Doesn’t it just, I kissed a man on top of his head in a restaurant, thinking it was my husband who had gone ahead to secure a table.
It was only when this chaps wife stood up I realised what i’d done. She admitted when she saw my hubby it was an easy mistake to make. Grey haired, white, old, wearing nondescript clothing in mucky grey!! Yep could’ve been brothers.
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It’s the reversible clim unit that cools and heats depending on the season/weather. Otherwise known as air con. Even the family in Nashville who have air con, keep it going all year and it’s not a new system either. My plumber who installs the systems said he has clients who keep turning their units on and off so much they end up costing a lot more and don’t do the system’s sensors any favours either. I could not have survived this summer without A/C as this house keeps a steady 22 to 25°C all year round depending if there is sun or not because of the huge 3m window. My floor tiles during the summer were very warm to walk on even with the shutters down during the day too
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Yes understood and there is a lot less wear on the compressor when you keep it running even on tick over, compared to switching it on and off.
Exactly right. I was impressed with the cleaning "bath which was like a big hood right over the unit which is high up on the lounge wall and had a hosepipe hanging from a collection funnel so when the cleaner was sprayed into and then the bacterial disinfectant it ran down there into a bucket and my white wall was not marked or wetted. He also degreased the filters which had collected some dust. All in all very satisfied and he will come again this time next year.
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That’s a good service, so often not done properly (witnessed in the UK at my workplaces)
I concur that finding low tech solutions are best. Beyond the price tag, they are also less liable to fail due to electricity cuts or breakdowns.
We use old sheets in front of windows, and draped over any Vellux (skylights). Plus old school wooden shutters, closed most of the day but cool air being allowed through early in the morning before windows are closed.
Our garden is in pretty good shape (despite us being away and basically no watering mid-June to the end of August). I attribute that to a very high clay soil, a high water table (seepage everywhere at the bottom of the garden) and heavy mulching with straw, leaves, woodchips and horse manure. Our harvest continues to be excellent; still picking lots of raspberries and using chard in every meal. About to pick the apples.
Pretty bad for me. I was in the middle of moving from Cholet to a much cooler location in Chars. The rent started on 15 May and had I known about the 5 canicules I would have just gone there right away. But no , I moved my air conditioner to Chars and when I returned to Cholet my car broke and I was stuck there in a very hot house until late July. I hope next summer is better; although the predictions are not good.
Any way to shade it, perhaps externally? My brother in Canada has installed big awnings everywhere (as well as just having replaced some high exposure windows with high tech, heat-reflecting ones, but that is more expensive, I suspect).
You might have made his day. Or not, if he realized it was because he looked interchangeable.
I think that based on the longer trend, we have to expect it more likely to be hot again. And as more and more people buy and use AC, but the government doesn’t upgrade the resilience and redundancy of the electric network, we need to be ready for blackouts just when we want them least. I am avoiding any electrical solutions (unless one has solar panels rhat don’t kick off automatically when the outside network goes down, as EDF requires of all ‘approved’ projects connected to them).
I have electric shutters on this house that completely enclose it so they go down after lunch when the sun starts it’s torment of me.
It certainly made him laugh.
I have a solar shower, I also use a jerry can that I leave out in the sun, more than hot enough and plentiful enough to do all the washing up and handwashing from about 4pm onwards. I made a solar oven this year, have you seen the price of ready made ones, which works even if it’s not very sunny. But I have a camping gaz as well, just in case. We also have a hand pump for the septic tank. And I bought a couple of solar powered indoor table lamps.
Our electricity goes off now when there’s a mild storm, so we have learned through bitter experience to be ready. 4 consecutive days without power last year taught us a lesson.
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My low-tech solution was to attach emergency blankets to my windows, since I don’t have shutters. The advantage over shutters is that light can still get in. I also made mini indoor shutters by attaching pieces of the blanket to thin cardboard to make them sturdier and easier to put up and take down.
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One reason I left rural Florida. When there’s a decent sized hurricane, power can be off for days. When you are on a well, that means no water either. Of course there are ways around this like buying an expensive backup diesel generator, but it can still be miserable when all the stores and restaurants in your city are closed. No fun when you get older or indeed, anytime. You may live in a house that can survive the storm (we did- had a metal roof), but the aftermath can still be unpleasant.
Who are the 2 blokes in the photo? The one on the right bears a striking resemblance to my late Dad. 
Glue some aluminum foil on one side it’ll stop the infrared energy from the 
penetrating the room and heating it up
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That works amazingly well for cutting heat. Up in the alpine, I once draped one over my tent and the temperature starting dropping inside immediately and spectacularly.
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The bearded one on the left is yours truly. On the right is my childhood friend Cy. Named for his WW1 Victoria Cross-winning grandfather. In British Columbia they also named a ferry for him.
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My family found that out when Storm Héléne hit them in NC in 2024. No power for two weeks and the local town demolished with several members of one family swept away in the night. Hence the move PDQ over the state line to TN as it was not advised to buy property where they were renting above Asheville. Before that, they had ten years of constant tornadoes in the DFW area and had a permanent shelter under the stairs .