The other afternoon when I was trying to scrub the ductworks, I ended up falling and hurting myself. I am more than a little bit clumsy, that’s for sure. It seems like every other afternoon, I am tripping and falling or hurting myself in some way, my friends and family all laugh at me about it, but sometimes that gets old. I wish that I was more graceful because I don’t entirely like having bumps and bruises all over me all the time from self-inflicted injuries! Today, I decided that I was going to try to scrub the ductworks in our lake house myself. My ventilation plan has not been touched in a long time, and I started thinking about how dirty it must be on the inside. I did not want to call our local HVAC company to have them come and do the ventilation plan professionally, though. I just don’t have all that much cash in our cabin improvement budget right now. That’s why I decided that I wanted to do it myself. I should have known better than to try and climb a ladder to scrub our ductwork myself, though. I mean, I assume that I hurt myself a lot, and that should have just been a warning sign to me to stay off of ladders! I didn’t, though, and when I was up on the top rung of the ladder unscrewing the air vent cover in the ceiling, I got all tangled up in our own feet and I fell all the way to the floor, just missing the couch. I could have broken our neck! Thank goodness there were throw pillows on the floor. They broke our fall.
During the Summer, I had troubles with dust irritations
This past summer, I had so many troubles with dust irritations! It was way worse than normal and some of the time, I thought that I was just going to itch to death! I kept coughing and sniffling and sneezing for weeks at a time; It was all absolutely frustrating, that’s for sure.
I just could not figure out how to get rid of the dust irritations.
I took just about everything that I could think of to get rid of all of the symptoms. I absolutely tried all of the over the counter medications that I could get our hands on, then none of that stuff even seemed to help me at all, though. One afternoon I finally had had enough and that’s when I decided to make an appointment with the allergist at our dentist’s office, then when I got there, I thought that maybe he would give me a shot of something to get the dust irritations to stop. However, instead of doing something like that, he told me to go cabin and call up our local heating and cooling company and make an appointment with them. I thought that was odd at first because I was not expecting the dust sensitivity dentist to give me any kind of advice like that! But he told us that if both of us had the HVAC company come to do some professional ductwork cleaning for us, then it might help me with our dust sensitivity problems. That wasn’t something that I had ever thought of before, that’s for sure. I never even thought that there would be any ties between the dust sensitivity troubles that I was having and the ventilation plan in our house!
Zoned heating and cooling saves money
I’m hoping the heating and cooling equipment will be more reliable and last longer
When we upgraded our furnace and air conditioner, I was willing to spend more to upgrade to zone control. I felt that the extra cost was worth it and would be recovered by significant energy savings. The ductwork now includes a series of dampers that direct airflow to specific rooms of the house. The dampers are electronically controlled by the thermostat to open and close to achieve ideal comfort. Zoning is more efficient than simply shutting off the air vents in each because the dampers provide a better seal. There are individual thermostats in each room that allow customized settings. Raising or lowering the temperature setting in a single room no longer affects the whole house. We aren’t forced to heat or cool empty areas to the ideal temperature. Each family member can customize the temperature in their bedroom to their preference. We’re able to target those rooms that tend to feel overheated or chilly. It’s especially nice to have smart thermostats that are accessible from our smartphones. Whether we’re at home, at work or away on vacation, it’s extremely easy to make changes to temperature. Along with conserving energy, zone control improves comfort, trims costs and reduces wear and tear on the furnace and air conditioner. I’m hoping the heating and cooling equipment will be more reliable and last longer. The new zoning system is especially helpful because each family member has very strong opinions on the temperature of their bedrooms. Plus, we have a large home that is divided into numerous rooms, many that we rarely or never use.
Friend doesn’t understand air conditioner basics
I have a friend who I have known since we attended nursery school together.
Hannah is a really nice and generous person.
However, she isn’t overly knowledgeable about practical things. She once complained to me that her bathroom faucet was broken. She was getting only a very small stream of water. I took a look and discovered that the aerator was completely clogged. I also needed to show her how to clean the lint trap in the dryer, clean the filters in her vacuum cleaner and change the filter in her furnace. When her thermostat wasn’t working, I suggested she try changing the batteries. One of the most ridiculous things she’s ever done is ask me for the name and number of my mechanic. When I asked why she needed it, she told me she had a problem with her air conditioning. I assumed she meant the AC in her car. She called my auto mechanic and got aggravated when they refused to make a housecall. She complained to me about it, and I realized that she was talking about the central air conditioner installed in her home. I then explained that she needed an HVAC provider. Hannah had no clue what the acronym stands for. I also discovered that after living in her house for nearly ten years, she’d never once scheduled service for the cooling system. I wasn’t all that surprised to hear that the air conditioner was failing to provide sufficient comfort on especially hot days. Hannah told me there was a musty smell coming from the vents. I was sure there was mold growing on the cooling coils and algae thriving in the condensate drain.
Needing emergency furnace repair during a blizzard
My local area experiences winter weather that can be dangerous.
- There are times when the temperature drops well below zero and remains there.
At the same time, we get several feet of snow accumulating in a matter of hours. Along with icy pavement, the wind creates white-outs that make driving especially hazardous. There are frequent driving bans, travel advisories and winter weather warnings. We worry about losing power and the potential of water pipes freezing. Several people die every year from hypothermia. Having a functioning heating system is a necessity. Last February, during a particularly nasty blizzard, my furnace quit. My husband and I tried everything to get the heating system operating again. We replaced the air filter as well as the batteries in the thermostat. We checked the breakers, vacuumed out the vents and hit the reset button. Nothing worked, and the indoor temperature dropped rapidly. We bundled up in multiple layers of sweaters, winter coats, hats and mittens. We wrapped ourselves in heavy blankets and found a couple of space heaters in the attic. We also started making calls, looking for an HVAC contractor to provide emergency repairs. Because of the road conditions and heavily falling snow, we had difficulty finding a company that was willing to offer service. We were very appreciative of the technician who showed up at our house at four in the morning to repair our furnace. He needed to replace several parts and make numerous adjustments to get the heating system running again. He encouraged us to schedule a thorough maintenance of the furnace as soon as the weather became more cooperative.
Furnace, air conditioner and ductwork for a new construction project
When my husband and I finally saved up enough money and had enough equity to qualify for a loan, we were ready to build our dream home.
- We had no idea how much time, effort and stress would go into the project.
Determined not to live with regrets, we carefully researched everything from roofing materials and brands of windows to appliances and water heaters. One of the biggest undertakings was the heating and cooling system. We live in an area where the weather is extreme just about year round. The system needs to handle temperatures from twenty-five below zero up to the high nineties. We wanted something that would not only provide consistent comfort but also operate quietly and energy efficiently. Reliability, longevity, indoor air quality and aesthetics were also priorities. After a lot of reading and debate, we decided on a high-efficiency gas furnace and central air conditioner. This choice meant that we needed a duct system designed and installed to the specifics of the home. If there are too many bends in the pipes, airflow is restricted, diminishing efficiency and leading to shortened service life, higher running costs and hot and cold spots. If the pipes aren’t properly joined together, the heated and cooled air can leak out. Polluted outside air can get drawn into the system. We made certain to choose an HVAC contractor that included an in-house sheet metal fabrication shop. We were impressed by their customer reviews, qualifications and list of completed projects. By having the same contractor fabricate the ductwork and install the furnace and air conditioner, the process was completed in a timely manner.