Tag:Tips

Considering Geothermal?

Carrier has produced a white paper that helps calculate the tax savings of installing a new geothermal heat pump system.  (See press release here.)

It provides an overview of the federal tax credits available and includes payback analysis for the type of construction, i.e. new construction, retrofit or replacement installations.  Tax benefits of up to 50% are available.

Okay…  If you find the white paper at the carrier site, let me know and I’ll link it here.  If you find it, you’re a better website sleuth than I am.

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Retractable Receptacle

Often it’s after the fact that you realize where you need an electrical outlet on a work surface.  Thomas & Betts has come up with a retrofit solution with their Carlon Retractable Work Surface Receptacle.  The receptacle comes as a kit.  It is pre-wired with a six foot cord to plug into an existing outlet and a hole saw that can be used with a standard drill to make the necessary cut.  (See an installed picture at Galesburg Electric here.)

“Electronics and other powered devices, such as phone chargers, laptops and small appliances, are used mostly on work surfaces,” said Chad Smith, director, product management for Thomas & Betts. “Outlets, on the other hand, are typically located underneath. The Carlon® Retractable Work Surface Receptacle offers the convenience and safety of placing the outlet on the work surface.”

Caution:  Care should be taken to plug the receptacle into a GFI protected circuit if the receptacle is to be installed in a potentially wet location.

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Protect Your Belongings When Using a Hand Truck

I ran across this tip in American Profile.  “Clayton Beggs of Kelseyville, California, pads his hand truck with foam pipe insulation to prevent damage to whatever he happens to be carting around.”  

This is something we have done for years.  It’s one of those things that seems obvious and makes you wonder why hand trucks don’t come this way…  You can pick up pipe insulation in various sizes at your local plumbing supply store.  (We actually have some here.)  Select the size that will fit your hand truck rails.  Slit it lengthwise with a packing knife and fit it around the rail.  Generally it will stay in place on its own, but you can glue the joint back together with adhesive made for this or you can use a few zip ties to hold it in place.  I wouldn’t recommend gluing it to the rails as you may want to replace it when it begins to wear.

You can read the American Profile article here.

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Jeld-Wen Pet Doors

Jeld-Wen has a line of doors with integral pet panels, but recently I ran across their option for a pet panel integral to a sliding glass door which I found intriguing.  In general I encourage the use of French doors in lieu of sliding glass doors in our area.  The seals are much better, security is better and the mechanisms hold up better over time.  That’s not to say that sliding doors don’t have their place.  I have two at my house opening up to our deck.  They are hard to beat when you want maximum glass and have limited floor space which makes a swinging door an issue.

One of the major down sides of our sliding doors is that we use them to let our dog Theo out.  We lose AC in the summer and heat in the winter every time we open that door for him.  A couple of weeks ago when we had all the wind, it didn’t take much time with the door open to kick the thermostat on again.  This system has a passage flap that is held closed via magnets and a second locking window similar to a single hung window that provides a secure and weathertight seal the rest of the time.  I don’t think I will be changing out our existing doors for Theo, but this would be something I would consider when the existing doors fail.  It is definitely something I’ll point out to pet owners when we talk about remodeling projects!

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Singing in the Shower

The Kohler Moxie Showerhead communicates with your Bluetooth device from up to 32 feet away.

Last year I told you about an iPod Docking Station from Amerec (You can read that post here.) that allows you to take your iPod into the shower with you.  Now Kohler has a new option that lets you leave your Bluetooth enabled device, i.e. phone, MP3 player, etc. outside the shower, while your tunes are transmitted to a speaker in your showerhead.  The Moxie showerhead is silcone coated showerhead with 60 spray nozzles around a Bluetooth speaker that mounts in the center of the showerhead via two magnets – one in the showerhead and one in the speaker.  Currently the Moxie is available in white or chrome finish.  (The Kohler site does not mention if additional finishes are forthcoming.)

The speaker has a rechargeable lithium battery and comes with a USB recharging cord.  With the battery release, it should be easy to remove and the Kohler site touts the ability to take the waterproof speaker with you to the beach, kitchen or any other wet location where you want to listen to your tunes.  It promises less than 1% distortion.

The Kohler Moxie Showerhead is $149.25 at Amazon.com  Changing a showerhead is an easy installation, but if you need help, give us a call.  We’ll have you singing in the shower in no time at all!

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