New and Modern HVAC Equipment

It is good common sense to not leave your valuables out where they are easy to steal.

Maybe you don’t need a safe for some things, but you should still put them out of sight, so people aren’t tempted to take them.

I think everyone understands to not leave a pile of money on the kitchen counter, even if you trust the people around you it still doesn’t make sense to leave money sitting out. Or jewels, or any other little valuable items that can be easily taken and hidden in a pocket. With all that said, no one ever expects something like a toilet, sofa, or a space heater to be stolen. It is the middle of the summer, so the space heater was packed into the back of the closet. It’s not like it was sitting right near the door and someone took it on a whim, the thief had to dig into the closet to get this space heater! There were only fifteen or twenty people at this party, and with something as big as a space heater someone must have seen it being stolen, right? The big thing for me is figuring out why someone would bother to steal a space heater at all. They don’t cost that much, and I rarely use it for heating my home, so I doubt I will even replace it until next winter. So losing the space heater itself is actually not a big deal, there are way worse things that could have been stolen, but I am so puzzled as to why!

commercial air conditioning

The ranch house had been sitting empty for about five years when we moved in.

• I can’t get into the specifics of the deal, because we were living off the grid.

A friend of a friend offered to let us stay in an old, abandoned family cabin while my legal troubles blew over. The ranch house was actually pretty nice, although quite dusty and possessed of a very foul odor, but nothing I couldn’t handle. I needed a quiet place to hide for a few weeks, so I had to make the best of it. It had power and plumbing, which was good, but the HVAC system had not been used in five years, and didn’t want to wake up. I went down into the basement, where I found an ancient furnace, and something that I assumed was a water boiler. I have always lived in rentals before, so I don’t know the first thing about water boilers, or antique furnaces. It didn’t matter that much, since it was so hot outside I would not need a furnace for quite a while. I looked everywhere and could not find where the air conditioning unit was located. I came to realize that this place had no central air conditioning system. The best thing I could find was an old, dusty air conditioning unit up in the attic. I mounted it in the bedroom window and tested it out, and surprisingly the old A/C unit worked a little. It wasn’t very strong, and the air vent was stuffed with acorns, but it was better than nothing.

Programmable thermostat

I was a kid when my parents first moved us deep into the southern states. The first ten years of my life had been in the pacific northwest, a land of rain and evergreen trees. There was a huge shock to the system that came with moving so far south, where it was hot and humid all the time, and even when it rained the raindrops were scalding hot! I spent a lot of time indoors after moving down here, and if I’m being honest that never changed over the course of twenty years. Air conditioning was a lifeline in such oppressive weather, which is how I became interested in working with it for a career. I reached a point when I was successful enough that I could afford to move away and go back to the land of my childhood. The problem arose that HVAC techs make a lot more money down in this part of the country, so by moving I would be forced to take a huge pay cut. I missed the old town, of course, but I very much enjoyed how much money I was making for HVAC work down here. I sat down to write out a plan for the future, and figure out how long I would have to work HVAC down here to save up enough for an early retirement. If I had enough money I could move, and then set up my own HVAC shop. I might not get rich from it, but it sounded like it could be a nice change of pace after working down here for so long.

 

Heating and air conditioning products

Staying in a rental cabin on the lake is very different from renting a hotel room.

When you stay at a hotel, you know the maids will be coming in every single day to tidy things up.

There is a certain level of debauchery that is accepted, even encouraged, in hotels and motels, but renting a cabin on the lake is quite different. Here you are expected to clean up after yourself, and while you don’t have to do the dirty bedding, you are expected to put it in the washing machine before you leave. I was shocked when a renter in one of my properties stole the window mounted air conditioner when they checked out. Did they think that I would not notice that the only cooling component in the cabin was gone? I called the person, outraged, but they claimed to be ignorant of the air conditioner being missing. I hung up on them, and went outside to inspect the window. These kinds of air conditioners hang mostly outside of the house, and are held in place by sturdy metal brackets. Much to my chagrin, I saw that one of the brackets had snapped off, and the air conditioning unit had fallen out of the window and down an embankment. How the bracket snapped is a mystery to me, but it was somewhat of a relief to find out that the client had not stolen the air conditioner. This one was damaged, but a skilled HVAC tech was able to patch it back up and get it mounted in the window.

