Thursday, August 23, 2012

the heat is on

Yesterday two installers and an electrician spent the day in my garage and in my yard installing the new heat pump, furnace, and air conditioning unit.  We have been having a heat wave - which considerately ended the day before the air conditioner arrived so that the contractors would not be hot while they were working.

Air conditioning makes Shawn very happy because he is always too hot.  We have had an AC unit in our bedroom window for a long time making it more comfortable to sleep, but it  will be nice to get rid of that eyesore and be able to see out our window again.  

Most of all, however, I am pleased that I will no longer need to worry about the old furnace exploding.  Although we'd had it checked recently, I could never stop myself from being concerned when it made sounds as though we were keeping a small dinosaur in the garage.  

The electrician did not approve of the various work that has been done in our electrical panel over the years.  Prior to our move-in, I suspect the previous owner considered himself a bit of  a handy-man and did a bit of wiring on his own that wasn't quite up to code.  After we bought the house and decided to gut the kitchen, we hired an electrician to add extra under-counter lights, and he (apparently) added to the chaos in the electrical panel.

The electrician said that the panel would be inspected upon completion of his work to ensure it met with building code, and so he was required by law to fix the previous mistakes as well as making sure his own work was legal.  This was a nuisance for him, I'm sure, but it pleases me enormously that now that he has finished, my coffee pot no longer trips a breaker in the kitchen when I use it at the same time as the toaster.

After working all day outside, one of the installers came inside to put in a new thermostat, because my old one allegedly is incompatible.  The new thermostat looks like a tiny tv set and is more intelligent than many people I know.  It's rather intimidating.  Strangely enough, when the installer left, he took my old thermostat with him before I realised what he was doing.  Not that it matters, especially, but I am very curious as to why he took my old thermostat.  Does he collect thermostats?  Is he going to sell it on eBay?  Will he send it to a charity organization that collects thermostats for thermostat-less people?








4 comments:

Jerry said...

We had one of those fancy, programmable thermostats. After a week I bought a cheap one and replaced it. You set the temp that you want and walk away. Serves our needs.

J.B. Chicoine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
J.B. Chicoine said...

Sorry--had to delete that last post! Too many typos. What I meant to say is--That really is pretty spiffy looking, as if when you turn it on, the face of a woman will appear and tell you what temperature it is, you know know, like in those movies where computers conspire against humans...but don't lie awake at night wondering if it/she is monitoring you, or anything...

mischief said...

Jerry, the thing is that the smart one that you got rid of is probably self-aware and will now be looking for vengeance. You did not think this through, did you?

Bridget, that is truly terrifying. Actually, I can sort of see my reflection in it a little bit... but maybe that's not me. Maybe that's her...