Your HVAC Troubleshooting Guys

The first time I got the note taped to my door, I thought it was a joke. But it was a poorly worded warning that I needed to screen my HVAC equipment from view of passersby on the street. That sounded absolutely absurd to me. When I told my wife, I thought that she had done this after I cut the shrubs a bit too short early this Spring. I was trying my best to save a few bucks and I’m doing my own lawn this year. Besides, I need to get off my duff and get out of the central air conditioning of my home. I’m not a big exercise nut so keeping active with chores and stuff like lawnwork is my thing. After I told my wife how funny I thought her joke was, she just sort of stared at me. But then again, she can sort of do this as she’s trying to decompress from being in the office all day. So I said sorry and was turning to leave her alone. That’s when she said that she didn’t write the note. And apparently, she did see this rule from the HOA before in some papers after we bought the house. I was incredulous that the HOA would put a note on my door. They have my address, my email and my phone number. I called them up and that conversation immediately went south. The guy I was talking with was completely defensive and not using any sort of common sense. He said he’d fine me. So that’s what I’m waiting for now. The hedge is growing out nicely and will indeed screen the HVAC equipment from view in mere weeks more of growth. I’m guessing that fine will be taped to my door as well.

 

Heat pump maintenance

It’s going to be just a tad later than I had hoped really.

But I think that’s on me because I kept meaning to call the HVAC company and just never did.

Then when I did call the HVAC professionals, it was going to be a few weeks before they could get to me. I guess there are plenty of other folks out there who also love clean air ducts. This HVAC service is something I like to include in my Spring cleaning every other year or so. I’d probably do it every year if I didn’t get the sideways glance from my husband. He thinks back to back ductwork cleaning and ductwork resealing is too often. I think he’s just a bit too cheap really. That’s fine as long as I get the ductwork cleaning done with some sort of consistency. It actually blows my mind when friends don’t even know what I’m talking about when it comes to ductwork cleaning and ductwork resealing. And these are people who have lived in the same house for decades. I can’t imagine what the state of their ductwork is like. Look, whether we want to recognize it or not, gravity affects all of us all the time. We are constantly under the influence of gravity. Well, so is the ductwork. And that ends up separating air duct joints that then let in particulate, dust and stuff. It also severely diminishes the efficiency of the heat pump. So ductwork cleaning and ductwork resealing are simply a big time must. The HVAC professionals are coming at the beginning of next week and I’m excited to experience the results. That reminds me, I need to get some HEPA filters from the hardware store.

 

Air conditioning expert

Who knows, this could be my last go around with this sort of Summer.

• That’s the one thing about being in your 90’s, you just don’t know which day is your last.

And that’s not a morbid thing as much as it’s just my reality. I’m in pretty good mental shape for 92. And as far as my body goes, it’s about worn down. So I pretty much stay inside the central air conditioning much of the Summer these days. It’s not so bad as I’m not a big heat and humidity enthusiast either. Plus, we have a sunroom off the back of the house that has a ductless heat pump. That little wonder of HVAC technology does a great job of providing crisp, cooling comfort in the sunroom. It’s actually just a big deal for me to have air conditioning at all. I’m old enough to remember a time when there was no such thing as residential HVAC. And I grew up down here where the heat and humidity have always been rough over the Summer months and into September. I can remember the days back when air conditioning was something that we actually went to experience. I grew up in a rural farming community and we’d heard of air conditioning. There was a department store about an hour away by car that actually had some form of commercial HVAC. I still remember the very first time I walked from the broiling, moist heat of Summer right into the cooling comfort of air conditioning. It honestly felt like a bit of magic to me. I’ve seen a lot of convenience some along that I could do without. But having air conditioning sure wasn’t one of them.

HVAC tech

I’m sort of savoring these last days of great weather before the heat and humidity hammer comes down once again.

It’s mid April and that means we are on the cusp of temperatures soaring into the mid 90’s and staying there.

And when I say staying there, I mean until October pretty much. So that means that the heat pump is about to get the biggest workout of the year. Sure, the HVAC equipment takes the vast majority of the Winter season off. It gets to sleep like a bear most of the Winter because we just don’t need it. Actually, we have gone entire Winters without even flipping the thermostat over to heating. These days, we breakout a space heater if we need it in the morning to knock the chill out of the place. But when it comes to air conditioning, this is the time of the year that you need to be sure to get an air conditioning tune up from the HVAC company. The heat pump needs to be in top form for our sort of heat. I like to add new way each year to contribute to lightening the load on the HVAC equipment. This year, I have added a smart thermostat in order to better manage the air conditioning when the house is empty during the peak heating hours. In addition to the smart thermostat, I had a solar shade system installed. It actually syncs with the HVAC technology. The smart thermostat will deploy the shades where it detects rising temperatures from direct sunlight heating. While I’m not exactly eager for four months of overwhelming heat outside, I’m excited to see what these additions can do.

 

 

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