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I woke up two hours later in a hospital

If there were ever a drug abuse ambassador, it would be me. For almost a month, I had not been feeling okay, but it did not feel like anything serious, so I just took some self-prescribed medication and continued working at the home services company as an HVAC tech. On a Monday, I felt a bit faint, but since it was the last call of the day after a furnace installation, I decided to push myself harder. The homeowner had been vague on the phone because, besides her home address, she said she needed heating maintenance, and then the call disconnected. I went there prepared for all kinds of heating repairs just in case. When I got there, she told me that the geo heat pump constantly switched itself off. Given that she had one of the best heating devices in the heating industry, I knew something had to be very wrong. The installation at her house seemed fine, but after a thorough inspection, I discovered that the digital thermostat was the problem. It prompted the unit to shut down even after the owner manually switched it on. I also found a leak in the ductwork. Luckily, I had geared up for duct sealing. As I was going up the ladder, I started feeling dizzy. The last thing I remember was the lady calling someone saying that there was an HVAC tech who had fallen off the ladder and was not waking up, and then everything went black again. I woke up two hours later in a hospital. Over the years, I worked as an HVAC serviceman, having worked on every type of heating technology; this was a first. The doctor said I was very dehydrated and anemic.

heating corp

When the head of HR announced that we would be working from home till further notice, I was elated.

It would save much time I would otherwise use for getting ready and in traffic. The first day felt off because I was not used to working from my house the whole day. I, however, got used to it. The first week went by without incident, and I was slowly getting into the new routine. On the weekend, I noticed that the indoor comfort had reduced, which all had to do with the heating device. The house was not getting warm though the geo heat pump was running. I tried to fidget with the digital thermostat to get the furnace to increase the heat, but nothing happened. I was not very conversant with heating technology or anything to do with the heating industry, so I entirely relied on the professionals. Calls to the heating dealer and other heating contractors went unanswered since it was the weekend. I settled on working near the fireplace to get some warmth. Come Monday, I was able to schedule much-needed heating maintenance. After checking the unit, the HVAC tech established that it required heating repair, and one part needed replacement. There were also some leaks in the ductwork, which explained the energy bill increase in the past month. The unit was partially dependent on electricity. Duct sealing would solve the problem of heat loss. I established that if I was going to work from home, I might as well have home services on speed dial and probably make friends with an HVAC serviceman or two.

hvac technology

Going to the doctor is one of my least favorite activities.

For starters, I’m a big, big chicken when it comes to doctors.

I’m always afraid I’m going to go into the office thinking I have something benign and come out with a life changing diagnosis. And then, there’s the air conditioning in the office. I asked a nurse once why they keep the HVAC cooling set so low. He told me that it was to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria. They don’t like the air conditioning so much. For me, that level of HVAC cooling is a bit much as well. But when I had been dealing with a respiratory ailment for more than 6 weeks without it totally going away, I had to do something. So going to the doctor and sitting in all that HVAC cooling was what I had to do. But after the examination, I was surprised to get the diagnosis and even more amazed at the remedy. Indeed, I had caught a cold that was going around but the reason it was hanging on was more likely due to the indoor air quality. That was a shock and I wasn’t really even sure what good indoor air quality was and how I was supposed to go about getting it. But the doctor gave me a prescription to call the HVAC company and get the ductwork cleaning and ductwork resealing done. Once the HVAC air ducts were clean, I was then to upgrade our HVAC air filter to a HEPA filter. This thing catches more than 99 percent of the airborne contaminants that have had my respiratory under near constant attack.

space heater

It’s finally time that my wife and I come to terms with the fact that it’s just going to be hot here in the summer. And when I say hot, I mean temperatures and humidity levels that are right near a hundred. That’s not just now and again. No, those levels of heat and humidity are on the daily for four months in a row. We moved here for the mild winters and the great weather 8 months of the year. But staying cooped up inside the air conditioning all summer is dumb. This place just has too much going for it for me to do that. So, we’re going to get with the program this summer. I’m going to do the basics to ease up on the air conditioning, get accustomed to the heat a bit more and save some money. The first thing I did was to get the heat pump it’s seasonal HVAC maintenance. This ensures that the heat pump is up to the load of summer cooling while also keeping it operating at peak efficiency. That’s money in the pocket to start. From there, I made sure to seal the house up tight. Changing the weather stripping around the doors and sealing up gaps on the exterior is another HVAC efficiency maximizer. But really, it all comes down to keeping the thermostat at a reasonable level. I figured out how to program the thermostat and that’s going to help big time. The temperature in the house will not be more than 15 degrees cooler than the peak heating hours outside during the afternoon.

a/c worker

If I have to pick a few positives that came from being at home inside the air conditioning for 18 months, the list is pretty short.

The fact is that we are just now finding something sort of like normal after the worst of the pandemic.

My husband and I both had to stay out of the zone controlled HVAC of the office because of my genetic health condition. Had I gotten Covid, I might not have lived through it. So if that meant staying inside the HVAC safety and security of my home, so be it. It took me a while to get with the program when it came to working from home. But I finally got that down to a point where I could get my work done. Yet, I longed to be back inside that zone controlled HVAC of our downtown offices. And now that I’m back inside that zone controlled HVAC comfort, I’m so grateful. Yet, there were a few things that I did get out of the pandemic that were positive. For one thing, we finally got our collective act together when it came to our HVAC equipment. My husband and I have never been at all consistent about taking care of our HVAC unit. But while we were at home for nearly 18 months, we really stepped up our game. We started by changing to a HEPA filter instead of the cheap air filters we always used. Then, we made sure that we were changing that HEPA filter the way were supposed to be doing. Then we even called and signed up for the HVAC service plan offered by our HVAC company.

