Ahhhhh, Refrigeration

As locations with 4 seasons go, New Jersey has a reasonably mild climate.  Though we are prone to heat (and humidity) in the summer, it’s not omnipresent.  Many people don’t have central air. and survive quite nicely  My first home in New Jersey was cooled with window units and, for the most part, that was fine.  My current house was built in 1931 and central air conditioning was added in the early 2000s by the previous owner.  It’s easier and nicer than window units and I’ll be the first to admit that entering a refrigerated home on a hot summer day is one of life’s nicer pleasures.

Until it fails.

Last Friday, a heatwave moved on to the East Coast and my air conditioner couldn’t keep up.  I installed a new air filter in the air exchange unit and crossed my fingers.  We are not a heat tolerant people and nothing reveals that like failing a/c.  On Saturday, JT gratefully decamped to cooler climes, on a trip with A and her family.  By Monday, as the heatwave expanded, it was clear that something was very wrong in Sassafras House.  The temperature inside the house approached 90 and the a/c gasped its last breath.

A repairman came and declared my system DOA. Repairs could be attempted but with 17 years on the ticker of a freon-dependent system that had been working at capacity for the last few years, that’s a tricky business.  The system was, among other ailments, leaking freon, a problem easily discovered but not easily solved.  Pouring in pricey freon is costly (not to mention environmentally unsound).  Repairs on freon-based systems are pricey because the  systems are out of date.   So repair seemed risky, like burning piles of money and hoping for an elusive lottery win.  

I consulted with my dad and several a/c contractors and we decided that it was time for a new unit.  I have radiator heat, so the air conditioner here is a two piece system: a compressor and fan outside and an enormous air handler installed in the attic, to move the cold air through the house.  Replacement was an all-day, 3-man-crew-process.  God bless the folks who work on Saturday.  

By then, the inside of my home was a smoldering 87 degrees.  While I waited through the heatwave, I stayed with T, camped at my own house, and used a borrowed window unit for my bedroom, which I chilled to the temperature of a meat locker.  After a lovely weekend with low humidity and mild temperatures, this afternoon promises a return of the heat. I am gratefully back in business with the chill and quiet whir of central air and incredibly grateful for the help that made it happen.