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Who Needs Air Conditioning?

We need air conditioning.  Here’s our Accuweather forecast for today:

It hasn’t rained here in what seems like months but this morning, it’s raining and a bit cooler . . though I see we have a heat index at some point today of 107º.

A few weeks ago Vince and I decided to replace our current air conditioner for a more energy efficient model.  Ours is almost 8 years old and was still working fine but our electric bills are outrageous and we’re hoping a new unit will help bring those down.  Because of coolant changes (or something technical), both the inside and outside units have to be changed.  Vince has gone back and forth several times about whether to go with a regular heat pump or a ground source unit.  The ground source unit would mean tearing out some drywall ceilings in my sewng room to get the necessary pipes and lines to the mechanical room and I just can’t even think about that happening . . with the longarm and new deadlines to meet.  And, the ground source unit is more than double (triple actually but has some great tax rebates) the cost of the regular heat pump.  If we thought we’d be here longer, we would go with the heat pump but we doubt we’ll be here long enough for it to pay for itself.

Anyway, one wall has to be redone in order to put a different inside unit in so the work is taking longer than just a regular a/c swap and it’s going to be at least another week before the inside unit can be completed, and then the outside unit should be rather quick.

Vince also had second thoughts about replacing a unit that was working. It’s a lot of money and some units last 15 or 16 years, so technically ours could be only half used up.  Dad had one that lasted 40 years.  We trust our air conditioner guy and he said .. you just never know so you have to make the decision.  That was so much help!  🙂  Vince decided that it would pay off in the end with the savings on utilities but I could tell he still had some reservations.

Till last night! I had been canning peaches and the house was hot and it just wasn’t cooling down.  I started paying attention to the thermostat and after I stopped canning and even turned on the basement unit, which we rarely use, the temp still didn’t come down at all.  Stuck at 85º degrees inside at bed time! We turned it off thinking maybe it was frozen up.  I woke up about 3 a.m. and the temp in the house had dropped to 78º because it was now cooler outside and the stove was off.  Turned it back on and at 8 a.m., still . . not a single degree cooler.

I don’t know about at your house but here, 78º is just about the temp at which I take my dog and go to a hotel.  Except . . we have no hotels that allow dogs except the one where we stayed when we moved here and . . maybe I’ll just get myself a fan and stop complaining.  .

Ahhh . . help has arrived!

Problem was found.  Actually, it seems to be a persistent problem with Rheem and he knew exactly where to look when I told him I’d heard the hissing sound.  Totally out of coolant.  Temporary fix in place.  Should keep us cool til the unit is in.

And, for your viewing pleasure . . Vince all dressed up in his Sunday best!  🙂

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Comments

  2. I love Vince!! He’s so dependable, and I love his fashion sense! My DH is a shopaholic – and I think he has every piece of men’s clothing there is! Oh, to have it as easy as Vince in his green shirts, blue shorts and the crocs! I’m jealous….

  3. Oh my word that’s hot – and I guess you have humidity to go with it. Summer is not a lot of fun when it’s like that. Hope you get the AC problems sorted out and life can be a little more comfortable.

  4. Love the purple crocs. They really make the outfit. 🙂

    Heat’s about the same here, too. Unfortunately, I promised to go to a picnic at a friend’s house today. I’d much rather just hide out in my nice cool basement.

  5. our unit is made by Goodman.
    probably an off-brand, but it works wonderfully. our apartment is much less humid with our new unit, and very comfortable now. we’re using less electricity, and our electric bills are about 20$ less per month than they were with the old unit. and when we have heavy useage our pipes don’t freeze up with this new Goodman; something that happened every year like clockwork with the old unit.

    We were the first ones to get a new unit last year, and since then when the old units go out in our complex, they are always replaced with Goodman units.

  6. We have geothermal ground source heating and cooling. Our home is total electric and our monthly utility bill is almost nothing. The cooling is free from the ground, we only pay for the electricity to run the pumps and the fan to circulate the air. It also gives us free hot water. Plus, there is no cooling as wonderful as geothermal. Everyone who comes into our house comments on the wonderful feel of the air. Of course, if you are going to move, it would not be feasible to switch since the initial cost is more than conventional heating/cooling. We have zoned heating/cooling in our three story Victorian home which we built in 2003.

