Should have left it to the HVAC professionals

I can be so stupid sometimes.

And it seems like I pick the most inconvenient and expensive ways to display that stupidity.

But my latest faceplant is one for the books. It’s particularly galling when I do dumb things that were just completely avoidable. That’s exactly what happened when it came to the air conditioning in my home. My wife called to tell me that the HVAC cooling just wasn’t working right. This phone call sort of confirmed what was going on in my head for the previous couple of days. I’d noticed that the heating and cooling equipment was running an awfully lot over the course of several days. The temperature, while still hot and humid, hadn’t really changed to force the sort of demand for HVAC cooling that would keep the HVAC unit running almost non stop. So my wife says she’s going to call the HVAC company. But I ask her to wait as I’ve sort of been looking into all of this the last few days and I think I have the solution. She’s not all that onboard but agrees to wait to call the HVAC professionals. On the way home, I picked up an HVAC recharge kit and figured I’d do the job myself and save an HVAC service charge. Of course, I didn’t have the proper tools or gauges and promptly proceeded to overfill the refrigerant which caused something to rupture. So a very small problem turned into a great big problem thanks to me being an idiot.

 

Should have left it to the HVAC professionals

Went a new way when it came to replacing old HVAC unit

I could hardly believe my good fortune.

In fact, when I got the letter, via registered mail, from the lawyer, I thought it was a joke.

Turns out that my favorite aunt died and left me her property. When I finally realized that this was real, I almost fell over inside the not so great quality heating and air of my apartment. The place she left me came with a house and about 10 acres of land. This aunt and I were like two peas in a pod. Even though she was my great aunt and so there was a big age difference, we were both sort of black sheep in the family. And that sort of tied us together. She was so proud of me for following my passions in life and not necessarily striving for the status quo. She was much the same way and was a very independent and amazing lady. My aunt lived just about 40 minutes out of the city so I made sure to get out to see her for visits a couple times a month. And now, the house I visited was mine. The place was older, that was for sure. She kept the place super neat but it sure needed a lot of upgrades when it came to stuff like appliances, flooring and other stuff. For sure, the central air conditioning needed a big upgrade. When the HVAC contractor inspected it, he confirmed my initial thoughts on the old HVAC. But the HVAC professional also stated that the ductwork would have to be replaced as well. Instead of going through all that trouble, I decided instead to go with the HVAC contractor’s suggestion. My house now has a series of ductless heat pumps providing me with the best quality heating and air I’ve ever experienced.

 

 

a/c workman

HVAC warranty helped head off a big problem

It’s so interesting to be in this stage of my life.

My kids are now out of the house and off to college. That meant that my wife and I were ready to make some changes of our own. The cost of heating and cooling our house was insane for just two people. That and the fact that we were spending much of our free time tied to maintaining the house. So we upgraded the HVAC equipment and sold the house for a ton of money. No sooner were we in our new place which also had the latest in residential HVAC, my wife’s parents moved down here. There was no discussion or anything. They came for a visit and bought a condo. My wife didn’t even know that they too had upgraded their HVAC unit and sold their home. It all came as quite a surprise. The in-laws said they didn’t want to bother us and yet, they moved into practically our backyard. So while I’m no longer actively parenting my children now that they are on their own or still in college, I’m looking after my in-laws. I’m not sure how I got this job. But the other day, my wife called me while I was at work inside the commercial HVAC office with an urgent request. Her dad was planning to take apart the new HVAC unit because he thought he heard something. I ran over there and showed him the HVAC warranty. It clearly states that if the HVAC unit is serviced by anyone other than an HVAC professional, the warranty is void. I’m not thinking this is going to end well.

Local contractor

Mother in law and HVAC problems

I’ve never gotten along with my mother in law.

  • And that has certainly not changed an iota since she moved down here.

