With Spring in full swing, home improvement season is officially underway. BehindtheBuy.com Senior Editor, David Gregg joins us with some new home solutions to help you update, clean and secure your home.
Schlage Touchscreen Deadbolt
Spring is all about home improvement and one of the easiest and most valuable improvements you can make to your home this season is to your home security.
Schlage has just released its new Touchscreen Deadbolt – featuring the highest grade residential security on the market, a built-in alarm and lock-and-leave functionality, plus it’s fingerprint resistant so it’s impossible to track combinations previously used.
The smart technology in Schlage’s Touchscreen Deadbolt provides your home with premium security and keyless operation. It holds up to 30 unique customizable access codes, so you can set scheduled codes for the babysitter, dog walker and even the kids arriving home from school. It’s easy to install too and because the lock runs on Nexia’s Home Intelligence network, you can remotely lock, unlock and monitor who’s entering your home from anywhere in the world from a connected device.
PRICE: $199; www.schlage.com. Available online and in select Lowe’s and Home Depot locations. Nexia is $8.99 a month, with no contracts or cancellation fees.
3M LED Advanced Light Bulb
With incandescent bulbs being phased out by 2014, switching to 3M’s LED Advanced Light bulbs will make this change easy. 3M’s LED bulbs combine energy efficiency, the same even light distribution as an incandescent bulb, while delivering a life span of up to 25 years. Unlike compact fluorescent bulbs, this eco-friendly bulb is mercury free. It has the brightness of a 60 watt bulb while only using 13.5 watts of energy.
In addition, 3M’s LED Advanced bulbs are fully dimmable and power up instantly – and with a lifespan of 25 years, you can save $140 over the life of the bulb.
PRICE:$25; www.3MLighting.com/LED; Available at Walmart
LiftMaster 8550 Garage Door Opener System
Have you ever had that nagging feeling that you might have left the garage door open? Gone are the days of wondering if you put the door down or worrying about the kids forgetting their keys. LiftMaster garage door opener systems are packed with features that provide peace-of-mind and are so smart – thanks to MyQ technology – they can be operated at anytime from anywhere in the world using a smart phone or internet-enabled device. A built-in Battery Backup even allows operation during a power outage. LiftMaster’s garage door openers are easy to set up too – simply plug in the LiftMaster Internet Gateway Accessory to your existing home internet connection, sync it with your opener and set up the free app.
Another important feature to think about it safety. Spring is a great time to ensure your garage is equipped with the latest safety features including Photo eyes (the two black boxes that sit on both sides of the garage door, 6 inches from the floor). It makes the door automatically reverse if anything gets in the way.
LiftMaster offers two mounting options (to be professionally installed by authorized LiftMaster dealers) – on either the ceiling or the wall, both of which are MyQ enabled. (Battery Backup is included in the 8550 (Ceiling), optional on the 8500 (Wall) unit).
PRICE: Starts at only $400; visit www.liftmaster.com to access the Dealer Locator and find a dealer in your area.
Dyson DC44 and DC41 Vacuums
Dyson’s DC44, with a battery life of 20 minutes, is the most powerful cordless vacuum on the market making it great for quick pick-ups and tough tasks. It’s long wand reaches the hard-to-reach spaces and includes a mini motorized tool with increased power and extended run time for tough tasks.
PRICE: $399.99; www.dyson.com
The DC41 Animal Complete vacuum features powerful suction at the cleaner head which automatically adjusts on all surfaces. And, like all Dyson vacuums, it doesn’t lose suction.
In addition, the included Tangle-free Turbine tool helps solve the problem of hair wrapping around vacuum brush bars, and is designed with two counter-rotating heads that suck up the hair and dirt without tangling – which all drops right into the bin of the vacuum.
PRICE: DC41 Animal Complete $649.99
The Tangle Free Turbine may be purchased on its own for $69.99; www.dyson.com.