Tag Archives: saving money

USGBC: “Walk & Talk” at The Landing at Southpoint

Several members of the staff joined other area architects, landscapers and developers at the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) “Walk & Talk” in Durham, this past Wednesday as Rex Bost of FreeRain and others spoke about the Landing at Southpoint project.

A majority of the discussion was centered around rain harvesting and how this process enabled the project to receive the honor of becoming the “first LEED certified condo community in North Carolina.”

So what is rain harvesting? Good Question! Click Here to find out more.

This process is beneficial not only for commercial use but it can be used in residential homes as well. Rain harvesting helps the environment while also saving the homeowner huge amounts of money on utility bills.

Guest Blogger Series – Neuwave Systems: Saving Time, Money, and the Environment through Home Automation

As a guest blogger, I would like to first thank Design Lines, Ltd. for having Neuwave Systems on their blog. They have been a great company to get to know and I personally love what they have done for my home as well as other clients in the area.

The topic today is about Home Automation! What used to only be for the rich, is now available to most hardworking homeowners. The best part is that you can save time, money, and the environment by integrating your home. Home automation would be defined by Neuwave as the act of interconnecting your everyday functions into one system.(TV’s, Lighting, Temperature, Music, Movies, and Security)

Think about your day: you wake up, turn off the alarm clock, turn on the lights, maybe turn on the morning news, go to the bathroom and turn on those lights, maybe turn on music or news in the bathroom, turn down the heat, get the kids up, arm the security system, and head to work; and that’s just the morning! What if you could have your house set to your lifestyle instead of your life set to your house?

Since money is the most pressing issue of the day, let’s start by how to save money with home automation. Your number one cost to run a home is of course……energy. By integrating your lights, you are able to make sure when you leave that every light in the house is off, or when you come home that not every light has to be on. Also, lighting control allows you to set the levels of each light when it comes on and you don’t have to burn it at full strength. We have seen people save $50-$100 a month just by adding lighting control. By integrating your thermostat, you are able to adjust your temperature from your remote control or even your computer if you are away.

Time is money, and more and more people don’t have “Time”. What if you could have extra time added into your life? Most of us end up in bed reading or watching TV; what if you could press one button and have your house “go to sleep”? No more getting up to turn off that pesky hallway light, or making sure the security system is armed. How nice would it be to wake up, and have the temperature just right, the coffee brewed, the news on, the weather report ready and the kids out of bed without any effort? Neuwave Systems can give you the time, it is up to you what to do with it.

As you can see, by cutting down on energy consumption you have done your part to saving the world. Every little bit helps and, and the best part is how easy it makes your life! When we design an Automation system we typically use Control 4; a very affordable system that allows you to be as simple or intricate as you would like.

The best thing is that you can add more control as you go and you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to learn the system. From Grandparents’ to Grandkids’ anyone can control the system. If you are wondering, the entry level package is $700, and that will control TV’s and Music with on screen navigator and a universal remote with LCD read out. If I can answer any questions, give us a call!

(Photos courtesy of Neuwave Systems.)

Award Winning Interior Design | Raleigh, NC