 

 

climate control

It requires some specialized education, of course, but an HVAC tech can work a manageable schedule and make great pay

I have finally been approved to start a monthly meeting at the local high school. My idea is to expose these students to the idea of trade work, like plumbing, roofing, or being an electrician, to let them know they have a lot of options. I remember when I was in school, all my teachers said I needed to go to college if I wanted to have a good career. I ended up going to trade school, and wound up with an amazing career, and I want to make sure the young people of today have that same chance. By working in the HVAC industry instead of going to college I have spent the last 23 years making good money. Although I can speak from the heart about HVAC work, I also want to give these kids a chance to experience other trades so they don’t feel limited. The problem is that I don’t know firsthand about roofing, or plumbing, or being an electrician, so I need to bring in some other trade experts to talk to the students. For any of them who show an interest in heating and cooling work, I can arrange a ridealong where they spend a few hours with one of my techs. They can witness a few house calls or commercial HVAC inspections and get a taste for what the day-to-day work is like. It requires some specialized education, of course, but an HVAC tech can work a manageable schedule and make great pay. Unlike working in fast food, HVAC work offers a bright future for teens.

 

heating corp

I am overly careful sometimes with trivial tasks, but it’s from having a childhood where a lot of chaos was present throughout the house. My siblings were always yelling, fighting, and breaking my parents’ valuables. I hated hearing them get scolded as much as I hated getting scolded myself, because the anger in my parents’ voices would trigger my anxiety. My mom tells me that I would jump in to defend my siblings when they would act up, insisting that they were “sorry” when they would refuse to acknowledge their transgression. It’s funny thinking about it now, but I guess that’s why I don’t like confrontation and would much rather avoid hearing shouting or verbal fighting of any kind. On one hand, it’s possible I have developed a touch of OCD because of the chaos in my childhood. I get too hung up on details and trivial matters. You might see me spend five minutes trying to perfectly align a painting I have hanging in my living room, just to “get it right” to make myself feel better. Other times this neurotic behavior serves me positively, such as when I went out of my way to properly seat the air filters I put in my HVAC system. I learned that a filter that isn’t seated properly will let air and dust move around it, negating the role of the filter entirely. It’s worth it to spend a few seconds making sure your air filter doesn’t have air gaps around it when you put it in your HVAC system. You might need help from your HVAC tech to see if you need something to wedge it into places.

Geothermal heat pump

I had no plans to move back to my hometown in my mid 30s, but I’m an only-child and my parents needed help with certain tasks as their health issues regressed and worsened. The one saving-grace was the cheap real estate market at the time. I found a two-bedroom house with an average-sized yard for only $200k. Now that we’re in the late stages of the COVID pandemic, the same kind of house in this neighborhood would fetch between $275k and $300k depending on the condition and the size of the lot. While the value of homes in the area has risen, there really isn’t any new construction happening in this town. We aren’t seeing new businesses rush in or residential developers eyeing old pastures to build subdivisions or apartment complexes. Just finding quality contractors in this town can feel daunting at times. All but two plumbers that I found on Google told me over the phone that I lived so far from their offices that they’d charge me mileage fees. That’s the reality right now with the historic inflation rates that are hitting gasoline and other goods and services the worst. I needed a certified ductwork cleaning company to disinfect my metal ventilation system, but none of the ductwork cleaning companies that I found in my searches had any proof of licenses or certifications. This is essential for ventilation system cleaning, otherwise you could end up with serious air quality issues. I eventually found a ductwork cleaning company, but they were so far away I had to pay a premium on travel fees. Luckily the crew was extremely nice and did a thorough job of sanitizing my ducts.

air purification

I had a head cold yearly as a child, especially when I was in school during flu season and surrounded by sick children who don’t cover their faces or noses when they cough or sneeze.

My mother would send me to school with hand sanitizer, but I’m not sure how often I actually used it. I hated getting sick too, even if it meant I could miss school from time to time. And since I had asthma, getting sick would take me off my feet faster and longer than it would for most kids my age. The worst thing was having my friends come down the street to play street hockey with me without realizing that I was sick inside and couldn’t come out to play. Since we always lived in a cold, northern climate, the autumn and winter seasons are exceptionally dry. Dry is great for preventing mold and microbial growth indoors, but it can lead to extreme physical discomfort. Some people report abnormally dry skin, dry eyes, sinus pain, etc. I’ll even get a headache as a secondary reaction from my initial symptoms. My mom always ran a humidifier for me whenever I was home sick to help with the symptoms. But I’ve learned since then that you should be careful using these devices in climates where ambient humidity is over 60% outside. Adding more moisture to criticall humid air will lead to obvious problems with mold and mildew. If it’s the winter and humidity is below 40%, then using a humidifier is a good way to have more comfortable indoor air than you would have otherwise.

