ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The HVAC technicians at TLC Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling are just getting started this winter. When the temperatures drop, calls for service pick up.

“We’ve taken as many as 20,000 calls in a couple days,” said Wesley Hollaway, a manager at TLC.

Hollaway says they get about 300 calls for service on any given day – but in just a few hours Monday, they were already at nearly 500 calls because heaters couldn’t keep up with the bitter cold.

“Pretty panicked – we always tell our technicians you’re going into people’s worst day they’ve had in a while,” Hollaway said. “No one calls us because they want to.”

They had about 80 employees ready to answer those calls Monday. However, Hollaway says there are things you can do to prep your furnace for this time of year – something as simple as changing the filter.

“The cold makes it run more and more and if it’s running on an old filter and it’s choking for air,” Hollaway said.

Filters can cost anywhere between $10 and $50, but a new furnace can cost anywhere from $4,000 to $8,000.

Hollaway also says to keep your pipes in mind too. He said it’s a good night to sleep with the cabinets under your sinks open.

“That way all the warm air can get underneath to all the fixtures and all the plumbing underneath your kitchen sink, bathroom sink, stuff like that,” Hollaway said.