  7. This is what makes me so glad to live in a beach town where our average temp is about 71 year round. Of course it is expensive to live here but we never have to worry about it being too hot or too cold to be outdoors. But A/C in the car is a necessary thing if you want to drive inland at all!

    Um, PURPLE Crocs? Hilarious.

  8. Love those purple crocs! LOL

    Sorry about the a/c, hope the new unit helps save on the electric bill!

  9. Sunday’s best? I see he actually traded his green flip flops for purple crocs.

    We intalled a ground source when we built 17 years ago. Love It! You should check with your electric provider. Mines is giving rebates on them. Plus the government equals a good deal.

    Stay cool, it’s 86 here with lots of humidity . . . it rained 1/4 inch this morning and now the sun is out.
    Jefferson City.
    Patti

  10. Yes, we need air. Unlike you, it has pretty much rained here constantly, and I think this year I have turned it on maybe 3 times, just to cool down the house, and ONLY because this house holds the heat like crazy. I can open the windows in the day, but at night, the No-see-ums are coming through the screens (they are ususally GONE by now) and we get chewed alive. I HATE that, as it is usually in the 50’s or 60’s at night, and to have to turn on the air is IRRITATING. Everybody says “you only need it a few days a year here, (No. MN.) what is the point?” It is usually more then that, for one thing, and when you NEED it, you NEED it. I told the hub, if it broke in the truck and I only used it in the truck for ONE DAY, and it cost $500, I would get it fixed. All I have to say, is DON’T MESS WITH MY AIR. Hot flashes dont help at all either!

  11. Judy I’d gladly send you more rain if I could. Only about 3 days this month where we didn’t get it. Things are soggy! and the mosquitos are alive and well. And none of those dang storms have moved a cool front through yet kso the humidity just gets worse.

  12. I hate to be hot. Our a/c goes out and it would take me all of 5 minutes to say ‘let’s go to a motel’. Fortunately we have several pet friendly choices. Several yrs ago we added a master bedroom & bath to our home – we had to add a separate heating/cooling units for that part of the house so we have zoned heating & cooling now.
    Some part of the house will be cool and comfortable.

  13. Love the purple Crocs. Watch out Vince, you are starting to wear Barney colors.

    We have had rain/storms several times a week in IL and I am sick of the hot and humid weather. I don’t blame you, Judy for wanting your house cooler. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable it would be here if I was canning. (First, I would have to learn how, LOL!!) You are way more energetic than me! I hope your new unit works out great for you. How are your chickens making it thru the heat wave? Do they like hot weather?

  16. Judy,
    Hope you got some rain yesterday – we got about a half inch! Things are WAY too dry for the end of June.
    Love Vince’s choice of footware!

    • We got a decent rain Sunday evening and it’s a bit cloudy now (Monday morning), enough so that I’m not hanging clothes on the line so I’m hoping for a bit more rain.

  17. Yes, we need AC here in NE. But every year DH drags his feet on putting the unit in the window. Last night is was 90 degrees in the house when I went to bed at almost 2am. Finally today the window AC got put in. Ahhhhhhhhhh It’s been working a little freaky though, so who knows if it’ll make it through the summer. I went out to the garage and dug out the smaller one to see if it still works. It does. I’m thinking of putting it in my sewing room since the grandkids will be coming the end of July and they sleep in there. They’re used to sleeping under blankets at home so here they are always too hot. It would be nice to sew in a cooler room too without a fan in the doorway blowing everything around.

  19. Judy, we finally got rain tonight!! yea. By the way, what are you going to do with your old air conditioner? My mom’s house has a 45 yr old one that needs replacing. Sounds like your’s has lots of life left in it. I’ve been working out in the 95+ degrees the last few days doing strenuous yard work and sitting in front of a fan to cool down frequently. It works but air would work better.

    • Now that it has stopped working and has just a temporary fix, it’s not worth having. We’re just hoping it holds out til the new one is installed. It would take more to fix it now than it’s worth.

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