The more the sun shines, the brighter for some businesses and the gloomier for others.

This Madison backyard is far too quiet.

"It started making a lot of noise," Mary Whitcomb says of her air conditioner.

Then Mary Whitcomb's air conditioner quit.

"We gave up, turned it off and opened up the windows," she says.

She then brought in technician Jeff Herold.

"Most people are very happy to see us," Herold says.

Because Herold sweats to keep his customers cool.

"Not everybody can go out and do this type of work," he says.

The work is repairing air conditioners.

"I think we had good luck getting them, came yesterday," Whitcomb says.

Yesterday Madison hit an uncomfortable 88 degrees. Today, Herold's replacing a fan motor at the Whitcomb's.

"If you're doing residential can do anywhere from 5 to 10 calls in a day," Herold says.
A number of hot days since Spring has Herold working feverishly. He puts in about 15 hours a week in overtime.

"We try to get people that have any type of health issues. We try to get to them right away," Herold says.

But not everybody sees more green when the mercury rises. People who cut lawns for a living have seen a cut in the number of service calls.

"This week is looking like the slowest week of the year," Sean Carrington says.

The owner of Carrington Lawn Care wants to see a three-day rain. He says the business is absorbing a 30 percent decrease in customers for its mowing service.

"Some of them haven't mowed more than a month, some on biweekly schedules," he says.

Sean Carrington has trimmed hours for workers. He hopes to make up the drought in mowing with a thirst for sprinklers.

"We're compensating by watering, doing lots of watering services," he says.

In the meantime, Herold says regular maintenance of air conditioners can reduce the potential need and wait for a service call.