Summer

I've been pretty quiet on the green front but let's talk about summer. Its hot, I mean really hot. In Nashville its also really dry. I can't remember the last good rain. What that means for me is a lot of time inside with air conditioning and a lot more watering of plants.

We have two air units. One heatpump for up and one furnace/forced air for down.

Step one for proper heating and air, as it was told to me when I was replacing the old system, was getting the correct size. If you get a system too small you will over tax and burn the system out. If you get one that is too big you will have a big ol mess of inefficiency and that is what we replaced. We had a 40 year old furnace and a 15 year old air compressor (that didn't match style or size, which apparently affects efficiency as well). I had one guy tell me the furnace should have been in a museum.

Next part is the need for programmable thermostats. If you get a new system they are pretty much a given but if you aren't upgrading go ahead and buy one. They are easy to install and they can be very easy to use. Most seem to have 7 day sets and the ability to change the temp 4 times a day (morn, away, home & bed). And of course you can override what's set. I have mine set cold to get up, really warm (b/t 77 & 80) as the away setting, pretty cool when we get home and a little cooler for bed.

Third is maintenance. Change the filters regularly, our return vent filters upstairs are chnged every 30-60 days. The one filter for the furnace should be changed every 6 months. One tip they game me about the 30 day filters was buy cheap then spray with oil (like Murphy's) that will help catch more airborne allergens while putting very little strain on your system. The "HEPA" or other convoluted filters put more strain on the system than necessary. I also need to get the guys to come out and look but I figure I will wait for the weather to break.

Plant watering. I haven't been good at the watering schedule. I know the best time to water is early morning but I haven't done it then. Mostly, I have done it late afternoon/early evening. I need a timer. I need to do better.