The Wind in My Ears

Dearest Rachel –

I did my best to sleep past it, but this morning found me lying in bed at four-thirty, staring at the dark ceiling with the fan spinning down on me, and listening to the (relatively) loud hum of the tower fan blowing on me. Daniel had turned that one on last night when he came to join me after Logan had headed to his room for the night (he retires early these days, since his workday starts at seven, so that he can get all of his hours in in four days rather than five). Apart from his usage, I haven’t really had that thing on much since I got it to keep Chompers cool when he was sleeping on your side of the bedroom.

The thing is, a fan (or two, as it happens) is necessary in the bedroom since, as an addition to the original house, it isn’t connected to the HVAC system. It’s why it has a space heater built into the wall, too, otherwise it would be intensely cold in winter, as well. The same thing applies to the family room, but as it’s a little more a part of the house as a whole, it gets some of the benefit of what gets piped into the main area. The boys still have a fan or two running in the room, though, for when they hang out there. By contrast, the bedroom and laundry room are separated from the rest of the house by a hallway and doors; for all intents and purposes, they have their own separate ecosystem. Daniel’s not used to it when he drops by for those few hours, and as a result, he turns this tower fan on; it’s really the only exercise it tends to get these days, now that Chompers is gone.

And for once, I understood why he felt the need to have it on. Last night, while not exactly sweltering (it is the middle of September, after all), it was pretty warm for this time of year, almost uncomfortably so. I spent the night sleeping atop the bed, rather than under the covers, with both fans running, and as a result, didn’t get quite the depth of sleep that I usually do, what with having the wind in my ears the whole time.

But you see, not only was the bedroom warmer than usual, so was the entire house. At some point during the day on Saturday, Logan pointed out that the air conditioner didn’t seem to be blowing cold air into the house. From where I sat in the bedroom, I wouldn’t have known, since I don’t get much of the benefit of that cold air, so at first I was surprised to hear about it. But sure enough, upon emerging into the main part of the house, and checking the thermostat, it was pretty obvious that, rather than being in the low seventies, it was creeping up toward the eighties inside. Thankfully, it didn’t quite make it up there before sunset, and the diminution of the heat outdoors kept things from getting too much warmer, but it was palpably warmer than it should have been, even in the bedroom. Hence, the fan.

Which is strange, as I’d just had a technician out to take a look at the system barely three months ago. He’d discovered a leak in either the containment or the piping for the refrigerant, and while he refilled the reservoir (an expensive proposition, as the refrigerant the air conditioner uses is no longer being made), he said it would bear watching in the future. It would seem he was right, but I don’t think either of us realized just how bad the leak was.

The question at this point is whether to get the current system repaired or simply replaced. When I called the outfit that had sent the technician recently, they pointed out that repairing didn’t seem like a practical option, as it still would be using the obsolete refrigerant; even with the leak patched up, it would still be a four-figure amount to just refill, let alone the parts and labor toward repairing. A new system might run a few times more in the short run, but in brand-new condition, the need for repairs would be a distant proposition – and it would run using coolant that would still be readily available (and therefore, considerably more economical).

In any event, while I remember having had the air conditioner installed for the first time after we moved in (how, I wonder, did the previous owners manage for so long without it?), I was surprised to discover that we’d had it put in after barely a year of living there – meaning that this air conditioner is reaching the end of its useful life. Then again, maybe that shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise; we may have been young and just scraping by, but some things are just worth having, regardless of the cost. Besides, as I recall, we took advantage of an installment plan that involved next to no interest, and helped us boost our credit rating; an invaluable strategy for a young family like ours.

It is annoying that these things seem to happen over the weekend, though, when you can’t get in touch with the service company. Still, better that it happen at the tail end of summer; hot enough to remind one that it needs doing (and with enough time before winter sets in, and removing and replacing the outside system becomes all but impossible), but not so hot that it’s untenable to hang around the house, wishing that one were in Finland, if one was required to spend all this time in a sauna.

Still, I’m going to have to deal with at least one more night of both fans going on me before the sales representative comes out to recommend a new system, and I’ve no idea how long it will be before the new system gets here and gets installed. So until then, keep an eye on us, honey, and wish us luck. We’re going to need it.