Lower Mainland heatwave has air conditioners flying off the shelves

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — As the heat keeps rising, so does the demand for air conditioners and fans — some Lower Mainland hardware stores are running out of air conditioning units and fans as the province battles a heat wave.

Jeffrey Ho owns three Home Hardware Stores in Vancouver and tells us he can’t keep up with the demand.

“We have a couple of fans left and I’m just watching them moving off the shelf right now so by the end of the day I probably will run out,” he says.

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Ho says his stores try to foresee potential demand coming into the summer months.

“We try our best to sort of dictate what we think we need, but obviously once around we run out.”

Ho says the supply shortage is common during extreme weather.

“[This] cycle happens every couple of years when we are running out of fans. Depending on the season, obviously winter as well is the other extreme, when we run out of ice mountain snow shovels.”