A Tree Falling in the Forest

Living in the south means living with heat pumps. They keep us cool in the summer and warm us in the winter. At least that is what they do when they are working properly. For some reason, I think the heat pump demons have it in for me.

I won't go into the long history of my battles with heat pumps, but I will give a brief history from the last 12 months.

About this time last year, the heat pump in our old house began rapidly turning on and off. This was the equivalent of a "death rattle." With the help of a HVAC engineer I learned more about heat pumps than I really wanted to know. Long story short, in the end it had to be replaced.

One would think that would be the end of the battles for that particular house. Not so. Six months later, when we put our house on the market, someone decided to take a pair of pliers to a coil in the new heat pump. Apparently, someone was none to happy with us. Several HVAC companies said it would have to be replaced (again), but we were able to find someone to fix it... for the a fee of $350.

Fast forward a few months to our new house. We moved in a few days ago on a beautiful 70 degree day. Yesterday, the temperatures began dipping down, and so did the thermostat reading. The heat pump has stopped working. Tonight it's supposed to be below freezing and the earliest appointment I could get with a technician is Monday afternoon.

A brief list of other heat pump battles:
1. College Dorm... broken A/C in 90 degree heat.
2. Grad School Apartment... no heat in December.
3. Richmond Apartment... no A/C in July.
4. Alexandria Apartment... cold all the time.
5. Fairlington House... clogged drain, leading to damp basement
6. In-laws House... A/C broken on guest side of house in July in South Carolina.
7. Alexandria House... see above.
8. New House... see above.