More info here

So we were faced with the decision of whether or not to sell our house.

And it turns out, the fact that the HVAC equipment had to be replaced was the tipping point for our choice.

The HVAC unit was put in when we bought the house just after our girls were born. They are just over a year apart and started life inside the not so quality heating and air of an apartment. But we were fortunate enough to get some help with the downpayment on this place and the rest is history. A great aunt happened to leave me some money in her will and that’s what allowed us to buy this house and install that old HVAC unit. Now, the girls are out of the house and starting their own lives. With an empty house, we just weren’t sure whether we should keep it for just us. But when the HVAC unit had to be replaced and we got to talking with the HVAC contractor, we decided we wanted to stay put. Eventually, we’ll sell the house and move to the south to retire in all of that glorious HVAC cooling. But until then, we chose to stay put but add value to our home. And we did that by getting the latest in residential HVAC for upstairs and putting a pair of ductless heat pumps downstairs. Now, we have a full on, 2 bedroom apartment in the basement that we are renting out. Not only did we add value to the home, we’re making some money on it until we sell it as well.

furnace/heater installation

Can you imagine investing thousands of dollars in new residential HVAC equipment only to void the warranty just months into owning it? That sounds like just a nightmare scenario but it happens. Actually, it happened to a friend of ours. He bought the a new gas furnace and was just so excited to have it that he neither read what he was supposed to nor did he listen to the HVAC contractor. So after 90 days, the warranty on his new gas furnace was void. That’s right, thousands of dollars in gas furnace and no warranty all because he didn’t register the warranty with the factory in time. He was beside himself and still, that gas furnace HVAC warranty situation is a very sore subject. That’s why when we even started talking to the HVAC contractor about replacing the residential HVAC in our home, we asked about the warranty. The warranty on our new HVAC equipment is just the best and covers us for a very long time from defect. But of course, we only had 90 days to register that HVAC warranty with the factory. I made sure that we did it the day of the installation. And it was so easy. The whole thing was done in minutes online. I just can’t imagine not having a warranty on the investment of residential HVAC. But I’d probably be beside myself as well if I didn’t have that HVAC warranty because I didn’t bother to register the HVAC warranty. Plus, we signed up for the HVAC service plan the day after installation. Between all the HVAC maintenance and the warranty, we should be covered.

electric furnace

Getting into the landlord business was something that I chose to do after I was lucky to get a buyout from the company I work for. They offered me full retirement less 8 percent if I left about 5 years early. That was the easy decision I ever made inside the zone controlled HVAC of that place. I said yes before they could get the offer all the way out. I loved my job but I was also really ready to do something else. Owning properties and renting them out was something that I had always wanted to do. So once I was out of the zone controlled HVAC of the office, I started learning about owning rental properties. I actually even took a class or two. It was the financing and the legal stuff that I really wanted to be sure that I had down pat. The ability to work on the homes and be that sort of landlord wasn’t a problem. I’ve always loved home projects. My wife and I have turned our home into just the perfect spot by doing those projects together. She was right there with me in this rental property thing as well. We’re a team. But the first house we bought, fixed up and rented out hit a big snag right at a deadline. The HVAC company was out to replace the central air conditioning just a week before our first tenant was to move in. But it turned out the ductwork was shot. The HVAC contractor was quick thinking though and kept us on deadline as well as on budget with the ductless multi split system we installed.

air conditioner

It’s just starting to be summer around here and I’m already eager for it to end.

That’s not because of the heat and humidity of summer so much.

We have great residential HVAC in our house that provides all the HVAC cooling we could ever want or need. And it’s not because the kids are now out of school. I really actually like that they are free in the summer to just be kids. We’re quite lucky to have two really good people as children and they are pretty easy to raise. No, the reason I want the end of summer to get here sooner is because that’s when vacation starts. We like to go for 2 weeks at the end of summer for our family vacation. It’s just a blast and we normally go back to the same area. I love being at the shore and the kids do to. My wife loves taking care of all the arrangements from the lodging to the entertainment to the menu. Well last year, she straight outdid herself in all aspects of that vacation. It was the best one we’d ever had and that’s really saying something. It starts with the fact that we got a vacation rental instead of staying at the resort we had frequented. I’d been disappointed with things like the air conditioning and space for what we paid. Well my wife saved us money on this vacation rental and it came with superb air conditioning. This place had brand new HVAC equipment along with all the HVAC technology as well. I had a thermostat in our bedroom that was for that space alone! You got to believe that we booked it again.

new heating

On top of that I only need the one ductless heat pump to provide all the great quality heating and air that I will ever need.

When I first saw the TV programs about living in tiny homes, I thought there was no way that would work for me. I felt sort of claustrophobic just watching those shows. But as the years wore on and I still found myself inside the so so quality heating and air of apartments, things changed. The more I saved for a downpayment on a home of my own, the further away to total sum of that downpayment got. Talk about disappointing. Finally, I knew that if I really wanted to build equity, own my home and enjoy great residential HVAC, I had to get creative. And that’s when the tiny home of my dreams appeared. Perhaps it was the shows with the houses on the trailers that were tough for me to imagine doing. But a tiny home set on 3 acres of wooded property with a huge, wrap around deck was a whole other animal. My house is a bit wider but still I live inside about 600 square feet. And the home was designed to maximize all that space. On top of that I only need the one ductless heat pump to provide all the great quality heating and air that I will ever need. With the big deck, it’s like I’m really living outside much of the year. Our winters are mild and I don’t need much HVAC heating which makes having that deck is perfect. However come summertime, it’s sure nice to have that ductless heat pump cranking out the HVAC cooling. I’m so pleased to have everything I’ve ever wanted in a home and be able to afford it!

Duct sealing