Weekend Update: Aaaaahhh!

After yesterday, I thought I would post an update on things.  Of course, the old A/C chose the hottest week of the year so far (still below 100*F but not by much!) to croak.  It figures.  Of course, the install crew had other jobs lined up, and we got onto the schedule for Friday (yesterday).  With the addition of the two loaner Idylis 10K BTU  portable A/C units, plus the little window unit we purchased, the bedrooms were comfortable at least.

Old outside unit.

At last, after a week of not cooking (lots of Cold Plate) and iced coffee for breakfast, Friday arrived.  We knew it would, eventually, but with the core of the house not cooling off at night, we were building up a lot of thermal mass we would have to overcome once the new system was in place.  The install crew of two arrived well ahead of schedule, and began working immediately.  Those two guys had the old and busted outside unit dismantled and loaded in our personal trailer before we even knew it!  The old outside unit is being donated to TIRR, the Ridgeback rescue I volunteer with.  With any luck, they will be able to use it to get the kennel A/C back up and running.  They've been relying on a host of window units for far too long...

Then it was on to the inside work of removing the old stack which fit inside the utility closet.  The new inside stack, which is the air handler, blower, heater coil and evaporator coil, would fit in the same space.

The new inside unit.

Utility closet.

We had a cooler iced down with Gatorade and water so the crew could keep hydrated.  The Monkeys were good, too, not bugging me for a Gatorade very often, and since I had overbought, they were rewarded with a cold one too.

New and quiet!

New ducting was put in place in the attic to improve the air flow.  The new stack was set into the closet, and the crew began connecting it.  We even got a new thermostat (Oh, SHINY!) to replace our old one.  Finally the A/C was ready to test, and was kicked on at 2:30pm, about 7hrs after they began.  We were not sure what to expect, with all the heat built up in the house, and a day of 97*F with the typical high humidity of Texas summers.  The thermostat read 88*F inside.  Despite all of this, we saw a decrease pretty quickly.

See?  It's coming down!

 

 

 

This morning, as I sit here with my HOT coffee, and a bowl of oatmeal, I am relishing in the lovely cool air in my house.  The whole house had cooled overnight, and the initial programming on the thermostat seems to be working.  The only thing I am noticing, besides the cold air, is the noise of the cold air return.  The new system is drawing much more air, so the return grates hiss slightly.  It is a lovely sound!

DH got out before dawn, in the cool of the day, for a longer ride.  With his plans of an imperial century on Hotter 'N Hell next month, he needs to push the distance.  Unfortunately, today will still be pushing 100*F outside.  There are plans later this evening, for grilled chicken fajitas with a  friend.  May this weekend be a pleasant one for all of you, whatever you do, and whatever your weather!