The Non-Joy Of Repairs - Resolution!

The current heat pump company was jerking me around a bit.  The Boss did call, but he was giving me conflicting information too.  So decided to consider a brand new company.  I tired of replacing these units every 8 or so years! 

I trust Consumer Reports, so I visited their website.  I was shocked.  The brand I have used for 30 years was near the bottom of the ratings chart.  It was listed as below average in virtually every category!  At the top were Trane and American Standard.  

Everything Consumer Report said about both was outstanding.  Most modern technology, quiet, efficient, long-lasting, etc.  Other good news from CR was that the energy and durability saving would pay for the unit in 12 years (less than the life-expectancy of the unit.  The bad news is that it is (of course) more expensive.  I've never heard of American Standard, so I called the local Trane dealer.  

A dealer Rep came out the next afternoon and examined my existing system, estimated the cubic feet in the house, measured the available space where the indoors portion would go, examined the ductwork capacity, etc.  He said the duct capacity was fine, that the indoor unit needed to be replaced  (the mechanical parts of course, but also the fan and condensation-removal mechanism.  And BTW "Your current 1.5 ton unit is underpowered for your house".  Which meant that the previous heat pumps had been laboring both too long and too hard (thus wearing out faster and costing me a lot in electricity).

He sent a proposal later that day.  He offerred a unit that Consumer Reports said was their better one.  He upped the capacity to 3.0 tons, applied a State and my energy co-op credits to the proposal (they simply reduce my costs immediately in the proposal and Trane gets it back on their own).  They will also haul away all the old equipment and install a better thermostat.  The unit can be expected to last 15 years.

Then there was the cost.  It was higher than I expected.  Let's just say "ouch"!  But it seems worth it and I can afford it.  I sent a 50% deposit immediately and received acknowledgement immediately.

Unfortunately, they can't install a new unit until Friday.  And the poor A/C from the existing unit failed that evening.  My house was not designed for good cross-ventilation.  And while it is not mid-Summer with 90F temperatures and high humidity, it got to 80F inside quickly.  I opened 2 screened windows and turned on the kitchen and bathroom exhaust fans, but it stayed warm inside.  In fact, despite it being cooler outside than in, I couldn't get it below 78F.  

I can't sleep well above 70F.  You probably think I'm a wimp (and I suppose I am).  So some history.  As I kid, I grew up in New England.  Staying warm was the whole point there.  When I was 13, we moved to Virginia.  Staying cool there was the effort.  At first it was pre-air-conditioning.  I lay in bed sweating every Summer night.  

After a couple years, Dad bought a used stand-alone A/C.  But he was (koff, koff) "thrifty".  It was only turned on in the evening.  It was often hotter in the house than outside.  We used to sit on the front or back steps after dinner and watch the "heat lightening" until it cooled down enough to stay inside.  I was still miserable at night.

When I was 13, we moved to Maryland (which is not exactly New England either).  Dad tried to get away with installing a 3' fan in the bedroom floor ceiling, but that never helped much.  Finally, he bought a 2nd hand window A/C (again, only to be run at night).  

Couple years later, I left for college.  The dorms had rooftop A/C units.   Later I was in A/C apartments and then a house and A/C offices.  I have not been without A/C for 55 years!  You get used to what you live with I suppose.  If there was no such thing as A/C, I suppose I would have gotten used to the absence of it decades ago.  And houses would have remained designed for the lack of it.

So this week without A/C is a bit hard.  I sure will be glad when the new unit is installed.