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It’s really hard to tell if you’re going to like the climate where someone else lives if you’ve never really been there before.

I mean, you can read all about it and watch all the videos that you want, but until you experience for yourself, you just don’t know if it’s the place for you.

When I met my wife online a couple of years ago, I thought that she was the one for me. She was funny, and beautiful, and smart. She even owned her own home in the town where she lived, which was way further north than I had ever traveled. Whenever we decided that we were going to get married, it was after we had met each other several times in neutral areas. I know, it was definitely an unusual courtship. But when we decided to get married, we thought that we would just live in her house since she already owned it. It’s been a bit of a struggle for me to get acclimated to the temperatures where she lives. The temperatures in the place where she lives are freezing for half of the year! She has an electric furnace in her house, along with a wood burning stove as an additional source of heating. Not only that, but she also has a gas fireplace just in case both of those heating sources go out in the winter. I guess we have to be sure to have a heating source, no matter what. We could literally freeze to death if the heating goes out. You have to have a really great furnace system around here. I just don’t know if I will ever get used to the climate around here.
Electric heating system

There are so many issues right now that seem ridiculous to me. How are people so selfish that they can’t put a piece of fabric over their noses to save someone’s life? It makes absolutely no sense in my mind and I have a hard time comprehending my fellow man at the moment. That being said, we obviously have a lot of large societal issues that nobody wants to be responsible for. Climate change has not gone anywhere, for instance. If we could finally switch over to more energy efficient ways of living to reduce our personal contributions to climate change, I think it would be rather easy to turn this sinking ship around. We just need to reduce our carbon footprint through more energy conscientious lifestyles. This is why I can’t wrap my head around the fact that my neighbors just had a traditional central heating, cooling, and air quality control system installed in their house. They will be relying on inefficient air quality control equipment that utilizes dirty sources of energy to barely manage their indoor air quality for the foreseeable future. If you ask me, they should have invested in a geothermal heat pump rather than the same old heating and cooling equipment that we’ve been using for 50 years. Geothermal heat pumps do not require any external energy source. This makes geothermal heat pumps extremely clean and financially efficient to use. There are some start-up costs associated with installing a geothermal heat pump, but they pay for themselves very quickly… which is the exact opposite of an energy inefficient traditional HVAC system.

Duct sealing

I am so tired of this year.

I know I’m not the only one, and most of us cannot wait for it to be over.

I feel like my life has been yanked back and forth and so many directions since January. Everytime I feel like I have a grip on current events and the foreseeable future, everything changes again. A lot of this is due to my fluctuating work schedule. When the pandemic began they decided to have us work from home. I was more than happy to sit in my central heating, cooling, and air quality control system rather than relying on the uneven air temperatures around the office all spring. I had no problem adjusting my thermostat settings so I could have the ideal indoor air temperature conditions throughout my work day. Then, my company called us back into the office. Suddenly I was relying on our Commercial heating and cooling system in my workplace again. I was fine with escaping to the powerful heating and cooling provided by my company, because my home air conditioning system was not very powerful or energy-efficient. I thought it would save me money on my HVAC bills to be working in the office again. The problem is, that didn’t last. Within a month my bosses told us to work from home again. That’s when I finally had to upgrade my central heating and cooling system so that my air conditioning unit could properly service my office. I couldn’t deal with the fluctuating hot and cold temperatures anymore. On the day that my air conditioning system was finally replaced so I could work comfortably… The company changed their minds again.

climate control

Sometimes I feel like I am an insane person.

I have so many bits of information that I’m trying to keep organized in my head that I wind up getting dizzy with overwhelm.

Those are the times when I wonder if I am incapable of living a responsible adult life. It sure seems hard to keep up with every single thing that you need to take care of in this modern world. I have a hard enough time remembering to change the oil in my car. Now, I’m learning that my indoor air temperature control system is absolutely neglected compared to suggested HVAC maintenance schedules. I honestly had no idea that your heating, cooling, and air quality control system was supposed to be professionally pampered every year. In fact, it’s recommended that you service your air conditioning unit and furnace at least once in the spring and fall. That way, you can make sure that your centralized air quality control system is running in energy efficient shape and you are not trying to utilize air handling equipment that has broken parts. I can willingly acknowledge that I have been overlooking these heating, cooling, and air quality control issues my entire life. Finding out that I should be calling the local HVAC repair shop several times throughout the year makes my head spin. I can’t fathom another important adult task on my plate… but at the same time, I really don’t want to face the stress of a full heating and cooling system upgrade, either. Looks like I’ll be adding these HVAC chores to my to-do list.

Heating repair

I’m not the sort of person who usually gets excited about my tax return each year.

To be honest with you, I am always so responsible with my money that receiving cash back from the government just means I have to readjust my budget to get the most bang for my financial buck.

Most of the time I am not dreaming of any life-changing decisions following my tax return. However, I will tell you that this year is different. I actually can’t wait to get my money back because I have big plans. They have to do with my central heating, cooling, and air quality control system. You see, I realized a while ago that my family fought way too often about the indoor air temperature control system. Everybody was always bickering in front of the thermostat and trying to stab each other in the back with indoor air temperature changes. Meanwhile, our energy bills we’re always extremely high because we had to use a massive air conditioning unit and forced air furnace regardless of who was at home. This is why I decided it was a good idea to use my tax return for zone controlled heating, cooling, and ventilation. Finally, I would be able to have a professional heating and cooling technician modify our existing central HVAC system so we could set unique temperature zones throughout the house. I have already arranged for the heating and cooling upgrade to take place next April. Now I just need to wait for my tax return so we can finally resolve these heating and cooling issues throughout the house. I can’t wait!

