Like so many Northwest residents, I just didn’t see the need.

Why, for God’s sake, do I need air conditioning in my home when it’s only hot here a couple of days a year?

Well, for starters, because when you have to fully function every day, a sleepless, hot, sweaty night can make that really difficult. And when that happens more than just a couple of days a year, you eventually give in.

Not to mention, what once was a couple of days a year is now weeks in the summer and seems to be increasing every year.

Humankind (like that non-gender usage?) has long been in pursuit of cooler temperatures. I asked my buddy, Chat G. Beetee, about the history of air conditioning and this just spewed out:

The history of air conditioning dates back to ancient times when various cultures used innovative methods to cool indoor spaces. Ancient Egyptians and Persians used windcatchers and water evaporation to cool their homes. Romans circulated water through the walls of their buildings to provide cooling. In China, hand-operated rotary fans were used to create a cooling breeze.

But it wasn’t until 1902 that Willis Haviland Carrier finally invented the first modern air conditioning system.

Appropriate, because the heat pump system we finally broke down and had installed is by Carrier.

I first broke down several years ago when I bought one of those single-room units. When the weather heated up, I went down to our storage area, hauled it back upstairs, hooked it up to the window and carefully rearranged the bedroom so we could open and close the door. It was too loud to run at night while we slept, so I would have to remember to fire it up on the “Ice Age” setting at 7 o’clock, so that our bedroom would be cool enough to sleep in by 9-ish. The nights we didn’t get home until 9 would mean no one would get to sleep for a couple of hours.

This week, the Northwest is having another one of those rare sets of days, with Seattle around 90-degrees, as eastern Washington and Portland to the south both flirt with triple digits. On the lower right of my computer is a heat advisory. ‘Alexa’ keeps reminding me to be careful going outside. All this, while I sit in my office on the lower level of our home. Our thermostat upstairs is set to kick on and cool things down when it hits 75 indoors. Fortunately for me, (who prefers to live in temperatures where you could also hang meat), it’s a beautiful 68-degrees. Oops, there goes my phone.

Yeah, another excessive heat warning.

It’s the classic case of “I wish I had done this sooner.” For the first time in my lifetime, I’m living in a home with a heat pump, air conditioner and air purification system, all electric, and the temperature throughout the house is comfortable. Like you always imagined it could be.

I’m not afraid to give you numbers. We were replacing a gas furnace with an all-electric heat pump, with AC and the best air purification possible (for those pesky summer fires up here, also becoming an unwanted tradition). The lowest estimate clocked in at $21,000, the highest at $47,000. Seriously, when we replaced the furnace in this home when we bought it 16 years ago, that was $8,000. There was some serious sticker shock going on. But, as you know, when you haven’t priced things for a while and then check back, it’s a lot to absorb.

However, most HVAC companies have special financing that let you stretch out the payments. In our case, we went for a 15-year contract, which dropped down the monthly payment to $200. $50 a week, to stay cool, comfortable in the summer and toasty warm in the winter, with a newer, more energy efficient unit than was available 16 years ago. We should be good for a while.

My hero.

I think of all those years I fought making this big commitment and there will always be reasons why not to do or not do something. But this decision really didn’t require a whole lot of convincing. And, as Alexa warns me again about the head advisory, I encourage all those still believing you don’t need AC to really give it a second thought.

My words to you: “It’s OK to break down.” And, downright comfortable, I must say.

Tim Hunter