heater coils and should go away.