Check out the Telkonet thermostat. I’ve previously written about the Nest thermostat and the Honeywell Wi-Fi thermostat. Telkonet claims to take it another step further. Not only is their thermostat programmable, accessible from the Internet and “smart”, but it can calculate roof comfort by aggregating data like time-of-day, solar load, brightness, humidity and occupancy patterns. It’s Ecoinsight feature determines when a space is occupied or vacant and reverts to preset temperature limits. Check it out at their site here.
The Ecoinsight thermostat is more for commercial applications than the other two. While it has Internet connectivity, it may require special networking in order to access it. This is more efficient where you have multiple installations.
American Green Technology has a light fixture that does double duty as an air purifier. From their website:
“Hospital-borne infections are a leading concern for medical professionals and patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 to 10 percent of all patients contract at least one hospital-acquired infection during their stay in an acute-care hospital. There are indications that the future of surgery as we know it may be affected because of uncertainties and fears of post-operative infections. The CDC estimates that 1.7 million hospital-associated infections (HAI’s), from all types of bacteria combined, cause or contribute to 99,000 deaths each year and is now the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, greater than Breast Cancer, Aids and Automobile Accidents combined.”
Isn’t that depressing! That makes me feel good about my next hospital visit!
Homewerks Worldwide has developed a bathroom exhaust fan with bluetooth music streaming capability. The fan will move 90 cfm at a noise level of only 1.5 sones.
I didn’t realize music in the bathroom was such a thing! Previously I told you about the Kohler Moxie Showerhead (here) that streams music along with the water. (See what I did there?) Before that I told you about the Amerec’s Ipod Shower Docking Station (here). I guess no one sings acapella in the shower these days.
I got the picture to the right from my cousin, Joe Easterday at Van Haren Electric, after he saw the previous post. He said this was sent to him by one of his electrician friend when he was working at Gaylor Electric. It is amazing what some people think is acceptable…
Too many novices take electricity for granted and don’t realize the risks involved.
I pulled into a client’s facility a month or so ago and noticed an electrical box that had been knocked loose. I know how these things can be overlooked. Sometimes they are noticed, but then forgotten by the time you walk inside where something could be done about it. I snapped a picture, sent it to my contact and suggested that we could fix that for them since it was a code violation and potential safety issue. We weren’t called, but someone “repaired” it. While the solution was creative, it doesn’t exactly meet code.
Let us help you with simple electrical maintenance issues like this. Creative electrical repairs are generally frowned on by code officials. Something like this is a safety and liability issue. It’s not the best place to skimp. A “solution” like this can actually increase liability! If something happens now, there is no doubt that someone knew the problem existed.