Why I am Grateful for HVAC in Sedona
For those who are hazy on the term HVAC, it stands for "Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning." Most of you know that Arizona had a very active monsoon this summer. It usually starts after the 4th of July. But this year, it started in mid-June. There were times when there was a lot of lightning and thunder.
Fast forward to the first week of August. Our AC went bye-bye. In July, we had 28 days over 90º and 15 of those days were at 100º or more. As you probably can guess, vendors were super busy. It took a week to get a technician out here and another 3 days to get a salesman out.
The Big Decision...
We decided to have the unit completely replaced rather than try to fix it. Just trying to troubleshoot it and replace parts, and freon was estimated at $5000. YIKES! Then there was no guarantee that that would last. We replaced the original unit in 2009. Our failed unit was a Trane HVAC with only 13 years on it. We were surprised that it quit because it should have lasted another 5-8 years easily. It doesn't get 24-hour use like other areas of Arizona. It runs for about 8 hours on the warmest days of the year.
The Long Hot Summer!
Because of the supply chain issues, we were told that it would take two months to get it and have it installed. We knew we had at least six weeks of warm weather in front of us. So, Rick got our two Room ACs out of storage and bought another one, plus a fan to draw in the cool breeze at night into our bedroom.
Without the 3 room ACs, it got up to 78º inside during the day. With them, we could keep the temp around 74 or under. At night, all windows were open.
With all 3 of the ACs running, our electric bill was $200 more monthly. But we had no choice if we wanted to be comfortable.
Possible Lightning Strike?
When the installers dismantled the outside unit, they found black powder where the freon should be in the coil. This was a confirmation that the unit had been fried. We talked with two neighbors who also had to have their HVACs replaced at the same time. Rick did happen to catch a glimpse of a lightning strike about 200 feet from our backyard.
The Weather Station - Another Sign of a Lightning Strike
Two Plus Two Probably Equal Four!
As most of you know, we have a weather station in our backyard. Rick purchased a Davis weather station around the same time we had our old Trane installed in 2009. It stopped transmitting around the same time our HVAC went out. Rick didn't put 2 + 2 together until we started talking about the lightning strike. The new Acurite measures lightning strike within 5 miles of the weather station.
The Big Takeaway: Ground Your HVAC Systems
In the last thunderstorm, there were 215 strikes within a mile of the weather station. Again - YIKES! The old unit was not grounded, so we made sure that this unit was grounded.
Cold Weather is HERE!
As you can see, today it was 25º at 6:50 am. I don't want to think about going through a winter without heat! I thank God every morning for this new Lennox HVAC system. All the images are from the new system, which links to our iPhone. It is a blessing. Honestly, I didn't really appreciate our HVAC until it failed.
Gratitude is the greatest of virtues and the parent of all others.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
This is my third entry into the November 2022 Gratitude Challenge.
Hosted by Debe Maxwell, CRS
Comments (27)Subscribe to CommentsComment