 

air filter

I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t smelled a skunk.

You always run over roadkill and recognize what the glob was when the smell attacks your nostrils.

I have sometimes awakened and gone out on my porch only to realize a skunk had been in my yard. I came home from work one afternoon, to see my kitchen door was open. I thought about calling the police, but I stood there and began to ring the doorbell. I called out to myself and said that my neighbor was there. I was walking toward the front door, thinking how easy it would be to walk out when the burglar went out the way he came in. Instead of a burglar, I caught a strong odor. The next thing I knew, I was watching a skunk amble out the backdoor. As his tail lifted, I knew I was in trouble. It’s funny how at that moment, all I could think about was my HVAC system. I knew I had a good HvAC system, but when I asked about an air purification system, I turned it down because it was so expensive. Right now, I was wishing I had bought the air purification system. The smell of skunk was so bad that I swore the room was turning blue. If I had an air purifier, the odor would already be dissipating. My air quality wouldn’t be nearly as bad as it was right now. I had to find out who to call to get rid of the skunk odor and clean my house. The worst part of all of this, is I remember running out the backdoor that morning, and not closing the door tightly.

Home owner solutions

She asked if it was okay if she moved in for a couple of months

I was worried about the new HVAC system I had ordered for my house. I was concerned about how much it cost me when I bought my furnace and air conditioning system.. The HVAC company was kind enough to stretch my payments out over two years, and they weren’t charging me interest. I still worried, because with the pandemic still raging, I’m not working like I once was. Since it was lunch time, I walked to the corner diner and bought a sandwich. I had often sat in the park to eat, but today was different. I was enjoying the view, or feeding my crust to the pigeons. I saw an elderly man hanging around and he came over and sat down. He was all the way to the end of the bench and when I glanced over, he told me he was social distancing. He asked me if I was on lunch break, and I only nodded. We started talking about HVAC systems and how my bills were coming due. He was telling me he had lost his job, and he was about to move out of his apartment. Before he left, he patted my shoulder and said all would go well. When I got back to work, they told me I could work full-time, but I had to work from home. My mom was waiting outside the house. She asked if it was okay if she moved in for a couple of months. She was going to help pay the bills and buy half the groceries, but she couldn’t stand to live alone anymore. She said it would only be until a home in the adult highrise opened up.

 

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One of my biggest worries is my furnace breaking down in the middle of winter.

I know that anyone who knows me, has heard me voice these fears.

Even people who don’t know me, seem to shy away from the subject of fears or HVAC. I had my furnace break down two winters in a row. Can you believe that anyone would have that kind of luck? I couldn’t believe that something like that could happen? I went out the next year and I purchased a new HVAC system. I made sure I had every upgrade included into that HVAC system. I had a humidifier included in the furnace. The furnace was said to have the highest efficiency possible. I also had new ductwork installed and I had a Smart Thermostat. When it came to the air conditioning unit, I ordered an AC unit with the highest SEER possible. I had a good dehumidifier installed. I also had a whole-home air purifier installed into the HVAC system. I didn’t want to need to worry about anything. I had all of this work done so I never had to think about how it was possible for the furnace to break down two winters in a row. I knew that with a new HVAC system, I could easily avoid that problem for several years. It helped to put my mind at ease now that I had the new HVAC system, but it is still there. Having a mind at ease isn’t like forgetting about the troubles I had with the old HVAC system. .
Home owner solutions

My husband woke up the other morning to my rifling through the night stand.

I was looking for a business card and I couldn’t find it.

I woke up early when I had a dream about the HVAC system. I needed to find the business card that our old HVAC technician had given me when he was last there. They had sent out a new technician the last time and I didn’t trust him. He was too young to be able to do the job our old tech had done. I had everything torn out of the night stand, and I was heading to the junk drawer in the kitchen when my husband came out and wrapped his arm around my waist. He wanted to know where I was going and I told him about my dream. I was afraid that something was going to happen to our furnace or air conditioning unit, or even both, and I wanted to be prepared. He reminded me that the HVAC system was new and I didn’t need to worry anymore, but that didn’t put my mind at ease. As I rifled through the junk drawer, he asked me if I had checked my purse. I never put business cards in my purse and I couldn’t figure out why he would even mention it. He reminded me that the last time he was there, I was on my way out to lunch with my friend. I remembered that encounter, but I also knew I had a different puse. I found the card at the bottom of the now empty purse. I was ready to call our HVAC tech when or if something went wrong.

 

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My husband is finally about to get his dream.

He wants a rustic cabin in the mountains, and we are going to build one from scratch.

It will be our little getaway cabin, mostly his getaway cabin, but I might join him from time to time. It’s a chance to get close to nature, and enjoy the simpler things in life. We have a place in mind a couple of hours from here, and even found the perfect piece of property. We are waiting to hear back on our offer, but I’m sure it will be accepted. Then we need utilities brought out to it. My husband would prefer to stay off the grid and use solar power for energy, but I don’t know how that would work with the heating and air conditioning. My husband plans on using either wood burning stoves or fireplaces to heat the cabin, but I would love to have radiant heated floors installed. Of course, that will never happen. Still, even with the source of heat figured out, air conditioning is a factor to seriously consider. Can air conditioning be run on solar power? It sure would be nice to avoid a regular electric bill for the place. But, we like to be comfortable too. Maybe we wouldn’t even need air conditioning, though. We’ll see. Even if we need air conditioning and it can’t be run on solar power, I’m sure we could easily enough convert to solar power in the future. It’s something to bear in mind when we choose an air conditioning system, if we need one.

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