My father in law passed away a few years ago. He was actually a great guy and we had a nice relationship. My wife was devastated by the loss. But my mother in law was simply worried about upgrading the HVAC equipment so she could sell that house. Look, we all deal with grief in our own unique way. But that seemed rather disconnected to me. Yet, that’s sort of an encapsulation of the way that lady can be. Once she got the new HVAC unit installed in her home, she sold it for a very good price. Before the closing even happened, she had a smaller house picked out that was just ten minutes from us. The HVAC emphasis here is much different than where she lived all her life. Up there, it was all about the HVAC heating. Down here of course, it’s not so much about the heating. The summer and the HVAC cooling are the big deals around here. When she was buying the house down here, I tried to give my input since I’d been through it a few times in this region. It was clear that the HVAC equipment was not up to the task. But like always, she thought I was just being an idiot. That’s always nice to get from your mother in law who lives right around the corner, right? So when the HVAC unit promptly stopped working right after she moved in, I almost decided that could be her problem. Loving my wife softened my stance and I helped arrange for the best HVAC contractor to take care of her heating and cooling needs.

Cooling equipment

Where working out comes with the best in commercial HVAC

I was so excited to finally get the promotion that I’ve been preparing for almost the entirety of the last ten years.

It was sort of the big leap in my career that I’d been working toward for a long time.

There have been a lot of challenges and positions I’ve taken in order to just be in line for this sort of job. And the new job comes with a relocation to the corporate offices. My floor has zone controlled HVAC and I even have a thermostat in my office. Not only that but the office is rather spacious with room for a conference table as well. The first couple of weeks, I stayed late in the office just to sit and look out the floor to ceiling window and enjoy the perfect commercial HVAC. It’s dazzling to watch the city from high above. This position is one I’m ready for and it’s been going about as well as I expected it would. There are challenges but that’s what I’ve been preparing for all these years. There are other nice things that come with this position outside of the zone controlled HVAC of the office. Instead of working out in a gym that is all sweaty and humid, I now have access to an incredible gym that’s right here in the building. Not only are there all the latest devices and equipment for working out, it even has a juice bar and a fitness expert on staff. But what I love about my new gym is the commercial HVAC. In all my other gyms, it was like the commercial HVAC equipment was simply overwhelmed because it was always so hot and humid. Well, not anymore as this gym is like heaven.
Air conditioning supplier

Looking for more HVAC comfort

I’m not all that picky of a person really. But when it comes to quality heating and air, I’m pretty definite when it comes to what my needs are. Our home is a great example. When we bought this house, we agreed to inherit the HVAC equipment. This was not exactly what we had planned to do but the fact that we would save thousands of dollars on the final price was so appealing. We gave it a couple of years and honestly, the old HVAC unit wasn’t that bad. But it certainly wasn’t that good either. It was far from being the latest in residential HVAC or having any of the HVAC technology that I wanted. Yet, as much as I want great heating and cooling, I’m a team player and I gave it a couple of years. But by then, even my husband was sort of over the HVAC unit. So we had the old HVAC unit replaced with the sort of residential HVAC that we wanted. We got the HVAC technology that we were originally looking for in the zone controlled HVAC and smart thermostat. Plus, the SEER rating is off the charts so this HVAC unit is about as efficient as it gets. While I’m in love with the quality heating and air inside my home, I’m still not satisfied with all the heating and cooling in my life. Namely, I’m definitely looking for better commercial HVAC in the office where I work. I’ve been adding a commercial HVAC upgrade to the budget for years. And I’m going to keep adding it because it’s about time we had a serious commercial HVAC upgrade where I work.

 

Air conditioning expert

Air purification brings about better respiratory health

For the longest time, I’ve been dealing with head, sinus and chest congestion that wants to just hang on forever and ever. That sure wasn’t a plus during Covid. It’s like I was getting tested for the virus all the time. Even though I was working from the central air conditioning of our home, I wanted to be sure I was isolated in the basement if I was positive for Covid. But again and again, it was like a cold that just wouldn’t go away. I felt okay enough to work but still pretty much had to drag myself around. And this would go on for weeks. Finally, I went to the doctor to see what I could do to change this cycle. The answers surprised me a bit. For one, I needed to make some changes to my lifestyle. Namely, I needed to be less sedentary and get out of the air conditioning and get some exercise. Along with the exercise came some diet changes as well. That was even tougher. However, when the doctor started talking to me about improving the indoor air quality of our home, I had no clue what that meant. She explained there are so many airborne contaminants that are attacking my respiratory system when the indoor air quality is poor. This led me to the HVAC professionals where I learned all about air purification. And this ended up with us putting in a whole home air purification system. That turned out to be just the best thing ever. Not only is my respiratory health back to where it should be but the house smells wonderful like all the time.

