Muhammad Mukarram Technical Services L.L.C

Category Blog

Air Conditioning – Automating Your System

With today’s technology it is very easy to automate your air conditioning system. Automation will help prevent you from having to get up and down to fix the temperature in the room. It can also save you money using a more efficient system that is provided by the programmable thermostat.

Total home automation

Some homeowners are automating their entire homes and not just their air conditioning systems. With total automation it will allow the homeowner to control all of the electronic devices and utilities with a single remote control. The remote control can be managed from your computer, mobile device, laptop, iPad, or just using the stand-alone controller. In the beginning it is an expensive investment but will pay for itself with energy savings. It can automate your air conditioning system, garage doors, security, lights, and more. In your home, with this type of system you will have a thermostat in each room instead of one central thermostat that controls the temperature of the entire home. With individual thermostats each person in the home can have the room at the temperature they choose, especially bedrooms as most have different temperatures they like to sleep in.

Programmable thermostat

Before you purchase a programmable thermostat for your air conditioning system make sure that it will work with this type of thermostat. This type of thermostat helps give the homeowner an energy efficient home and save money in the long run. The thermostat works by adjusting the cool air output to the changes in the temperature outside. This way the unit will only work when needed.

Automated heating system

For those cool days when you only want certain rooms to be warm, this is the type of automation you would need. For example, if you watch television in the living room or den and then take a shower before bedtime you can program your bathroom and bedroom to be warm before you get there. This helps prevent you from exiting a warm shower into a cool bedroom.

Smartphone and mobile device remote control

These are used when you have total home automation to help control the temperature of your home from a distance. When no one is at home and you forgot to turn set the air conditioning before you left you can use a smartphone or mobile device to do this. This will help to save on your monthly electric bill. To use either of these two devices you just have to download the app to either one.

These are just some of the many ways in which you can use automation to help save on your electric bills and to have an energy efficient home. Talk to an air conditioning professional to find out which is right for your home.

Source by Lora Davis

Sell Your House – Avoid These Common Traits That Make It Difficult

You’ll find lots of advice on how to ‘stage’ your house to sell, from what colors to use when you repaint the walls to how to word the headlines of your classified ads. There are many factors that go into selling your house fast, at the best possible price. They range from setting the stage for a sale with the colors you paint the walls to special incentives you can offer buyers to close a sale. You can do everything right – the right words in your classified ad, the best pictures on the right FSBO web site, the yard and garden trimmed and welcoming – but if your house has one of these common traits, you may still find it hard to sell your house.

Gloomy Rooms

If your rooms are dim and dark, buyers will find it difficult to like your house. Dim lighting makes everything look dreary and dull. Do whatever needs doing to brighten the rooms up. Add lamps to warm dark corners, and up the wattage on light bulbs. Replace heavy draperies with airy, white sheers – it’s one of the best room perk-me-ups you can find.

Unkempt Yards

The yard is the first thing that prospective buyers see when they pull up in front of the house. They’ll form their overall impression with that first split second look. If you want to sell your house fast, you need to guarantee that their first glimpse is a ‘wow!’ instead of an ‘oh!’

Dingy, Dirty Sink

Dirty, stained porcelain in your sinks hint at poor maintenance and water quality. Scrub the sink and fixtures until they sparkle, and keep them empty. Dirty dishes are the last thing you want prospective buyers to see when you’re trying to sell your house.

Odors

Remember the old Realtor’s trick of putting cookies in the oven just before you show your house? The smell of baking or the more subtle scent of orange or apple can make your buyers feel at home and help your house sell. Unfortunately, the opposite is true, too. Nothing turns off prospective buyers more quickly than bad odors. If you smoke or have pets, or if your house smells of mildew, don’t try to just cover it up with air freshener. Eradicate it.

Overgrown Gutters

Vegetation and clumps of dirt lining the edges of your roof are not conducive to selling your house. It makes your house look shabby, and hints at the level of maintenance that it’s received over the years.

Stained or Cracked Ceilings

Water stains and cracks in your ceilings and on your walls suggest plumbing problems and leaky pipes. Repair any leaky pipes, then prime and repaint so the stains don’t show through.

Unruly Pets and Children

Get your pets and kids out of the way when showing your house. If you want to sell your house, it’s important to make them feel comfortable in it. Boisterous dogs and loud children can be an annoyance when prospective buyers are trying to get a good look at the rooms.

