For three years, Jason Van's San Diego household got by on fans and open windows after the family's HVAC unit stopped working and a full replacement proved too costly to afford. That meant riding out summer after summer with no relief, even as the region's latest heat wave pushed outdoor temperatures into the triple digits this past weekend. During a May 2026 heat wave, the temperature inside the Van family home also climbed into the triple digits, according to the family's account.
Van lives with his mother and his three children, ages 10, 17 and 19, as reported by CBS 8. He described living without air conditioning as unbearable, and said the lack of cooling made sleeping difficult for everyone in the house. The family relied on fans and open windows for three years while the heat outside only seemed to get worse.
A Heat Wave That Wouldn't Let Up
The timing underscored just how high the stakes had gotten. An intense heat wave sent temperatures soaring above 100 degrees for a third straight day this past Sunday across San Diego County, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego International Airport hit 100 degrees that day, three degrees above the previous record for the date, while the Fairmont Park neighborhood of San Diego reached a scorching 109 degrees and San Marcos climbed to 104.
The National Weather Service said temperatures would not return to normal until the following Sunday. Forecasters had warned as early as October 1 that extreme heat would arrive that Friday and persist into the following week, with readings running 10 to 25 degrees above average and locally close to 30 degrees above average over the weekend, per 10News. The Climate Prediction Center put the odds of above-normal temperatures through mid-October at 80 to 90 percent.
County Warnings and a Strained 911 Line
Extreme heat can cause heat exhaustion or heatstroke, especially among older adults, children and people with chronic conditions. Air-conditioned spaces are recommended when possible; the county warned against relying on electric fans alone once temperatures exceed 90 degrees, and pointed people toward its 33 Cool Zones at branch libraries, community centers and other sites offering air-conditioned shelter from the heat.
The strain on emergency services has been real. San Diego 911 had received more than 300 heat-related calls since mid-September, according to a report from KPBS. For a household like Van's, with a grandmother and young children riding out the heat without working cooling, that backdrop made the stakes of going without AC considerably higher than discomfort alone.
Anderson Plumbing Crews Step In
In May 2026, Anderson Plumbing crews installed a brand-new air conditioning system at the Van home at no cost, per the CBS 8 report. Lennox donated the unit itself, while Anderson Plumbing covered the labor, meaning the family paid nothing for a system replacement Van had once called out of reach financially.
Bill Dargan of Anderson Plumbing said the company wanted to help a family clearly in need, and said the donated system would provide comfort to the children and the grandmother living in the home. Van described the new system as surreal, and said it made him feel like someone was finally looking out for him. He said the air conditioning would also help his children with both rest and schoolwork going forward.
Part of a Larger Giveaway Program
The donation to the Van family lines up with Lennox's Feel The Love program, which is sponsored by the LII Lennox Foundation and has served as Lennox Residential HVAC's signature community-giving effort since 2009. This year's Feel The Love Installation Week runs October 3 through 11, during which selected recipients can receive a full heating and cooling system at no cost. The program has provided heating and cooling units to homeowners and nonprofits.
A similar story played out recently in Yankton, South Dakota, where Tammy Voracek and her husband Alan, who have four children, two with special needs, had gone a full year without a working furnace or air conditioner before Lennox and installer Kalin's Indoor Comfort stepped in, according to KTIV. Lennox provided the replacement units, which cost nearly $15,000, while Kalin's donated the labor, leaving the Voracek family with no out-of-pocket cost for equipment that had sat broken for a year.
For the Van family, the fix arrived during a May 2026 heat wave. For a household that had endured three summers without relief, the timing could hardly have mattered more.
