With temperatures lately in the high 80s to low 90s and humidity just as high (it’s currently 94%) and it’s not even 9am, air conditioning is a wonderful thing. Unlike most homes in which I grew up in Sacramento, East Coast homes tend not to have central air, especially older homes like ours. Most people tend to have those small window units. We were fortunate enough when we bought the house — though we didn’t really appreciate it until this summer — to have it come with a kick-ass 12,000 BTU wall-mounted ductless Samsung unit that silently cools the entire downstairs in no time (original documentation left with the house shows it was installed in 2002). The unit’s fan is out in the yard (I’m sure there’s a technical name for it, but I don’t know it). I try to make it through most of the day without turning on the AC — thanks to the giant spruce trees it stays pretty cool in our house most of the time — but eventually reach a point where I just can’t think.
When we had the first heat wave hit a few weeks back, our Samsung unit wasn’t cooling and the window unit (also left with the house) was just blowing air. I rushed to BJ’s to buy a new 6,000 BTU Amana window unit and got one of the few that were left ($149.99 minus $20 rebate). We had the Samsung unit serviced the next day and it’s worked wonders ever since (it was out of freon).
With my Dad en route to Saratoga Springs and planning to crash with us until we find him an apartment, I really can’t subject him to the heat and humidity cloud that forms upstairs. The time has come for a new window AC. The plan is to transfer the Amana from our bedroom into the guest room and buy another for our room. Best Buy has a Frigidaire 8,000 BTU unit on sale for $139.99, and Consumer Reports rates it a “CR Best Buy” at the top of its category. I think we have a winner.
Keeping cool is a wonderful thing.