Source by B Shelton

EV Charging Stations For The New Generation of Electric Automobiles

In the beginning, arranging for the charging station installation will be part of the purchasing process of buying your first Electric Vehicle (EV). All approved chargers by the various manufacturers will be compliant with SAE J1772 standards for electric vehicles and electrical connectors.

You won’t be able to buy the car unless you are willing to install a charging station your home. Consumers who buy the Nissan Leaf will be required to use their exclusive contractor, AeroVironment, for installation of the home chargers. They may be able to install their own charging equipment if they sign a waiver.

The Chevy Volt will come standard with a 110 volt charger which will allow you to charge directly from your home wall outlet. For Volt customers who prefer to have a 240 V rapid charger installed, SPX service solutions is the exclusive contractor for the installation of their rapid charging station.

There is a big difference in the vehicles range due to the size of their battery packs. Chevrolet considers the Volt to be a hybrid vehicle which can be plugged in. GM describes the car as an extended range EV (electric vehicle) with a smaller battery. The LEAF is strictly electric with a much larger battery pack that is 2-3 times the size of the Volts. The Chevy Volts 16kwh battery will probably only ever use 8 kw of it. The Leaf will contain a 24 KWh battery, but will probably need to use 80-90% in order to increase the battery life. In order to fully charge the LEAF, it will need to be plugged into a 110v outlet for the entire day. It is expected that the cost to install a Level II home charging unit will run about $2,200.

Because the Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt are expected to be the first cars which will require the installation of a Level 2 home charger until 2012, it is expected that the demand for home charging units will remain low, unless a surprising number of first owners opt to have the rapid chargers professionally installed.

Now there are a number of companies entering the charging station market. AeroVironment was the first company to devote itself to developing and building Level II home charging units. The reason they won the contract from Nissan was probably because they were the first one with a product to offer. Most of the other companies that are developing and building charging stations focused on industrial units for commercial and municipal installations. However that is changing as the first mass market electric vehicles are finally ready to launch.

Below are the current companies that manufacture Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

ECOtality- ETec

Now called ECOtality North America, ECOtality has been producing electric charging stations for quite a while. Industrial equipment such as forklifts have used electric charging technology for some time. They have used their experience to market the Minit-Charger for both residential and commercial charging applications. The EV Project which is managed by ECOtalty is seeking to install thousands of charging stations over the next year in the 5 states where the EV’s will first be released. ECOtality also installs stations made by other manufacturers. ECOtality builds both level I and level II chargers but does not make fast DC charging equipment. ECOtality has recently introduced a new line of commercial and home Level II charging stations. It is believed that the new stations-designed by global industrial design firm, frog design-will help update their conservative image.

SPX

SPX has been selected by Chevrolet to be the exclusive service provider for the purchase and installation of the Chevy Volt 240 Volt rapid home charger. SPX will facilitate every aspect of the purchase and installation of the rapid chargers which will charge the Volt in approximately 4 hours. The SPX team will advise homeowners on the requirements to upgrade their electrical service to accommodate the home charging system and will even assist them in taking the necessary steps to qualify for reduced electric utility rates.

AeroVironment

AeroVironment was chosen to be the exclusive home charging installation contractor for the Nissan LEAF. Even though AeroVironment is mostly known for residential installations, they are one of the few companies that sell both Level II and fast charging DC chargers for commercial use. AeroVironment is a well established company that developed unmanned aircraft for the military for many years. The company was responsible for the charger for the Impact, the precursor to the GM EV1 built in the 1990’s. They also developed the charging stations for the EV1, so it is only natural that they would manufacture the new versions of charging stations.

Coulomb Technologies

Coulomb technologies is one of the better known EV charging manufacturers. Coulomb is rapidly building out their membership Charge Point network which will allow their members to pull up to any of their stations and begin charging immediately. Currently most of the 300 stations they have installed are Level I, however they have now begun installing Level II chargers as well.

Clipper Creek

A less well known company, Clipper Creek has been selling chargers for decades. The design of their equipment is not as modern and sleek as some of the newer styles. Their chargers are geared more towards fleet installation rather than residential or businesses. Clipper Creek has made it well known that their products can be installed anywhere. They handle the home charging installations for the Tesla Roadster. These charging stations are meant for Level II charging only and come in a variety of configurations to meet their customers’ needs.

