Maintaining Climate Control

In know people in town who belong to multiple country clubs and own one, or even two multimillion dollar properties. There are multiple high priced cars in their heated multiple car garages and they make it their business to be seen at high profile philanthropic functions. Yet, with all that wealth, their homes have no air conditioning—and I do not just mean central air conditioning—I mean they are unwilling to even invest in a $200 room air conditioner from P.C. Richards for their bedroom at night. It always baffled me.

And these same people of great wealth and education will say things like Summer is so short, it’s just not worth the investment. And I think but do not say out loud: Hmm I thought all the seasons were of equal duration. Last time I looked , winter was just as long as summer (exactly 3 months),  and with all that global warming Al Gore keeps talking about, if anything, summerlike weather is extended—Not to mention we live in New York-- and not Alaska where the summer has only 3 warm days.

Here’s the thing; if you have no compunction to pay for heat in the winter, why wouldn’t you pay for air conditioning in the summer? How is it different? Everyone has heat—in fact I think the law requires it in rental properties. Why not air conditioning? I don’t get it. In the winter, if you are cold and you have no heat, all you have to do is put on a lot of fleece and wear down-filled jackets to get comfortable. In summer, if it is hot, once you get naked, its over—there is nothing more you can do. And here is a statistic to prove my point: heat is the number one weather related killer in the United States—not the cold.

Fortunately for me, my husband and I agreed when we got married that air conditioning was a nonnegotiable mandatory acquisition. He needed no convincing on my part to appreciate its value. So when we bought our house on Poplar Street and we had to make a decision as to whether to spend $8000 on central air conditioning or $8000 on dining room furniture, the choice was a no-brainer. Climate control easily trumped seating capacity at holiday time. I was pretty sure my guests would rather have sat on a folding chair and felt cool, than to have sat on a Henredon side chair and sweated to death.

Two Saturdays ago around 4 pm when I went upstairs to my second floor, I was accosted by a plume of hot air. Our second air conditioning zone unit—the one that controls the 3 bedrooms on the second floor and the 2 bedrooms on third floor was out. I called the repair man immediately even though I knew the office was closed.  I left a message with the answering service. They would not be back in the office until Monday-- we were looking at a Monday afternoon/Tuesday morning repair at the earliest.

Now different people would have handled this situation differently. Different people would have sucked up the fact that they had no air conditioning and endured the discomfort until it was fixed. After all, I still had air conditioning on my first floor and we (my husband, Briana, the 2 dogs and I) could have slept in the basement or first floor on air mattresses. But no, I am not that person. You also must know that I do have one room air conditioner that Samantha brought home from her senior year of college when she lived off campus.  We (my husband, Briana, the 2 dogs, and I) could have all slept in my bedroom with an air mattress on the floor for Briana with the 2 dogs next to her after having put that one room air conditioner in my bedroom window. But that sounded way too much like camping for me—and I don’t camp—even if it is in my own house. The closest thing to camping I have agreed to was when our car broke down one time and we were forced to stay at the Nanuet Comfort Inn—and my kids wanted to know why the Fruit Loops at breakfast were housed in glass canisters with a scoop next to disposable plastic bowls instead of individual mini boxes next to fine china like at the buffet breakfast at The Breakers in Palm Beach.

So, just like I bought individual room heaters when my heat went out, I, with very little convincing, went with my husband to buy 2 more room air conditioners for the second floor (the one that was Samantha’s had already been placed in my bedroom window). You just can’t put a pricetag on comfort even if it is for a short while. And my husband and I went all the way to Lowes in Rosedale Queens (15 miles away)with Saturday night Southern State beach traffic because they were the only local-ish store with stock and the best price for the BTU size necessary to cool the entire second floor. And I risked my personal safety to go to Rosedale—Judith Ripka wearing, Lexus driving, white people from Garden City do not blend in unnoticed with the natives of Rosedale, Queens.

But by 9 pm on Saturday night 2/3 of my house was once again climate controlled. (PS I would have bought air conditioners for the third floor bedrooms too but no one currently lives on the third floor.) I endured 5 whole hours (including shopping and travel time and going out to dinner at a lovely restaurant in town) of slight discomfort. It was total hell I tell you.

We (my husband, Briana, the 2 dogs and I) slept very well that night. And the Elm Air Conditioning repairman came on Tuesday afternoon  (day 2 of the heat wave) to work his magic. Two pounds of Freon later,and the central air was up and running again. My Aunt Jackie says if a problem can be solved with money, then it isn’t a real problem. I totally concur. And fortunately for me, my husband does too.