 

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This prior summer season was absolutely brutal in late June. We saw record-breaking temperatures above 112 degrees in my area alone, with surrounding cities in this state being between 100 and 110 degrees. I naturally had the air conditioner on for most days and nights, regardless of the changes in temperatures that are normal from week to week throughout the summer season historically. When I turned on the news and saw what was happening in the Pacific Northwest, I was shocked to hear that people were dying in temperatures higher than 115 degrees because they lived in homes that lacked air conditioners. Since that area is cold for most of the year, it’s understandable that so many people would go through life without ever buying a cooling system for their home. When people tried to buy air conditioners, they were told no or forced to wait days or weeks behind the others waiting in line for the same reason. Thankfully, temperatures are slowly starting to change in my area. It’s late September and we just had our first mild cold nsap since spring. The leaves are losing their green and sliding into an amber hue. It’s no secret that autumn is on its way. Before I know it, I’ll have the furnace running as frequently as I run the air conditioner in the summer. I never get a break from high energy bills while living in this region. My parents love living down south where they only need a/c when it’s warm outside, otherwise they can open windows or doors to get a gentle breeze inside.

ductless heat pump

It’s unfortunate when you see people hurting themselves inadvertently just to save a few dollars.

• Let’s be clear—this sentiment does not apply to people who are so poor they have no choice but to buy whatever they can reasonably afford at any given time.

But my father for instance is a good example of what I’m talking about. He has several pensions and passive income he makes from the stock market. With the amount of money he continually makes and has saved in various bank accounts and trusts, he has no business being cheap about things regarding home maintenance and appliance care. He also buys the cheapest equipment he can find whenever he needs new tools or electronics. It’s one thing if you’re dealing with a device that isn’t going to negatively affect your life by using something cheap and flimsy, but you can’t apply the same logic to anything related to your home’s heating and cooling system. Having bad air quality at home can lead to both short term and long term health problems, especially for those who already have respiratory illnesses like asthma or COPD. My father is convinced that his “washable” air filters are just as good as my disposable MERV 14 allergen filters that cost me $17 a piece. Even though I show him that his filter is only rated MERV 3 when it’s brand new and completely unblocked, he remains unconvinced. On top of that, these washable a/c filters are prone for mold growth as it’s extremely hard to get them bone dry before putting them back inside the air return. My father’s house smells mildly moldy and I wonder if it’s because of his terrible a/c filters.

 

Heating equipment

Our heat pump handles both heating and cooling in our beach condo

Being a kid who grew up in the northern midwest, I was shocked and amazed when I visited the ocean for the first time and swam at the beach. The surf was mild that day and the water was surprisingly clean and free of algae and other water contaminants that are common nowadays. My parents took my siblings and I down to the ocean a few more times before they got a divorce and we moved out west to be with my maternal grandparents. Like many kids experiencing beaches at an early age, I was excited at each trip. Sometimes the weather would be overcast and the waves would be choppy, but I would still swim as long as there weren’t any dangerous rip currents. After I stopped seeing the beach for so many years, I forgot about it altogether. Now I am married and my wife wanted a beach condo to be closer to her own family. Our beach condo was built in the 1980s and desperately needed a new heating system inside, as it was subsisting with an electric coil in the air handler. We looked at a variety of different central furnaces before settling on a heat pump. With efficiency ratings as high as 300%, it seemed like a no-brainer to purchase a heat pump. Our heat pump handles both heating and cooling in our beach condo. For a setup like that, it’s really hard to beat! You won’t worry about heat pump issues in a beach condo where temperatures never drop below 30 degrees anyway. Others might need a supplemental heating source in a colder environment.

 

Energy saving help

I was doing the best I could for years after I finished school.

I went to culinary school so I could become a chef, but for a number of years I could only find a position as an assistant cook. This never resulted in much money, at least not enough to afford more than a studio apartment in a sketchy neighborhood. It helps that I’m a big guy, but I still worry sometimes when I get home late at night, especially if someone is waiting in an alley and ready to jump out and mug me. That’s why I have a concealed weapon’s permit, I just hope I never have to use it. That would be a horrifying situation to live through, even if I survived unscathed. While I have a much better job these days, I still am far away from home ownership. I don’t have much money saved in the bank, but my credit is slowly repairing itself while I practice smart and healthy credit card habits. If it hadn’t been for my improved credit, I wouldn’t have been able to afford this amazing upgrade to my only source of air conditioning in my apartment. I was using an old window air conditioner that was struggling whenever I tried it in the afternoon hours. I had the choice to simply get a new window air conditioner, but instead I paid to have a ductless mini split installed as a major upgrade to the former air cooler. It handles both heating and cooling purposes and is much more powerful than my former machine.

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