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July 30, 2007
Enery Leaks - Attic Access
Over the last few months, I have been building a home theater in an extra bedroom in my house. While working on this project, I noticed that it was the hottest room in my home. The culprit, the access to the attic is in this room.
My house is only about a year old. The attic has plenty of insulation but the uninsulated hatch for the pull down stairs was letting heat into the room.
I followed the instructions in this article and video. My house has loose fill insulation, so I built a backer around the hatch, rigid foam sits on top. Next I ran a weather strip gasket around the door. Now this room is the same temperature as the rest of the house. And my energy bills should be less in summer and winter.
Have you experienced this problem? What solution did you use?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 12:18 PM | Comments (5)
July 24, 2007
Blu-ray versus HD DVD
There are two competing formats that are trying to replace current DVDs and DVD players: Blu-ray and HD DVD
Both of these formats can deliver a specatular picture on a HD television, but the players are expensive (currently starting at about $300 for an HD DVD player and $500 for a Blu-ray player), and the number of movies available on either format is growning but still limited. The players for both formats can play their movies and standard DVDs, but an HD DVD player cannot play a Blu-ray movie and a Blu-ray player cannot play an HD DVD movie.
Do you own a high definition DVD player? If yes, which format? Currently I have a Sony Blu Ray player in my system.
If you have an HD television and don't own one of these High Definition DVD players, what are you waiting for? More movies? Less expensive players? Or a clear winner between the two competing formats? (You don't want to risk owning the loser in this competition; remember the Beta vs. VHS battle?)
Your comments are appreciated.
Posted by Bob Gatton at 8:06 AM | Comments (18)
July 3, 2007
Whole House Surge Protection
About a year ago, I wrote an article about whole house surge protectors. I think that the modest cos of about $200 to $1,000 plus installation, is not only cheap protection, but a great way to differentiate your houses from the competition.
Are you installing whole house surge protection in your houses? If not, why not?
Would you like a whole house surge protector in your home?
Have you ever had a power surge damage or destroy any electronics or appliances in your home?
Posted by Bob Gatton at 9:07 AM | Comments (45)
