Thread: Solex project

I was not keen on having two windows either side of the rear of the bed. Light percolating through in the morning was a distraction. But heh! At least we did not have an air-con unit dripping on us this time. We had gotten used to having a big bedroom. It was a bit of a climb-down upon moving in, but we soon got used to it. One good thing about having a small bedroom where we spent 9–10 hours every day was that it was cheaper to cool. I don’t like small rooms, but there is a benefit there when they are constantly occupied with air-con on.

That large living room / kitchen area was big, and it had 2x 30,000-BTU units to keep it cool. I made a point of checking the juice it consumed before giving the missus the green light for habitual operation, and they failed the ‘reasonable power consumption’ test. I cannot remember what the numbers were now, but it was ridiculous. My trick, once again, was to leave the office door open and let that little 9,000-BTU unit drain the house air of all the moisture, so it was tolerable. And we rarely turned them units on. But worst of all, written into the contract was that I had to service the units every six months. And I had to provide receipts. The 9,000 unit cost B400 to service; second bedroom unit was 12,000 BTU for B500 service; the 18,000 BTU was B700 to service; but each of these 30,000-BTU units cost B1,200 to service! Note to self… not only do they cost a lot to buy; wait till they need servicing!