New HVAC Unit...

Today I made a BIG purchase!

My house is 15 years old... and things are either starting to break or in drastic need of an upgrade. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of dealing with "fixes" when it's really time to just bite the bullet and move on.

Today, I replaced my entire heating and air conditioning system. Gasp! Yep, if you've ever done this, you know it's a major hit to the bank account. However, while it may have been a "cost," it actually will turn out to be a "savings."

A History Lesson...

Since I moved into the house in 2001, I have had three major "outages" with this system. Once was with the heat (out for about 5 days), and the other two times were A/C-related... in the heat of the summer!

Not only that, the emergency drip pan has taken a lot of abuse. Twice the water has come through the ceiling into the living room, the most recent two years ago.

Not only that, but I've had a company out here at least once a year to service it, adding freon, etc.

Anyway, I finally decided it needed to go to the dump and replace it with a newer/more efficient system.

I did a lot of research, asked a lot of people a lot of questions, and finally settled on a brand (American Standard) and a company (Snider's Heat and Air).

Scott Snider is the owner, and I gotta say that he and his crew did a superior job! Very professional... very detailed. In fact, I chose Scott's company because I had three very good recommendations! In this day of "who do you trust," that was huge to me!

I also selected a very efficient unit. Most people can get by with a 13 or 14 SEER, but I wanted to crank it up a bit. I bumped it up to a 15 SEER, which apparently rates up to 16 SEER. This allows me to qualify for a government rebate, knocking the price down to one that would be in the 13 SEER range. How awesome is that???

Scott estimated that my old unit was probably about an 8 SEER, so this should cut my bills in half! Incredible! He said he has the exact same unit on his house... and that I made a "quality choice."

The thermostat is also amazing... he says it will "learn" how the system/house work together to make the proper adjustments. He said that if I want the temperature at 70 degrees when I come home from work, then the system will get the house down to that temp by the time I get home. Freakin' awesome!

Outside, the condenser is so big that it comes up to my shoulders. Standing next to it, you just hear a low noise... it's because of this "blanket" that helps drown out the sound.

Can I tell a difference with the entire system? You betcha! It's blowin' and goin'! There is definitely some "wind" going on inside the house. And if you know me, I like it VERY cold.

This summer... it's going to be like living in a refrigerator! If you come to visit, bring a blanket!