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It’s no accident that I have some of the best HVAC equipment once can own.

When I moved to the south, HVAC cooling was one of the top priorities for me and my family.

While we loved the idea of being able to enjoy the sun and good temperatures all year, we were scared about the summer. The tales of just how dreadfully hot it is down here were flowing as soon as we told our friends my husband was getting a promotion and we were moving. There is no doubt that the south does have its fair share of heat and humidity. The four months stretch from June through September is proof of that. At the same time, I think our friends were laying it on a bit thick when they tried to scare us about the heat. I’m sort of convinced that they were actually a bit jealous that we weren’t going to be trapped inside with the gas furnace running all winter any longer. Still, I wanted to be sure that we had the latest in HVAC technology when it came to the residential HVAC in our home. That mission was accomplished. Not only do we have the latest in HVAC technology but we have a super high SEER rating as well. That means we have just about the most efficient HVAC equipment we can get. While I’m thankful for the cooling we get from the heat pump, I’m equally thankful that the cooling process also balances the humidity levels inside the house as well.

heating provider

It wasn’t really our intent to be able to dial in just the sort of heating and cooling comfort we wanted in our bedroom.

• But that’s sure what we got.

In fact, had our kids been able to share a room with each other, I don’t think we’d have upgraded our bedroom situation. Yet, to keep the peace inside the quality heating and air of our home, we just had to give up our room so all the kids had their own space. The idea of buying a new house was not in the cards. While I’m sure that we could have made some money on this place had we chose to sell it, I don’t think it would have been enough. Thus, adding on a master bedroom became the thing to do. The process wasn’t nearly as awful as I was thinking it would be. In fact, the construction didn’t take all that long at all. Then, it was just up to the HVAC contractor to install the ductless heat pump. That ductless heat pump was the cherry on top though. I was so impressed by how small and efficient that thing was when I first saw it. But when I actually powered it up for some HVAC cooling for the first time, I was shocked at the power. And it’s also really quiet and super, super efficient. It has hardly added to our overall power bill at all. Again though, it’s being able to dial in the perfect temperature for just us that makes that ductless heat pump even that much more special.

Cooling workman

When you’ve lived abroad for as long as I have, it is some real culture shock coming back home.

I’m from the south and grew up in a house that had great quality heating and air provided by a heat pump.

I for sure took that heating and cooling from the heat pump for granted. But who didn’t. Even when I was a kid, the heat pump was everywhere. All the neighbors had central air conditioning and where we shopped had commercial HVAC. So it was sort of like heating and cooling, but particularly HVAC cooling, was just a given. When I left the country after college to work in developing nations, I wasn’t sure how long that would last. But I’m now finishing up just over 20 years spent abroad working in places where HVAC cooling is a luxury. Honestly, the culture shock got to be so intense when I came home that I just sort of stopped coming home. Until I came back to the States for good just over a year ago, I hadn’t been back in almost a decade. How things had changed. This was also the first time that I ever owned a home. So I learned a lot about residential HVAC from the HVAC professionals near my hometown. In fact, the HVAC contractor who put in the new HVAC equipment was a buddy I went to junior high with. I’ve had that new HVAC cooling for more than a year and I still can’t get accustomed to it. Thankfully, I have a smart thermostat that looks after the heating and cooling of my home these days.

smart thermostat

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

Things are still a bit new to me when it comes to this whole adulting scene.

• I’m 29 and have just purchased my first starter home.

It’s not all that much but it’s for sure mine. I just like the idea that I’m not paying rent any longer. I’m building equity while also enjoying things like reliable HVAC equipment with updated HVAC technology. That’s a far cry from what was happening in apartment life. I really wasn’t too comfortable when it came to quality heating and air in either of my apartments. So having new HVAC equipment and great residential HVAC is awesome. But having a home has offered a learning curve for me as well. I’m seeing that there are things that just have to get done. There isn’t an office to call any longer when something isn’t right. But the big thing is that all the maintenance stuff for the house is on me alone. And if I don’t get that sort of stuff done, then I’m doing a disservice to the investment I’ve made. For sure, I had to put some money into this place to make it livable. So I plan to live here and continue to improve the property until I’m ready to start a family if I get that lucky. Taking care of the investment in HVAC equipment is a priority and really, it’s just logical. Like I said, I see this house not only as my home but more of a medium term investment as well. So, it just made total sense to me to sign up for the HVAC service plan offered by the local HVAC company I use. They come out to do heating maintenance in the fall and follow that up with an air conditioning tune-up in the spring. I’m covered.

heating business

I’m not accustomed to the heat and humidity the way my husband is.

And I’ve struggled with that fact since we moved down here.

We actually met up north while attending the same university. When we got married, we ended up with jobs in the north so he had to get used to winters with a gas furnace. That was so hard on him and I really did wish I could help him. Over the course of a decade, he finally got to where he might be able to last at a sporting event or maybe going skiing. Other than that, he wasn’t much interested in leaving the cozy, heating comfort from the HVAC equipment. Now that we are living near where he grew up, the heating and cooling shoe is on the other foot, if you will. I just haven’t been able to come to terms with the heat and humidity of summer. Of course, the rest of the year is like heaven. But those four months of summer are brutal and I need all the air conditioning I can get. And that’s a bit of a problem because we try our best to now overuse the air conditioning. It’s very similar to what my husband experienced up north. The more he stayed inside the HVAC heating, the worse the cold seemed. The same is now true for me as I find if I don’t get acclimated to the heat a bit in the spring and just stay in the HVAC cooling, the summer is oppressive. Plus, keeping the thermostat too low just runs our electric bill through the roof.

hydronic heating

I really had no clue the impact having air purification in our home would make on our lives.

