Builder - August 2008 - (Page 67)

DIGITALHOME SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW HOMES ■ EDITED BY DAN DALEY Quality Control Central vacuums are healthy for buyers’ homes and builders’ bottom lines. E nvironmental concerns no longer stop at the front door. Pollutants such as animal dander, dust mites, mold, and pollen have become a whole-house problem, and builders are ﬁnding that a whole-house central vacuum system is the solution. “As concerns grow about poor indoor air quality and its harmful effects on homeowners, deep-cleaning and proﬁtable central vacuum systems are emerging as a more natural ﬁt than ever for savvy builders,” says Greg Calderon, vice president and ﬂoor care manager at Louisville, Ohio–based H-P, which markets the Dirt Devil and VACUFLO central vacuum systems. According to the EPA, indoor air pollution is America’s most serious environmental health problem. The agency says that indoor air quality is three to ﬁve times worse than outdoor air quality. The American College of Allergists reports that half of all illnesses are caused by or aggravated by poor indoor air. And the American Lung Association says that 42.3 million Americans are affected by asthma or hay fever, which are exacerbated by poor indoor air quality. Chris Parker, president of Parker Custom Builders in Franklin, Tenn., says homeowners who have had central vacuum systems before nearly always specify them in new homes, citing increased resale value. For those that haven’t had them in the past, he’s found that they have an extremely high WAF (wife acceptance factor); and within the family’s own negotiations, the vacuum system can sometimes be leveraged reciprocity for the other spouse’s desire for a home theater or whole-house audio. Central vacuum systems aren’t allor-nothing propositions, either. “In any event, we usually run the piping during construction because the PVC needed for the system really adds nothing to the construction costs,” says Parker. “If the buyer decides later to go for it, adding the machinery is all that’s needed. And if the piping is already in place, that’s strong incentive to go ahead and buy the system.”—D.D. features, Murtagh bought three television ads and ran them during the Super Bowl telecast. That, in turn, generated print coverage—the Albuquerque Journal featured the company on the front page of its real estate section. Traffic to Longford’s Web site quadrupled, and that translated into increased sales. “We’re now selling 25 houses a month; two months ago it was eight,” Murtagh says. A key tactic was establishing multiple tiers of home automation. All homes going forward are constructed with integrated structured wiring as standard. “Even if someone doesn’t opt for any level of automation, they could always upgrade in the future,” he says.—D.D. Dan Daley is a freelance writer based in Nashville, Tenn. T ProActive hese new speakers from Genelec offer builders a cost-effective solution for properly matching speakers to ampliﬁers. The AIW25 active in-wall loudspeaker, the AIC25 active in-ceiling loudspeaker, and the AOW312 active on-wall loudspeaker are integrated with their own RAM2 remote ampliﬁer modules. Pricing starts at $1,799 per unit, $3,598 per pair. For more information visit www.genelec.com. Do-It-Yourself Goes Digital Allowing buyers to modify plans themselves creates buzz and sales. T Power Saver L ongford Homes, a midtier production builder based in Albuquerque, N.M., introduced its Design Your Own Home technology in 1991. It enables buyers to select from ﬂoor plans and modify them on a PC. But when company founder and president John Murtagh sensed last year that the housing market would change, he took the DIY design concept a step further, adding three levels of home entertainment and automation options that could also be modiﬁed by the buyer. Longford worked with Home Automation Inc. (HAI), which he says provides about two-thirds of the IT backbone for the online design system and also provides the home control, lighting control, security, whole-home audio, and energy management systems that go into the homes. Longford branded the system iHŌm. To drive awareness of the he new PowerVault 11kW from Richard Gray’s Power Co. keeps entire AC circuits running smoothly during power outages and surges. It’s a power conditioner, a longduration, uninterruptible power supply, and a surge suppressor. For more information, visit www.richard grayspowercompany.com. DO YOU HAVE A TECH STORY? E-MAIL DENISE DERSIN AT: ddersin@hanleywood.com W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM augus t 2 0 08 B U I LD E R ■ 67 http://www.genelec.com http://www.richardgrayspowercompany.com http://www.richardgrayspowercompany.com http://www.builderonline.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Builder - August 2008

Builder - August 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Bmail Book It Inside Story Success Stories Top Shelf Green House Sales Strategies Products Digital Home National Beat Seiders' Economy Trade Secrets: Staying Afloat Sign of the Times Missing Links Ad Index Last Word

Builder - August 2008

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