The last thing on Darlene Williams’ mind Tuesday was helping to reduce the strain on the state’s electricity grid by lowering her apartment’s thermostat.On the hottest day of the summer, she was under enough strain of her own: no air conditioning at all.Williams and other residents at the St. Francis Square Apartments in Far East Dallas said they have been without air conditioning since about 3:30 a.m. Saturday.Since then, Dallas has been hit with a string of scorching days: 100 degrees on Sunday, 104 on Monday and 106 on Tuesday. Wednesday’s temperature is expected to top out at 104, according to the National Weather Service.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has asked everyone to turn up the thermostat a couple of degrees and conserve during the hottest parts of the day.At the 200-unit St. Francis complex on Senate Street, the apartments’ owner, Ruel Hamilton, blamed the air-conditioning problems on thieves stealing copper wiring from two units Friday night.He said repairs could not be made until the copper wire needed to run the system became available.

A crew initially arrived Saturday, he said, but left without making repairs.One of the units, he said, was turned back on Monday and the second on Tuesday morning.“It takes a while to cool down,” Hamilton said. “We did everything we could possibly do.”where can i buy a window ac unitHe said residents would start to feel a difference about 6 p.m. Tuesday. how to replace window ac unitBut at 8 p.m., there was little relief, several residents said.“which ac unit is bestIt’s been a couple of days and they haven’t done anything,” Williams said.Williams and her husband, who has hypertension, bought their own air-conditioning unit Monday, only after a woman at the apartment office told them she didn’t want to hear their complaints, Williams said.

On Tuesday morning, beneath the shade of her apartment’s stairwell, Williams watched her daughter gently toss a water balloon to a friend.It was cooler under the stairwell than inside their apartment, Williams said.Resident Michelle Gates said that this week isn’t the first time there has been AC trouble.“They do this every week,” she said. “People are struggling over here, the handicapped, wheelchair, babies. It still isn’t cold.” Texas law requires landlords to fix any condition that threatens a tenant’s health or safety, and Dallas city code requires that property owners provide refrigerated air to tenants from April 1 to Nov. 1.There is a formula code that compliance officers use to check whether temperatures are within an acceptable range. The benchmark for that is 85 degrees. In addition, if the outside temperature exceeds 105, the temperature inside the apartment only has to be 20 degrees less.City officials investigated a complaint at the St. Francis apartments May 31, according to James Childers, assistant director of code compliance for Dallas.

In that case, investigators cited management for a broken air-conditioning unit, which took until June 15 to fully repair.Childers said managers worked diligently to make repairs.“The important thing is that when the AC goes, people need to call the management right away,” he said.He also encouraged residents to call the city’s 311 nonemergency line to report problems.A search of records at the Texas secretary of state’s office showed that Amerisouth Realty Management, which operates the St. Francis complex, has various bankruptcy judgments, including state and federal tax liens, but none involve the St. Francis apartments.There are no complaints against the company on file with the Dallas Better Business Bureau.Medical experts warned that residents should take every precaution during extreme heat, especially when it comes to children and the elderly.“The things we are concerned about that affect heat illness are the ambient temperature and movement or circulation of the air,” said Dr. Collin Goto, attending physician of the pediatric emergency department at Children’s Medical Center Dallas.“

Open a window, turn on the fan, limit physical activity. People can wet down their skin with wet towels. If that’s not helping, they need to consider moving to another building.”Though some in the complex managed to spend the night with friends or family, others said they don’t have that option.“I had nowhere else to go,” said Christine Trisby. “The office sent us a letter that it was supposed to be fixed yesterday.”Some residents said they didn’t receive the letter.Trisby said one of her neighbors called an ambulance several times one night when her grandchild fell ill because of the heat.Williams and other residents said they’ll just sweat it out and hope for the best.Staff writer Scott Farwell contributed to this report.Ducane heating and cooling equipment is always the right choice. We use components chosen for their durability, then test and inspect every piece of equipment for quality before it ships. Explore the full Ducane product line » A new HVAC system is a big decision for any homeowner.

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