General Electric

The newest entrant in the EV charging station market is GE. They just introduced their new Watt Station charger. The first release is meant primarily for commercial installations, but there are plans to introduce a residential version later this year. The Watt Station is known for its attractive design. Legendary designer Yves Behar is the genius behind the sleek style of the Watt Station. It is also the first model that incorporates Wi-Fi smart technology.

PEP Stations

A little known company called PEP has begun working with Ford to build rugged robust charging stations that can handle rough usage. These units are architectural in design with a concrete base and stainless steel top. These units are primarily marketed to commercial and municipal installations. This obscure company has no track record, so their quality remains to be seen. The designers used high quality automotive grade components, so they are built to be robust.

Better Place

Better Place is known for battery switching techniques. They have now begun installation of vehicle charging stations in Israel and Denmark. So far they don’t have any plans to sell their units for residential use. We mention them here because they may change their strategy to offer residential charging options.

Leviton

Leviton is a huge and well known electrical supply company. They are along established company with a large number of service technicians. Leviton is including a 10 year warranty on their “Evr-green” home and commercial charging stations. The Leviton Evr-Green charging stations can support both Level I and Level II charging and will integrate with Charge Point charging stations. Leviton has also introduced a standard installation method that is the industry’s first pre-wired plug in system for their Level II chargers. This system will enable consumers to make their homes “plug in ready” before they purchase any electric car. This prewired system has a starting price of less than $200, not including installation and is meant to lower installation costs and reduce installation times. The prewired kits are required to be installed by an installer certified by Leviton, but once the system has been installed, the Level II charging station can later be easily added by the consumer.

Currently these are the main players in the electric car charging market place. Only time will tell who will emerge as the market leader and what other new players will join the fray. If you have heard of any other players that are making electric car charging stations, please let me know so that I can include them in this list.

Source by J. Lloyd Dent

Responsibilities of B2B Appointment Setting Services Companies

Appointment setting is one of the key processes for achieving sale. It is also called cold calling that is the marketing process of approaching prospective customers or clients typically via telephone or emails or via social network. It is usually considered as the start of the sales process known as telemarketing.

  • It is an outbound telemarketing technique. All traditional approaches to acquire to leads comprise together to form outbound telemarketing.
  • It is also known as interruption marketing a practice of pushing the products or services on customers.

Outbound marketing focuses on finding out the customers via cold calling, print ads, newspapers, direct mails, TV ads, radio ads, SMS instead of the customer discovering the service or product.

  • Sales appointment setting is very important for the sales team pertaining to its role in building a sales pipeline. The most important aspect of appointment setting is to reach the right decision makers.
  • Sometimes the appointment setting calls fail. This happens when the sales team ends up with the gatekeepers who are an obstruction in the process of appointment setting. Gatekeepers stand between the sales team and potential sales leads.

Not every sales person can possess the skill of appointment setting. This is a process involving pre-call research, data collection and analytics. It helps attract the customers with brief and relevant information.

Following are the reasons why one should outsource the appointment setting to a professional telemarketing company:

  1. Speeds up the sales cycle
  2. It helps you to work with qualified prospects analyzing the relevant data and target market.
  3. A dedicated telemarketing is cost effective and gives you a strong return on investment.
  4. It helps to maintain your brand value and culture understanding your business and objectives.
  5. Professional telemarketers trained exhaustively to secure qualified appointments.
  6. It scales the services according to the demands of the business aspirations and constraints.

This service is obstruction for your business to expend because sales person can’t meet too many cold customers to make them prospective in a day what if you get only prospective customers to visit to close them for business. Professional Telemarketing companies help to boost company ROI by setting business meeting with companies executives.

Outsourcing your setting services can help you to grow your business. Companies have seen great success outsourcing aspects of the business like Telemarketing, lead generation, and product support. You can Lower Your Costs per Sale When you have a qualified Professional which is taking care of your setting services.

Source by Bimal J Kataria

Understanding The Science of Rain Gutter Installation

When we think about improving our homes and bringing in some innovation and strength, we often ignore gutters. There are so many corrosive agents that can corrode gutters with the passage of time. If homeowners neglect maintenance and repair for a considerable period of time, the damage will make it inevitable to replace the gutter. Installing a new gutter is not as complicated or lengthy a process as you might think.