For sure, I thought it would finally end all the indoor odor turmoil we’ve dealt with for years and years.

When you have 3 boys, 2 dog and a cat, there are going to be odors. On top of that, my husband keeps the house sealed very tight in order to maximize the efficiency of the HVAC equipment. Throw in all the cooking I do inside that air conditioning and there was a big soup of odors in this house. I tried just about everything that I could possibly think of to get rid of the smells. But nothing lasted. The best I could hope for was sort of a perfumed house here and there from sprays or candles. But as soon as the HVAC unit kicked on, the odors were right back to taking over the house. So we finally decided to seek the guidance of the indoor air experts. We called the HVAC professionals and they sure did have the answer. But the whole home air purification system that was added to our HVAC equipment is much more than an expensive deodorizer. The air purifier is also providing the best indoor air quality we could possible even ask for. It’s just tremendous the sort of crisp, clean and healthy air we have inside now. Like this spring, I didn’t have any seasonal allergy problems once I was inside the house. And my husband no longer fights a sinus infection a couple of times a year. Like I said, I sure wish I had simply gotten the air purifier a long time ago.
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When it comes to lots of details in life, I sort of just overlook them. That’s a risky way to go about things and I know that. So every now and again, that sort of approach comes back to bite me in the rear end. This has never been more true that with the HVAC equipment in our home. The HVAC unit we have now is the second one we’ve had installed in this house. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for just over 30 years. The last HVAC unit lasted 24 years and that’s not too bad. Of course, I made sure that the HVAC unit got all the HVAC maintenance it needed over that near quarter of a century. That’s the reason it not only lasted that long but never had a serious repair of any kind. So when that old one wore out, we stuck with the same HVAC company to get us our next residential HVAC. They came through for us just as they always have. The HVAC contractor was great and made the process almost effortless. But I was so excited about the new HVAC technology that came with this new residential HVAC that I got ahead of myself. I didn’t read the warranty. Thankfully, my wife not only read the warranty but made sure that it was registered with the factory. Because she read the warranty, my wife stopped me from voiding it. We came home from work to find the HVAC unit running but the house wasn’t cooling. I thought I’d have a look to see what the problem was. My wife stopped me in my tracks because the warranty would have voided on our HVAC unit had I tried to repair the thing myself.

boiler

I’ve always enjoyed going to this little spot on a remote lake where my family has had a small place for generations.

It’s not all that easy to get to and there isn’t much to do outside of being there.

But it’s not the zone controlled HVAC of the office for sure. For me, just being up at that lake is enough. The place is just still one of those completely untouched, pristine natural spaces. The lake and the property are essential the exact same as they were when I was a kid 40 years ago. Can’t say that about much else these days, that’s for sure. But the house of there just went under some changes. And it was my brother and I that finally instituted those changes in order to get more participation on lake trips. Both of our families have been more than a bit reluctant to get out of the air conditioning of home to spend time at the lake. That’s just stupefying to me and my brother. When dad even hinted that we were out of the quality heating and air for even a weekend at the lake we went wild. But our kids just want to stay home, crank the thermostat and game online. So we decided to pay an HVAC technician we know a bit extra to follow us up to the cabin. On his suggestion, we bought 3 ductless heat pumps for the lake house. And he helped us install them all in one day. We also added satellite wifi, painted, upgraded the kitchen appliances and got some decent furniture. Now, everyone is onboard for the lake.

Cooling corporation

I tend to be a bit more sentimental that I would really like to be.

And it’s been that way all my life.

Even when I was growing up in the quality heating and air of my parent’s house, I was pretty emotional. When my gerbil died, I was inconsolable for weeks and weeks. Going outside of the air conditioning to play with my friends was out of the question. I was in mourning. That’s pretty heavy for an 11 year old. Honestly, I’ve tried to not be quite so sentimental and avoid getting so attached. However, that’s not met with great results. In fact, I just sat with a 24 year old HVAC unit to honor it before it was torn out, tossed in a truck and recycled. But to me, that HVAC equipment was more than equipment. That was the heat pump that kept my family warm in the winter with great HVAC heating and comfortable in the heat and humidity of summer with perfect HVAC cooling. So it only seemed correct to honor that effort. Sure, I spent money every year on HVAC maintenance. I called for heating maintenance from the HVAC company in the fall every year. And by late spring, I called again for an air conditioning tune-up prior to the summer heat and humidity. So that old HVAC unit definitely got taken care of. That’s why it went 24 years without a single heating and cooling problem. When it was time to add new HVAC technology and new residential HVAC, I would have felt ashamed had I not at least tipped my cap to that heating and cooling warrior that took care of my family for all those years.
thermostat