Air Conditioning

Days of high heat have many people turning down their thermostats, and that has air conditioning repair companies making a lot of house calls. But AC units aren't breaking down because they're being overused. The experts say it's because they're not being maintained. Air conditioning filters can become completely clogged up with dust. Experts say that clogged filters are usually the reason that air conditioners fail. "The condenser coils get plugged up which causes the unit to work harder the compressor has to work harder and a lot of times that's what kills the compressor," says Henry Gray, a repairman for Dan's Heating and Cooling.

(WICHITA, Kan.) It's may be a sign of the times, and with temperatures in the triple digits, it couldn't come at a worse time. Thousands of Kansans have had their electricity shut off, unable to pay their bills. Take a look at these numbers from Westar showing the number of homes that had power shut-off. June 2007: 5,500 June 2008: 6,900   Westar Energy says it can't say for sure what's behind the increase, but national studies show that tough economic times are to blame.

With this week's heat, you're probably grateful to spend some time in air conditioning; but one Salina man says that's not necessary. He recently wrote a book, saying people are too dependant on air conditioning and we're losing vital parts of our culture as a result. He lives in Salina, but Stan Cox has people all over the Country worked up over his theories on air conditioning. "Everybody has an opinion on it," Cox said. The Los Angeles Times , the Washington Post , National Public Radio , and dozens of local radio stations all over the Country have interviewed him about his book, "Losing our cool:  Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World and Finding new Ways to Get Through the Summer.

“Oh, I think it's pretty hot and humid and I think it makes us sticky and irritable and miserable,” said Cheryl McCray who was visiting Wichita from Illinois Thursday. Wichita has seen close to a record number of hot days this summer with 11 100 degree days in June in alone. The air capital city has seen hotter though, but you have to go back to 1980 or even further back to 1936. Extreme heat and drought hit Wichita in the mid-1930's when the dust bowl ripped through and destroyed crops.

Some Wichita parents say the hot weather is taking its toll on students because the buses they take don't have air conditioning. Eyewitness News Reporter Karl Man caught up with a Wichita grandmother whose three-year-old grandson takes the bus.  She called us after seeing her grandson come home sweaty and red-faced because of the hot buses.

Nearly a thousand Westar energy customers were without air conditioning at one point Wednesday night. The outage is just west of Mid-Continent Airport near Maize & Pawnee. The outage started about eight o'clock. At one point, 950 customers were in the dark. That number has dropped to 350. We're told an equipment failure caused the outage, and crews are working to fix the problem.

2004 Chevy SSR Roadster 19K Miles !! Location: Wichita, KS Features: Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Alloy Wheels, Compact Disc Player, Power Steering, Front Air Bags, Traction Control, Towing Pkg, ABS, Power Windows, Leather, Power Door Locks Make:  Chevrolet/GMC Fuel Type:  Gas  Transmission:  Automatic For Sale By::  Private Seller Type:  Sports Cars  Condition:  Excellent This SSR is Senior Owned, always garaged...

At a small park in Hutchinson, where water springs up from the various fountains, there are kids everywhere. If you ask them, they're just having fun. They're not thinking about keeping cool. Their parents are of course, but when the temperatures are in the triple digits, what else can you do for fun? "You worry about them getting dehydrated," said Marsha Boegner, at the park with her great nieces. "They can only be out for short bursts, and then they have to come in. " That would be a good idea, unless going inside means inside the Wiley Plaza.

How's your summer been? Pretty hot, right? The hottest ever?  Let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Do you remember 1980?  I sure do. Our Storm Team 12 meteorologists tell me that we typically have close to a dozen days a year over 100-degrees. This summer has already surpassed that, but back in 1980 the total reached 46 hundred degree days. Even older folks may bring up 1954, or even 1936, other extremely hot years. I have special reason to mention 1954.

