There are many things in life that we modern folk simply take for granted day in and day out. One of those is air conditioning but how important is it in our lives and what would we do without it?
Hey, the grumpy old guy Edwyn has returned to writing something in this old blog I started a few years back! Don’t get all nostalgic because this may or may not turn into a long-winded grumble about something else I found around the house that got me all riled up.
OK, so what was it that got me onto this subject and mores the point, writing it down in here to spread a little of that nit picky old guy love around? Well, I’m as guilty as the next guy of taking the AC for granted until on the hottest day of summer, lo and behold the thing decides to stop working!
Call the HVAC Engineer
One thing I’m not is a serial grumbler who sits in an easy chair idly venting my anger at the world. When something needs my attention, it gets it. I saw an immediate problem and called the experts right away.
That’s because as the indoor temperature started to rise a little unnervingly fast, I could easily foresee some discomfort on the horizon that I did not feel like experiencing. I had the number of a local air conditioning engineer I’d gotten from my neighbor last month when he had some trouble with his system and the guys he called out were amazing (see: https://www.atlanticheatandair.com).
I called, they came inside an hour and inside another hour I was feeling the beautiful chill breeze blowing over me already. That was good work, fast and efficient. I like that!
Why We Need AC
That brings me full circle back to the question I posed at the start of this blog post. Why do we need this energy-hogging expensive to run convenience called air conditioning?
Well, it depends where you live, I guess. I live in a place that gets mild winters but hot summers. The heat gets to you and the older you get, the more acutely you feel it when it gets real uncomfortably hot.
Sure, there are alternative ways to cool down. I can go take a swim in the pool for one, but that is only temporary, cause as soon as I get out, I get hot again!
You can buy one or two of those great ventless air coolers that are really evaporative coolers and not AC and they use a fraction of the amount of energy but still blast out cold air. They work great as long as the climate is hot and dry. If it gets humid, they won’t work as well.
Or you can get your home shaded with blinds and awnings, paint the exterior walls white and make sure you have great insulation so you can open windows in the evening to let in cooler breezes to cool the house down then close everything up in the daytime and prevent it getting too hot.
There are sure to be other ways to stay cooler than doing nothing, but at the end of the day, the most effective sure-fire way to make sure the indoor climate stays really comfortable in summer is with an air conditioner system on one description or another. You just need to be able to afford to pay the utility bills!
Edwyn Prose 