Air Conditioning, Part Two

This week I finally managed to get the security bars off of our front windows and installed the window support brace and our 10,000 BTU air conditioning unit for the first level. As a side note, the security bars were held on by security screws. Devious little bastards designed to easily screw in with a normal screwdriver, and then never come out again. Ever. I mean really. I fought with them, bought special screwdriver bits, tried stripped screw removal bits and ultimately tried drilling straight through the screw head to pop the top off. Nothing worked. The bits didn't make a dent. Eventually I broke down and called a locksmith. That worked. And getting the stupid screws out cost me more than our used, Craigslist AC unit.

But it's in now. And what a difference. Our second floor has been nice, with units in the bedroom and the computer room, and now ceiling fans thoughout. But the first floor, especially when the kitchen stove was running, or we had more than four people here, was not comfortable. The sweat ran like milk and honey during the day, and stale beer by the evening.

Those days are behind us now. It's actually almost cold on the first floor, and I'm glad to say that one unit is managing to cool the foyer, living room, dining room, kitchen, and the back laundry and powder rooms. It's great. I'd prefer central air, of course. But this works fine for now.

Air Conditioning

This has to be one of the single greatest inventions in human history, right up there with Key Lime Pie and wide-screen televisions. There's really nothing that contributes more to a comfortable existence, especially in the humid, hot summers of the American South East. Overstuffed couches...nice. But sit on one, or rather stick to one in a 90 degree room and you'll find its comfort defeated.

Heat is easy. That's been around since the dawn of time. The luxury "heated" cave existed back even with our Neanderthal cousins. Things a little nippy at the home front? Light a fire. Indoor heating is a very simple, and sometimes accidental process. But interior cooling is much trickier, and took a good deal longer to join our technological arsenal.

That's a good thing, really. You don't generally die from being uncomfortably warm. So thankfully the technology required to keep us from freezing to death, a much more likely death scenario, is easy to come by. But just because something doesn't kill you doesn't mean it might not make you wish you were dead.

I, for some reason, get very hot very easily. What's considered temperate for most people is often uncomfortable for me. When Kate and I visit her sister and brother-in-law in Florida in the summertime I usually find myself sitting in the air-conditioned house, sweating. Just the hint of heat is enough to get my sweat glands pumping. When I'm there, I like to spend most of my time staring into the blades of a desk fan. So for me, a powerful air-conditioning unit is more important than just about any other household appliance, save a wide-screen television.

It does kill me now that our new house doesn't have central air. I've never lived without it. Window units work, but they're just not the same thing. If Kate and I decide to stay in this house for a while, I may end up teaching myself HVAC and installing a system. If there's one thing I like more than central air, it's holding on to my money.