Oxfordshire aircon company ‘never been so busy’ as heatwave

John O’Dwyer, founder and owner of Glacier Air Conditioning Ltd, has seen demand for his services sky rocket over the past two weeks.

The demand was directly correlated with the hottest June heatwave on record in the county, as more than 100 schools closed due to overheated classrooms and South Central Ambulance Service declared a ‘critical incident’ amid thousands suffering heat-related health issues.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire pubs and businesses suffer in extreme heatwave

“It feels like I’ve been working eight days a week, 25 hours a day,” Mr O’Dwyer said. “I’ve never known it be this busy in my life.”

He started as an apprentice in HVAC – heating, ventilation and air conditioning – when he was 16 and, now aged 40, has built a specialist company in the industry.

With temperature records broken on a yearly basis in England and weather becoming more extreme due to climate change, Mr O’Dwyer said it’s a lucrative business to be in.

Sunbathers on South Park (Image: Ed Nix)

He said: “We used to have three or four unbearable nights a year, but now we have something like 30 of them.

“I’ve had the best part of 200 enquiries in three weeks.

“I’ve had people begging me to come and put aircon in ‘this afternoon’, I’ve had people who have children with autism who need it to help regulate their child.

“It’s really hard because you do feel an emotional attachment to some people, to want to try to get a job done for them, but I just don’t have the time.”

READ MORE: Where to buy air conditioning in Oxford for your home

Mr O’Dwyer intends to grow his business due to the high demand and regular work from private home installation requests plus contracts with councils, schools and commercial companies.

“It’s a trade that’s in demand, 100 per cent,” he added.

And with further heatwaves expected to come, the installer said, air conditioning might be the only solution in British homes not built for the heat.

Air Conditioning unit sales soar as record June temperatures broken three days in a row (Image: Newsquest)

The business owner said: “Air conditioning isn’t even a luxury anymore, I think it’s becoming an absolute necessity.

“New build houses are incredibly well-insulated, which is great for the winter, but then in the summer you’re absolutely cooking.

“Especially ones that have three storeys – I had to go into a loft last week, and it was 55C up there. It was pretty rough.”

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He said aircon should be integrated with designs for new homes, rather than being installed as an ‘afterthought’, and modern technology means units are ‘aesthetically pleasing’, unobtrusive and effective at both cooling and heating.

Because heat pump systems have good environmental credentials, the government incentivises their installation with zero per cent VAT – meaning homeowners can get a 20 per cent discount on installing a heat pump in their home.

Mr O’Dwyer added: “It’s just getting hotter and hotter – I absolutely think air conditioning will be the way of the future.”