It Isn't Easy Heating Green

The repairman left about an hour ago.

I had briefly blogged, earlier this week, about my concerns that our year old "green" heating system would not be able to cope with the minus temperatures of earlier this week.  Well it did....and fortunately for us, chose this afternoon (41 above) to break down, rather than a couple of days ago.

When spouse came home from work, he noticed it wasn't as warm as it should be.  Going down to the basement, he was greeted by a flashing light and a notification of "A6".  He whipped out the owners manual and "A6" was pump failure.  He called the contractor who put the system in (December of 2009) and a repairman came out - several hours later; apparently they were having a lot of "no heat" calls.

Wonder if we were the only A6's.

Not only that, but the tankless hot water heater associated with the "furnace" was down too.  So we had neither hot water nor heat, thanks to the wonders of modern technology.

Hmmm.  We got rid of an old furnace, almost 19 years old, last year because of a tax break, and a rebate from our gas/electric utility. That furnace never gave us any major trouble.  So we took the green plunge and....

It seems that these pumps have proved troublesome.  Apparently there is a newer version, and hopefully we will get one tomorrow. Right now we have a temporary pump, so at least we have heat.  And hot water.  The best part was, the unit was still under warranty.

I still like the idea of "heating green".  But my faith in any type of computerized appliance/system continues to fade, as does my faith in much that is modern (period).  We recently got rid of a washer, bought new about 5 years ago, that continuously had the same part break down.  We bought a used one, without the fancy bells and whistles.  So far it is working fine.

Now, to hold our breath about the heating system.  If it had broken down two days earlier, it would have been below zero. Two days later...we would have been out of town.

At least it had good timing.