First of all, it is ideal to maintain gutters by scheduling maintenance, cleaning and repair activities. It would not be difficult to find a professional gutter inspection and repair service if you are living in a big city like Los Angeles. If you are looking to install a new unit, it is recommended to get it done with a professional who understands how to keep things simple and get the job done without damaging roofs and walls.

Some jobs cannot be done effectively without skills, experience, and tools. Gutter installation is certainly one of those jobs that require professionalism and knowledge. So, it’s better to consult a professional before taking any DIY step.

How to inspect a gutter

If your building has a gutter, schedule inspection at least annually in order to keep it in good shape for years to come. First, have a look at the gutter and determine whether or not the unit is visually undamaged. If you think there is something wrong, call an expert immediately and get the issue resolved in a timely manner. The best time to inspect a gutter is when it’s raining. Observe the water as it rolls off the roof. Water must go into the gutter immediately without any leakage or dripping. Moreover, sufficient slope will allow water to flow towards the downspouts.

Things to do before installing a new gutter

It is important to consider few things before taking on the project. Map out your house and its gutter system. Calculate the dimensions of downspouts. If you think your old unit was operating effectively, go with the existing configuration. Once you are done with the measurement, prepare a list of materials based on your measurements.

It is always recommended to keep your home well-maintained whether it is plumbing system or rain gutter system. Delaying minor repairs can lead to costly replacements and repairs. If you are looking to get your rain gutter replaced in a cost-effective manner, call a reputable company that offers services without putting too much stress on your budget.

Source by Basharat Khadim

Alterair Home Air Purifiers

Everybody likes the convenience of being able to travel the world by air. It’s also great that we can get visits from families and friends from far away places because of the safety and convenience of air travel. But, the problem today is that there are other air borne travelers that are not as welcome. According to a study by NASA in 2007 that smoke plumes from wildfires in Alaska can travel as far as Europe and Africa. This atmospheric study concluded that gases, smoke and aerosols travel on an intercontinental scale. You may think that your home is free from airborne pollution as it is not located near any factories or other immediate sources of air pollution.

Air borne pollution from another continent can still travel to where you are. Any pollutant introduced into the atmosphere can travel across continents. This can include smoke from any wildfire, any aerosol product, or any industrial pollution.. You can however, remove these intercontinental travelers when they arrive at your home.

This study backs up previous studies that have already documented the travel of airborne pollutants from Asia to the Pacific Ocean. What the 2007 study by NASA indicates is that airborne pollutants can travel faster than previously thought. They can travel to wherever it is that you live and pollute the air in your home.

Alterair home air purifiers remove these travelers from your home

Alterair’s home air purifiers feature a filtration system that can remove airborne pollutants in your home. The Alterair filtration uses carbon to filter airborne pollutants. The carbon in the Alterair home air purifiers can remove airborne chemicals, gases, and odor-causing compounds from your home environment.

You can’t prevent atmospheric air currents from carrying airborne pollutants to wear you live. But once they do arrive you can filter out of your home environment with an Alterair home purifier. The many of carbon in the purifier help assure that they will be trapped and not cause you any harm.

You can also protect yourself from bacteria and molds in your house by opting for an ultra violet germicidal lamp to help neutralize contaminants that are already in your house. This is enhanced protection that kills contamination from bacteria and molds, as well as trapping airborne pollutants.

Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, aerosols and smoke can all travel to wherever your home is by air currents. Many of these can be filtered from your home with an Alterair home air purifier. You can prevent many of these unwelcome intercontinental travelers from polluting your home once they arrive. You can also get an added layer of protection by being able to kill contaminants from bacteria and molds. This air purifier can protect you and your family from unwanted visitors in your home environment.

You can’t move away from airborne pollution, but you can effectively deal with it once it arrives. There’s no reason to let pollutants endanger your health, or the health of your family, when you can filter out those pollutants.

Source by Barry Midwinter

Mobile Home Insulated Skirting – The Myths and Facts

There is a lot of misinformation and foolish myths regarding insulated mobile home skirting. People have told me that they have heard that it will promote mold growth and that the underside of the home has to breath. Others have told me that they have heard insulated skirting doesn’t offer any advantages such as prevention of frozen pipes. I can comfortably and confidently tell you that if done properly, these myths are false.

