Air conditioning technician Phil Foster fills out paperwork after he got cool air flowing again to a unit at a rental home Wednesday afternoon. Foster works for Niehoff/Dunco Heating & Cooling in Lawrence.

Phil Foster’s lost 6 pounds in the last five days, and it wasn’t by design.

Sweat dripped from the air conditioning repairman’s brow Wednesday as he battled the sweltering heat to ensure his customers would be comfortable. It’s a job that keeps him so busy now that he hasn’t had time to even think about lunch.

Foster hustled and bustled around Lawrence, keeping an impressively positive attitude as he hopped from home to home fixing broken A/C systems.

He was hopeful he’d get off work by 5 or 6 Wednesday night, but with the recent demand in services he knew it would probably be more like midnight, which has been common lately.

“It’s very, very crazy,” said Foster, Niehoff/Dunco Heating & Cooling service technician.

Kevin Chaney, vice president of sales for Chaney Inc., said the intensely hot temperatures have made for the busiest summer season in a couple of years for his air conditioning service and sales company, 930 E. 27th St. It’s a season that’s just gotten under way, and all the work’s stretching the businesses to the max.

“We’ve been really, really busy,” Chaney said.

Both Chaney and Niehoff/Dunco said they’ve had dozens of calls a day for the past two weeks, and in some cases they’re telling people they may have to wait a few days before a technician can help them out.

“I wish we could get to everybody,” said Diane Duncan, of Niehoff/Dunco, 1729 Bullene Ave.

Broken air conditioners have caused headaches for homeowners, but also area businesses.

Henry T’s Bar & Grill, 3520 W. Sixth St., had to shut down early on Monday night after its air conditioning system stopped working, a manager said. It was fixed, and things returned to normal on Tuesday.

Giving permanents and styling hair proved challenging over the weekend for Do’s Deluxe beauty salon, 416 E. Ninth St., when its A/C bit the dust. Marty Olson, owner, was pleased Wednesday that it had been fixed.

“I’m very grateful for air conditioning at this point,” Olson said. “Friday was just miserable.”

Chaney said that while the heat is the main contributor to the increase in demand, the economic downturn is also playing a unique role in recent business.

He said many people are taking advantage of an energy tax credit, which under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 gives homeowners a 30 percent tax credit, up to $1,500, for qualified energy efficiency improvements.

“So many people were in financial crunches in the last couple of years, they haven’t been able to do much,” Chaney said. “Now with the heat, there’s just more going on.”

But no matter the need, Foster said he and other repair workers are being as efficient as possible, because they know how uncomfortable and annoying being without air conditioning can be.

“We’re trying to get as many as we can in, that’s for sure,” Foster said.