Triangle heating companies keeping busy in cold

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) -- Heating companies were busy Tuesday responding to calls for service around the Triangle.

Raleigh homeowner Jim Altenbaugh woke up without heat on one of the coldest mornings of the season. Worried about keeping his elderly mother warm, he called for help.

"Fans were going, but no heat was coming out so, of course, I went into a bit of a panic mode," he said.

Michael and Son heating specialist Jeremy Donaldson quickly diagnosed and repaired the unit but said Altenbaugh's aging system will need replaced soon.

"His heat exchanger is in very poor condition. It's pretty rusted through, which is a danger to him and his family," he said.

Donaldson said scheduling routine maintenance can save homeowners thousands of dollars in costly repairs.

It can also ensure proper airflow in your home, improve energy efficiency, save time from waiting on a technician in the freezing cold and keep your family safe.

"When the weather gets cold like this, furnaces start to break, heat pumps start to break, so you see a lot of issues with equipment and people having to make the hard decisions as to whether to repair or replace them," said Donaldson.

Regularly changing air filters can also help avoid unnecessary problems.

He said the biggest mistake homeowners make is ignoring the problem or trying to fix it themselves.

"If we inspect these things, we can find problems and avoid a breakdown during these cold days so that you don't have to be cold," Donaldson said.