a/c products

Last step of winter prep is actually protecting the HVAC cooling

It’s been really sort of a surprise just how much I’ve enjoyed the HVAC cooling in the summer the last couple of years.

For as long as we’ve owned this house, we’ve had central air conditioning.

That said, we never had HVAC cooling added to the heating we get from the gas furnace. This was mostly because we live so far north that the summers are very mild. Sure, it might get a bit hot for a month or a bit more at the height of summer. But that’s about it. However, as my wife and I got older, we were feeling the heat in the house a lot more. That has everything to do with the fact that we’ve slowed down considerably and spent more time inside. So having HVAC cooling added to the central air conditioning was a bonus that I really wasn’t expecting to like so much. My initial reaction was that we were spending money that we didn’t need to spend on air conditioning that we didn’t really need. Yet, my wife was rather insistent about getting the HVAC cooling. And I have to say, she was right on the money with that call. We both have enjoyed the summers inside the central air conditioning now that the HVAC cooling has been added. What’s sort of ironic is the fact that the last thing I do in the fall for winter prep is protect the air conditioning. The HVAC cabinet that does the HVAC cooling sits outside our house. So I put a hard plastic shell over it to protect it from the elements during our harsh winter.

 

 

air purifier

So happy with the HVAC service plan

I tend to tune sales people out.

This is a sort of default reaction because I feel like somebody is always trying to sell me something.

And that gets on my nerves at times. Instead of trying to sell me a dessert I didn’t ask for, how about doing something about the thermostat setting in this restaurant? Or when I’ve spent months researching a purchase to then get some spiel from the sales person trying to upsell me gets beyond frustrating. That’s why I simply tune people out when I’m buying something or I just buy online to avoid the interaction altogether. But I sort of missed the boat for a few years when it came to the HVAC company. Each time I called to schedule the HVAC maintenance appointment, someone asked me about the HVAC service plan. Almost by habit, I would cut them off and end the call as quickly as I could. But when I actually stopped to listen, it wasn’t the sales pitch that I was expecting. In fact, I was stunned to find that the HVAC service plan had so much value. I went online to the HVAC company website to look up the details. Not only does the HVAC company take care of tracking, making and then sending a confirmation email for HVAC maintenance, there’s so much added value. Like if I do end up having to get an HVAC repair, I don’t pay the HVAC service charge. I’m only responsible for the parts to fix the problem. On top of that, I get special discounts on ductwork cleaning and other HVAC services. It’s really a great value that HVAC service plan.

 

Heat pump install

Sunroom with air conditioning adds whole other dimension to home

When we moved down here, all we wanted to do was be active.

Having spent the last decade prior to retirement getting fit, we weren’t about to waste it sitting inside the central air conditioning of our new place.

We moved to the land of the heat pump from the great white north. It was a change for sure. But a change that my wife and I had both been thinking about and planning for nearly as long as we were getting our health back. I think the fact that when we hit our mid 50’s in such awful shape was a wake up call. We’d both worked so hard inside the commercial HVAC of our respective offices for so long that we sort of let our health go. We wanted to be sure that we reclaimed our fitness before it was too late. Plus, we wanted to move south to enjoy a region where we could actually get out during the winter. The idea of playing golf and enjoying a winter outside was so awesome. So we wasted no time getting after it when we moved down here instead of staying inside the air conditioning all the time. And it’s been a wonderful decade. These days, we’re slowing down a bit. While we still love to get outside and do fun, active things, there are days where we just aren’t up to it. Having the sunroom with the ductless heat pump installed was just the ticket for that situation as we can sit inside with quality heating and air but still enjoy the outdoors.

Space heater