Insulated skirting can be one of the best additions to your home. People who have struggled with frozen pipes year after year have stopped struggling after they installed insulated skirting. There are a few different types of skirting on the market but they all behave the same way and these principles are universal.

  • Ventilation: Your home needs adequate ventilation during the warmer months so the underside can breathe. This is the only time of the year, when it is above 50 degress fahrenheit, that you need ventilation. Automatic vents that open and close are the best mainentance free option. The minimum required ventilation for a home that does not have a ground cover is not less than 1 square foot of vent per 150 square feet of floor space. If you have a ground cover, 6 mil poly plastic, you can reduce the requirement to 1 square foot to 1500 square feet of floor space. Please note: installation of the ground cover needs to be installed to a local building code and should be done properly.

  • Insulating Strength – Whatever material you choose to use, make sure that the R Value meets at least a value of 8. You also want to make sure the outer material is weather resistant. A pre-made insulated skirting product is usually the best bet. It will be the most cost effective way to complete the product.

  • Thermal Envelope – When installing an insulated product you need to make sure that the material goes all the way around the home. If you have a porch, deck, or addition attached to the house, make certain you install adequate material behind the structures to maintain a thermal envelope. You are capturing the warmth of the ground which is a constant 53 degrees all year round, and with out a complete installation, you will not capture it. If you stopped short of a porch, the warmth would escape to the outside. This is why your pipes will not freeze with a properly installed system.

  • Durability – Insulated systems are typically 2 inches thick and are very strong. You will not suffer from wind blow outs like you may have encountered with non-insulated systems. Keeping critters out from under your home is also an important goal. The strength and durability of an insulated system will keep them out.

When done properly, mobile home insulated skirting will end your frozen pipe woes, cut down on utility bills, and offer a much longer lasting skirting compared to non-insulated systems.

Source by Mark P Krober

Home Air Conditioning Systems

An air conditioner is a must have in today’s rapidly warm world. As temperatures rise across the globe, home air conditioning systems are flying off the shelves as manufacturers and retailers see increasingly good sales in such items.

It is not hard to see why when temperatures can soar up to previously unheard of highs. Humans could not possibly survive without cooling systems.

Air cooling systems actually come in different types. You might have the central one which is normally used to cool down a singular room or a smaller area. Most air conditioners would use refrigeration technology to transfer the cold around.

When choosing a suitable cooling system for your house, there are a few factors that you have to look into or risk getting the wrong product for your home use.

Size

Of course, most indoor air conditioning systems come in regular sizes which you can easily get from the shop. However, not planning before buying could see you purchasing a unit that is not compatible with your home. For example, if you buy a larger unit for a small room, you will end up wasting money and energy because your consumption would be high for such a little requirement.

My advice would be to look around at the systems available before making your choice. Get as much information as possible. There are customer service attendants at most hardware shops that would be more than happy to assist you in making the right choice.

Efficiency

There are so many types of technology available that different home air condition systems claim to do different things for your home. Some allegedly clean the air while cooling down your home while others eliminate dust at the same time.

While all these things are well and good, the most important consideration you should look into is the general efficiency of your air conditioning system. Like I mentioned before, size does play a very important role in terms of efficiency as well. Purchase a home air conditioning system that is too small for your big home would mean that you are actually consuming more energy in the long run.

Budget

You are on the lookout for an air conditioning system because you absolutely have to get one before summer hits. Well, yeah, home air conditioning systems are designed to help you get through the day more comfortably.

However, you should definitely plan your budget before actually going out and purchasing one. It makes no sense to blow your expenses out of the water just for the sake of comfort. You would also need to take into consideration how much your energy consumption would rise upon installing the home air conditioning system or mini split heat pumps.

At the end of the day, air cooling systems are pretty useful tools to help you cool down when the temperatures start to rise. Although air conditioning supply has become very common nowadays, however, there are things you need to do before actually rushing out to buy air conditioner.

Just remember that if you’re thinking in terms of the long run, you will never go wrong. At the same time, you get to save more in terms of efficiency and energy conservation as well.

