Another Ductless Air Conditioner

We liked the ductless air conditioner we installed in the family room in the Lancaster house so well that we installed one in the room my husband uses. We're planning on living here year-around, so being able to keep that room cool is important.

The house itself is fairly well heated and cooled, with two five-ton units. (The casita has its own three-ton system.) However, the system that cools his room also cools the walk-in closet, master bath, and master bedroom, before heading across the house to the furthest room, his. It's just never quite cool enough or warm enough, although we've done all sorts of fiddling around with the vents. So we gave up and put the ductless system in.

In addition, we're putting in a photovoltaic system, to generate electricity. What I hope will happen is that using our own electricity will cut our electric bills dramatically. What I worry will happen is that having our own electricity will sustain us after an earthquake or other problem. The system we're putting is, with batteries, should be enough to keep the house livable, although some areas may not be as comfortable as we'd like after a catastrophe. There's some magic thinking going on here, too, with my hoping that being so well-prepared will actually stave off the quake.

I've spent my entire life in California hearing that the Big One is coming just any day now and am I ready? Yes, I'm ready. Bottled water, extra kibble, medical supplies, flashlights and radios and batteries. All these decades of being ready and nothing. Perhaps the readiness is preventing what I'm ready for.

Or maybe the deep layers of rock will do what they do when they do it and it's pure coincidence that it hasn't happened yet. Somehow, this feels more likely. I can't really believe my regularly renewing my bottle water supplies has any affect on the fault line.