The Home of the Future - For all of us who are over fifty, what would you have said to someone 30 years ago if they told you that in 2012 selling bottled water would be a multibillion dollar business? Well think of it this way - what if in fifty years from now you’re going to be buying tanks of fresh air for your house. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? If you look at the way new homes are built today they are built very tight. Simply no outside air leaks. With this in mind, tell me how’s your health? Are your kids well? In today’s world childhood Asthma is higher than it has ever been. Why is this so? The air in your house is 15 to 20 times more polluted than the air in Time Square at rush hour “maybe”. So for all of us that care about our kids health, we at Tamarack have the answers you have been looking for. We have just introduced a new line of ducted fan products called the Infinity series. Let’s take a look at the “Infinity 2200”, it can filter your supply air that’s coming into your house. The “Infinity 2200” can be adjusted to a wide range of airflows using our Airetrak Advantage control. It’s also your choice as to the type of filtration you want. The filters are simply a 10”x10” on-line purchase from Home Depot. So, if you don’t want to be the first one to start buying fresh air supply tanks to feed you house clean air, call our sales department, 1-800-222-5932. Our knowledgeable staff can guide you to the products that best suit your Indoor Air Quality and Ventilation needs. View our entire product line at www.tamtech.com. Nelson Warner

“Consumer Beware” Look before you leap into purchasing one of the high priced humidity sensing bathroom fans. These fans can cause more harm than good. If the fan you are looking at purchasing doesn’t have an adjustable humidity set point don’t buy it. If you have one you may want to remove it. In most parts of the country humidity is high in the summer and low in the winter. If you’re looking at any of the Humidity Sensing Bathroom Fans that don’t have an adjustable humidity sensor (and most don’t) don’t buy it. These fans have a nonadjustable set point in the range of 50%. Here lies the problem if you have just taken a shower, the bathroom humidity will spike and the bathroom fan will turn on to try and remove the humid air. The outside air is 50% humidity or higher (in the summer over 60% is common) your fan will not turn off until your AC unit has bought the entire house down to below 50%. That’s if you have AC. If you don’t you’re going to have troubles. The fan that is running your house is now under negative pressure and if you bring in high levels of humid air, this humid air is a killer for many reasons. Moisture on walls, floor or ceilings will destroy the house and will lead to mold growth. So the simple answer is purchase a bathroom fan that uses a wall mounted time/speed control like the Airetrak Advantage. This control gives you everything you need to run the fan correctly. The airflow is controlled properly and it has the added feature of light control as well. So don’t spend lots of money on what you think is a better idea, automatic humidity control fans, buy what’s right a bath fan and a Airetrak Advantage that will give everything you will ever need. Nelson Warner

I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of our friends and customers a Happy Holiday Season and Great New Year. Tamarack will be closed December 26th 2011 through January 2nd, 2012. 2011 has been a good year for Tamarack www.tamtech.com. We have introduced several new products: The Perfect Balance Indoor RAP (Return Air Pathway) and a new line of ducted Whole House Fans. We will continue to develop new products for fresh ideas in 2012. During the year in 2012 we will be at national trade shows and 6 homes shows from New Hampshire to California, please visit the website for a complete listing of where we will be, and be sure to mark your calendars and stop in for a visit if we are in your area. Our sales and technical staff are always available to assist you in your ventilation and Indoor Air Quality issues. Tom Colasanto~CEO

Foreclosure Crisis Isn’t Even Halfway Over – posted on Dec. 1^st, 2011: Source NY Times

A new analysis suggests that the tide of home foreclosures isn’t going to recede soon.

The report from the Center for Responsible Lending, finds that at least 2.7 million mortgages loaned from 2004 through 2008, or about 6 percent, have ended in foreclosure and that nearly 4 million more home loans (roughly 8 percent) from the same period remain at serious risk.

Put another way, “The nation is not even halfway through the foreclosure crisis, says the report, which analyzed 27 million mortgages made over the five years.

While most of those who have lost their homes are white, the report found, African-American and Latino borrowers have been disproportionately affected.  Roughly a fourth of all those borrowers have lost their home to foreclosure or are seriously delinquent, compared with just under 12 percent for white borrowers.

And across the country, low-and moderate-income neighborhoods and neighborhoods with high concentrations of minorities have been hit especially hard, the report found.

The Center for Responsible Lending is a nonprofit group that works to eliminate abusive financial practices.

Its report also noted that certain types of loans have much higher rates of completed foreclosures and serious delinquencies.  They include loans originated by brokers; hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages, option ARMs, loans with prepayment penalties and loans with high interest rates (subprime).  African Americans and Latinos were more likely to receive a high-cost mortgage with risky features, regardless of their credit.  For example, among borrowers with good credit (a FICO score of over 660), African-Americans and Latinos received a high-interested rate loan more than three times as often as white borrowers.

RESNET has launched RESNET Energy Smart Teams which represents a new approach to comprehensive retrofits of existing homes.  The approach teams up the various facets of the contractor trades with a certified RESNET HERS Rater to offer a comprehensive solution to homeowners.  Team members work together to develop a scope of work and complete home performance retrofit projects.

Here’s how the RESNET Home Energy Team works.  A certified rater would undertake the initial inspection and testing of the home following RESNET’s standards.  This would include the combustion appliance testing and preparation of a work scope.  The contractor members would then complete the upgrades in accordance with the work scope agreed to by the homeowner.  Once the project is completed an independent rater would complete the test out and undertake a quality assurance inspection to ensure the work was completed to the specifications of the work scope.

Published by RESNET Dec. 9^th, 2011 - http://www.resnet.us/