Source by Harry Tan

Reverse Floating Walls in Basement Construction

When you are working in expansive soil such as clay and other soils that expand with moisture content, you need to take special precautions to keep from having structural damage to the foundation and basement walls. One of these precautions is floating walls. A floating wall is not attached at top and bottom like most walls. Floating a wall is able to move with the house and keeps you from having cracks open up in your floor, foundation and walls as the moisture content in the soil changes.

Floating basement walls are usually attached to the floor joists for the first floor and then spiked to the floor allowing a space below the wall. This space is covered by the baseboards and isn’t seen.

A reverse floating wall is attached to the floor. You place the floor on the base plate on the floor and you spike it at the top so that the wall is stable but only attached at the bottom. This is done on wet walls to keep the plumbing stable. The open space is at the top of the walls and is covered by moulding. You can cover the whole wall with sheetrock but you need to take care to leave the top open for movement. This means you cannot attach drywall to the wall all of the way to the top or it will crack as the wall moves with moisture changes in the soil.

For reverse floating walls follow the basic instructions for floating a wall but instead of hanging the wall from the floor joist, you will attach the floor to the base plate and spike to the top plate. Make sure your wall is plumb. If you do not have the wall exactly square it will cause problems. A space of 4 ½ inches is needed at the top of the wall. The wall needs to be spiked in the same way as a normal floating wall too, just at the top instead of the bottom. See instructions for floating wall for more information.

To cover the open area at the top of the wall you can use moulding. Many people do not like the look of moulding around their ceiling. If you want alternatives you can look into having a drop ceiling that can move with the walls and floor. You would need to attach the framing for the ceiling to the frames for the walls. When the house breathes your whole room will move and you will not notice it.

Source by Christopher W Smith

IGBT Stage Lighting Dimmers – A Primer

Imagine being able to plug your stage and theatre lighting fixtures directly into dimmers that are quiet and don’t generate the heat of SCR dimmers. You’re imagining IGBT dimming, a revolution in dimming technology.

IGBT dimmers bring the future into your theatre, club, auditorium or sanctuary with drastically-reduced installation costs. Mounted wherever you mount lighting fixtures, they are smaller and lighter than SCR dimmers. Better yet, they do not produce any mechanical buzz or hum.

Distributed Dimming Benefits

o Easy to design, expand and install

o Drastically reduces installation and equipment costs

o Locate silent dimmer strips next to the light fixtures

o Much less wiring

o Reduced voltage drops

o No dimmer panel required

Power and Silence Benefits

o State-of-the-art dimming technology

o Quiet dimmers and load

o Low neutral harmonics

o Protection against short-circuits

o High-density racks

o Control of various load types including magnetic/electronic transformers and electronic fluorescent dimming ballasts

Intelligence and Control Benefits

o Stations, keypads, wireless PCs and consoles for simple or complex applications

o Broad range of matching, attractive controls for fully-integrated projects

o Industry standard wiring practices

o Windows®-based open control protocols

A Case Study

When Cornish College of the Arts began converting Seattle’s historic Sons of Norway Hall into a theatre, plans called for installation of a complete air conditioning system just to cool the old-style, heat-producing SCR rack dimming system they planned to use. Dave Tosti-Lane, chair of Cornish’s Performance Production Department, started looking for a different solution.

The college had already been through the ordeal of retrofitting a concert hall to the tune of thousands of dollars just to relocate a noisy dimmer rack. They didn’t want to go through that again. Mac Perkins of PNTA recommended the Intelligent Raceway system from Entertainment Technology, a Genlyte Thomas company. The beauty of an IGBT system, as Dave discovered, was that it would not only circumvent the noise problem, but it would also reduce the heat loads.

The savings of not having to do a full-blown air conditioning system practically paid for the dimmers. They also saved money by not having the associated costs of load wiring the dimmers out to the circuits and all of the additional wiring and time it costs to run cables from the dimmer rack to the lighting instruments.

While the cost savings may have been the leading benefit, close behind was the system of focus buttons that were installed. This feature enabled the crew to finish hanging the first show in the new theatre in record time. The trio hung, circuited and rough-focused 130 fixtures in two five-hour lighting calls.
And as a sound designer, Dave was really appreciative of the lack of fans and chokes.

With all their benefits, IGBT dimming systems are a boon to the staging of theatrical productions.

Copyright 2007 PNTA

Source by Wendy Hammatt