Unsexy Things to Spend On

We spend money on the house for things that don't provide a whole lot of gratification but that are probably a good idea.  The week before last, TBG called to see if I would be home because two HVAC techs were headed over.  We have our furnace inspected each year so that's what I figured was going on.

TBG came home with this thing one day and I saw it on a shelf downstairs.  Turned out, this was something he wanted the guys to install.  It's probably the type of thing that most people aren't aware of so I thought I'd post about it since it might help someone.  It's an intake vent.  It allows our furnace to take in air from inside the house.  This is helpful if the intake vent from outside gets blocked with ice or if the weather is too cold for the furnace to keep up with the necessary air exchange.  We had that happen one night and it made our furnace inoperable. In sub-zero freezing weather!  It's also a way to make sure that CO2 won't build up.

We have two things vented outside -- the furnace and hot water heater.  I have been told this method is more efficient. I'll have to take TBG's word on that.  I'm just glad he makes sure everything is in working order.  Because we keep up on this stuff, our major mechanicals last a long time.

I don't know how much this maintenance call set us back because this company gives us special pricing as a courtesy.  They'll figure it out and let us know one of these days.  I sent the guys on their way with homemade bread.

Our home is pretty simple. We don't have a lot of fancy stuff and we take care of what we have.  I think we're better off putting our money into something like this than a fancy lamp or even a wireless/wifi doorbell or security system.  Our society is hung up on technological gadgets, bells and whistle doo-hickeys, etc., when they should be thinking about simple mechanical components that actually keep the vital machinery in our homes working.

I don't need to monitor who is at our door, but I do want to stay warm in the winter!