We need air conditioning.  Here’s our Accuweather forecast for today:

It hasn’t rained here in what seems like months but this morning, it’s raining and a bit cooler . . though I see we have a heat index at some point today of 107º.

A few weeks ago Vince and I decided to replace our current air conditioner for a more energy efficient model.  Ours is almost 8 years old and was still working fine but our electric bills are outrageous and we’re hoping a new unit will help bring those down.  Because of coolant changes (or something technical), both the inside and outside units have to be changed.  Vince has gone back and forth several times about whether to go with a regular heat pump or a ground source unit.  The ground source unit would mean tearing out some drywall ceilings in my sewng room to get the necessary pipes and lines to the mechanical room and I just can’t even think about that happening . . with the longarm and new deadlines to meet.  And, the ground source unit is more than double (triple actually but has some great tax rebates) the cost of the regular heat pump.  If we thought we’d be here longer, we would go with the heat pump but we doubt we’ll be here long enough for it to pay for itself.

Anyway, one wall has to be redone in order to put a different inside unit in so the work is taking longer than just a regular a/c swap and it’s going to be at least another week before the inside unit can be completed, and then the outside unit should be rather quick.

Vince also had second thoughts about replacing a unit that was working. It’s a lot of money and some units last 15 or 16 years, so technically ours could be only half used up.  Dad had one that lasted 40 years.  We trust our air conditioner guy and he said .. you just never know so you have to make the decision.  That was so much help!    Vince decided that it would pay off in the end with the savings on utilities but I could tell he still had some reservations.

Till last night! I had been canning peaches and the house was hot and it just wasn’t cooling down.  I started paying attention to the thermostat and after I stopped canning and even turned on the basement unit, which we rarely use, the temp still didn’t come down at all.  Stuck at 85º degrees inside at bed time! We turned it off thinking maybe it was frozen up.  I woke up about 3 a.m. and the temp in the house had dropped to 78º because it was now cooler outside and the stove was off.  Turned it back on and at 8 a.m., still . . not a single degree cooler.

I don’t know about at your house but here, 78º is just about the temp at which I take my dog and go to a hotel.  Except . . we have no hotels that allow dogs except the one where we stayed when we moved here and . . maybe I’ll just get myself a fan and stop complaining.  .

Ahhh . . help has arrived!

Problem was found.  Actually, it seems to be a persistent problem with Rheem and he knew exactly where to look when I told him I’d heard the hissing sound.  Totally out of coolant.  Temporary fix in place.  Should keep us cool til the unit is in.

And, for your viewing pleasure . . Vince all dressed up in his Sunday best!