The hotter it gets, the harder they work. With appointments backed up for days air condition repairmen say they are on the go seven days a week. While most folks are eyeing the weekend...air condition specialist Rudy Lopez is just getting going with another work day that could last ten to twelve hours.   Eyewitness News followed Lopez on one house call Friday. It's something he has become accustomed to. As the temperatures go up and people kick on the air conditioning, sometimes older models simply can't take the workload, other times units just need a fresh charge of Freon.

Nearly a thousand Westar energy customers were without air conditioning at one point Wednesday night. The outage is just west of Mid-Continent Airport near Maize & Pawnee. The outage started about eight o'clock. At one point, 950 customers were in the dark. That number has dropped to 350. We're told an equipment failure caused the outage, and crews are working to fix the problem.

Two Derby Public School buildings sustained damage as a result of the tornado that went through the Oaklawn-Sunview area Saturday night.  At Oaklawn Elementary, windows were broken in hallways, the main entryway and approximately five classrooms. For Wednesday, April 18: • Cooper Elementary will have school. There will be no Team Prime Time. • Oaklawn Elementary will not have school. Certified staff at Oaklawn should report to the Woodlawn United Methodist Church (431 South Woodlawn Blvd.

Thieves continue to steal copper from air conditioning units across Kansas. One business manager discovered someone stealing the copper and when confronted, police say the thief tried to attack the manager with a screwdriver. Eyewitness News reporter Brian Heap will have more on this story on this evening's newscasts and on KWCH.com.    

Wichita has seen more 100 degree days than any other year on record...51 and counting. A 97-year-old woman was here when the first record was set. While Thursday eclipsed 1936 in Wichita for triple-digit days, it's a very different time from 75 years ago. Just ask Teresa Martinez, she was 22-years old that summer and endured the extreme heat without air conditioning. Headlines from the Wichita Eagle that summer show just how hot it was. The heat also blamed for nine deaths that year in Kansas.

Some Wichita parents say the hot weather is taking its toll on students because the buses they take don't have air conditioning. Eyewitness News Reporter Karl Man caught up with a Wichita grandmother whose three-year-old grandson takes the bus.  She called us after seeing her grandson come home sweaty and red-faced because of the hot buses.

The air conditioning is running and the dollars signs are racking up. "No one likes to see their bills go up each month it hurts everyone's wallets when that happens. " Newton resident Jill Achilles is just one of many who saw their electric bill shoot up over the past month. "It doubled from 75 to 165 this month...we have been here three years and that is the biggest bill we have had. " Triple digit days across the state are a big reason why that's happening. Achilles was able to make a payment...but there are others who simply cannot afford the bill.

Stan Cox is just like any other Kansan, looking to put an honest day's work in to get through this historic heat wave. “For most of us who have lived in Kansas, this is unprecedented,” said Cox. What sets Cox apart is how he deals with the heat. For many air conditioning is a necessity. Cox says it's a luxury, a fragile industry. One that Americans rely on far too much. Last summer Cox put his thoughts down on paper in a book called “Loosing Our Cool”.  A media flood ensued: phone calls, interviews, e-mails, and not all of them were friendly.

The heat has people sweating at Mid-Continent Airport. The building is cooled by two "chillers," and last Friday, the motor failed on one. That means the airport is being cooled at 50% "It's a little stickier in here. It feels like there's not enough circulation going on in the building right now," said Carol Hallowell. Crews have been working on the problems, but because the system was installed in 1981, the airport is having a hard time finding a motor to replace the one that's not working.

Days of high heat have many people turning down their thermostats, and that has air conditioning repair companies making a lot of house calls. But AC units aren't breaking down because they're being overused. The experts say it's because they're not being maintained. Air conditioning filters can become completely clogged up with dust. Experts say that clogged filters are usually the reason that air conditioners fail. "The condenser coils get plugged up which causes the unit to work harder the compressor has to work harder and a lot of times that's what kills the compressor," says Henry Gray, a repairman for Dan's Heating and Cooling.