Our air conditioner went out on Friday night. I spent most of the morning Saturday on the phone with our home warrantee folks trying to get someone to come fix it on the weekend. What was I thinking?
As I write (from a coffee shop) we’re on day 3 without it. Yesterday the temperature reached 99 Degrees (that’s 37 Centigrade for those of you outside the US). Inside our house it got up to 89 (32 Centigrade). Oh, and the humidity is off the charts all summer here in Savannah too.
Normally I keep the thermostat set at 74 (23C) in the summer time so it’s been a bit uncomfortable to say the least.
When you get right down to it, the whole thing has been a bit of a learning experience. Here are some “hot lessons” I’ve learned the past couple days.
Temperature is Relative
I tend to be a numbers guy. Give me the raw data. 89 degrees is crazy hot when compared to 74. But on the other hand, when I came into the house yesterday after being outside for a bit in the 99 degree heat out there, those same 89 degrees felt cool.
Even though it wasn’t great, I quickly realized it was better than it could be. “Hot” is a matter of perspective!
Heat Drains Your Energy
Talk about not feeling like doing anything! When your brain is frying it’s hard to even read a book, much less do anything that requires a little focus or exertion.
Even our 2 cats have had no energy the last couple of days. They’ve just stretched out as thin as they can get like they’re trying to become part of the floor. It’s like they are in slow motion. About the only time they’d get up is to try to catch a breath of fresh air out of the window in the morning before we close up for the heat of the day.
Also Drains Patience
The first day into the heat I was surprised to find myself getting frustrated over little stuff. Like, say, spending half a day making a ton of phone calls trying to get our home warrantee folks to agree to send a technician out on a Saturday (we had out of town guests coming in that evening.)
We’re still waiting for someone to come out 2 days later. But I had to keep checking myself to keep from really loosing my cool on the phone. The heat in the house made that whole thing harder!
Don’t Need All Those Lights
When you’re doing everything you can to keep things cool you notice how much heat light bulbs throw off. You begin to weigh out whether your need that light is worth the extra heat it is going to give you.
Turns out I can operate with a whole lot less light that I thought because…
2 Degrees Matter
It seems silly to think that a couple degrees would make much of a difference. But they do.
I don’t know if it is psychological or physiological, but both Lisa & I would notice when it would get a couple degrees warmer.
Little things can make a big difference.
Any Airflow Helps
I rarely use ceiling fans. For the most part I could live without them. Fortunately our house has them in several rooms and we cranked them up!
Lisa also dug a box fan out of the attic. We’ve been dragging that all around the house so that it blows to maximum effect.
It’s amazing how much diference a little air flow makes!
You Can Cope with More Than You Think
When I was first told it would be Monday before someone could come out and fix our system I didn’t think I could make it that long. I did everything I could to get someone out on a Saturday, offered to pay whatever it would take.
And yet here we are, and I’m doing fine. Turns out I’m made of tougher stuff than I realized. Go figure.
The reality is, most of us are.
Hopefully we’ll be back up and running tonight so I can get back into productive mode.
Hi Chris ~
Thanks for sharing your story. Living in Florida, it made me hot just reading it and it also made me stop and give gratitude for my a/c and to make a few adjustments to save on the electricity that we so often take for granted.
Hope you and Lisa are enjoying your a/c very soon!
Take Care ~
Sandy Harper
Heya Sandy! Thanks for the encouraging words!
I lived in Florida for more than a decade so I can relate. Hot is hot (most of the time, anyway). I wouldn’t have survived down here in the SE before the days of A/C.
I’m still lobbying Gorgeous to move to a cooler climate!
I can relate to the feeling when it comes to the heat.. Its so hard to escape the heat when it is there. At least with the cold you can chuck a jumper or jacket on, with the heat it is cold showers or hoping for good a/c..