Cool man

My house is so cool! Literally, not esthetically. I’m still working on the esthetic part, a project all its own that will start soon. But for now, the important thing is that the temperature in my house is pleasant.

Last week, the installer stopped by and dropped off the parts for the system, specifically the outside unit and the unit that would be installed in the attic. We also went over where the various vents should go. As they were about to leave, I asked what time they’d be starting the installation. “We’ll be here at 8am”, he said.

8am?! I don’t do anything at 8am, even though I’m often up by then—yeah, “up”, but still making my way through my coffee. I knew that would be rough.

I needed to move stuff out of their way, such as, whatever was under the spot the vents would go, but also including moving stuff from in front of the circuit breaker panel. The latter just made it hard to stand close to the panel, which would be necessary for him to install the circuit for the new air conditioner (I could easily reach it when I needed to reset one, but, then, I have long arms…).

I couldn’t move the stuff early because I’d be tripping over it. So, I did the moving this past Tuesday, mostly in the evening. I went to bed, a little later than I wanted, and slept terribly, something that happens to me every time I need to do something earlier than I’d like in the morning (like a doctor appointment, for example). I think it’s partly that I’m afraid I’ll oversleep, even though I set an alarm to wake me up, but then a legitimate reason to panic popped into my head: I’d completely forgotten to clear out the under-the-vent spaces in my office and the guest room. Oops.

So, I got up at 6:30, after maybe five hours of sleep, and moved all the stuff I needed to, becoming quite overheated (due to no air conditioning in either of those rooms—or the living area, after that heat pump blew up). Once they arrived, Leo and I retreated to our bedroom and its functioning air conditioner, and I eventually cooled off.

They completed the installation of the equipment and were ready to start installing the vents, starting in the main bedroom, so Leo and I moved to the (still uncooled) living area. And here the first problem popped up: The back of the house, which includes all the bedrooms, has a lower roof, and so, less attic space, than over the living area. So, they had to move the location of the vent.

They also installed the vent in my office, and opened up the ceiling in the living for one of the two return vents, exactly where we’d talked about going. Unfortunately, I hadn’t taken the size of their ladder into account, and hadn’t cleared enough space in the living area, so they moved some stuff around. I had a look around after they left and saw they’d put the vent in my office in a different place than we’d discussed, and at a point where the roof was higher, and so, easier to install im, which is probably why they did that. I really don’t care where they put it, however, I’d cleared space under the spot we’d originally discussed on the other side of the room—and the spot I moved all the stuff too was directly under where the vent was actually installed. I’d have moved it for them if they’d said something, but, in the end, I think they just worked around it.

That was it for Day 1, and they were back around 8am the following morning for Day 2 (have I mentioned what an ungodly hour that is? I needed my alarm to wake me, which seldom happens). They installed the guest room vent, and the ones in the living area, and finally, the second air return vent—and there was another problem due to the roof structure: It had to be much closer to the other vent than was planned, though it’s still in the hallway, and there’s a door between the living area and the door, so it’s not like they’re right next to each other. The guy also installed the wired controller, and the sensor in the return vent so the system knows what the temperature is.

When they were all done, he showed me how to work the system, and showed me the vents in the living area. Before they began, I told them I didn’t care where they put them—they were the experts in where the best spot is, after all—but the think only I asked was that they be centred in the space and in a direct line, because if they weren’t, I’d notice it every time I looked up from my chair while watching TV. He told me they’d used their laser level to make sure they were aligned (and they definitely are), which I thought was both funny and kind of sweet, for lack of a better word.

That afternoon, after they’d left, I walked through all the rooms, and I noticed that the guest room, my office, and even the hallway felt cool, something that’s never happened in warm weather before. Today was the first full day with the system running, and the entire house felt basically the same temperature, and that’s exactly what I was trying to achieve by installing a whole-house ducted system.

He suggested that I do something I’ve done for years, that is, close the curtains over the stacker doors once the sun hits them in the afternoon. I did that because it keeps the heat out, and that will now help the new system, especially since one of the temperature sensors is on the living area. However, I wanted to test it a bit and left the blinds open in the guest room, and even with the hot afternoon sun streaming through the window, the room still felt cool, though less so near the window, as could be expected.

I think this situation will be helped once the patio cover is installed because the roof will block 99% of UV, which makes the sun feel hot (this does nothing about air temperature, of course). So, it’s possible I won’t need to close the drapes every single sunny day in summer, but I won’t know for sure until the cover is installed.

Finally, the company that installed the new system will return to remove the broken living area air conditioner (which isn’t needed anymore, anyway) and they’ll convert the power shut-off switch for the outdoor unit (which is currently sitting on the patio) into an exterior power point, something that will be handy when I use the patio (there are no outdoor power points anywhere on the house right now), which will be on a RCD circuit, of course. They’ll also take the broken unit away to dispose of properly. I'll have the one in my bedroom removed later on (there's no rush to do that).

Speaking of changes, the window blinds I had installed recently are also working exactly as I wanted, which is good, too. So, so far, everything has gone well, and delivered exactly what I wanted.

This means that my next step will be working on the interior of the house, and that’s all on me. However, the house is now cool and that’ll make the work so much easier—or even possible, to be honest.

Onward.