Fresh Thinking

BEAM Rated Highest Quality Central Vacuum System

2011-12-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

BEAM Central Vacuum Systems by Electrolux have been rated by builders and contractors as the highest quality central vacuum systems. The ratings are the result of Builder magazine's annual survey of readers to determine builders' preferences for brands in more than 100 different product categories. Read more.

3 Tips to Maintaining Your Central Vac System

2011-12-02T08:01:00.000-08:00

Tens of thousands of homeowners have enjoyed years of reliable deep cleaning performance from their BEAM Central Vacuum Systems. It's not uncommon for a system to outlast three upright vacuums.

Keeping your system in tip top shape year after year only takes a few minutes.

1. Empty your collection receptacle regularly. If the bucket is full the system won't perform at its optimum level. Typically the bucket should be emptied two or three times a year -- probably more if you have pets. Some homeowers will wrap a plastic bag in the bucket wrap and shake the permanent cloth filter into it to remove dust that collects on the outside of the filter.

2. Also make sure the inside of the bucket remains dry. It's okay to wash the bucket with warm soap and water after you empty it. But make sure the bucket is completely dry when you reattach it to the power unit. That will prevent any mold from forming in the bucket. And it will prevent freezing if your your power unit is installed in the garage.

3. Clean out your tubing system. Your BEAM dealer can provide you with tacky cloths called Tornado Power. Simply vacuum one into the system at each inlet valve. The cloths will remove any dust that may cling to joints in the tubing.

Growing Market for Central Vacs in Existing Homes

2011-11-10T09:05:00.000-08:00

Historically, more than two-thirds of all the central vacuum systems sold in the U.S. have been installed in new homes. But that's changing. More and more consumers are having their existing homes retrofitted for central vacuum systems. There are a variety of reasons for this.

For starters, BEAM dealers have been educating customers that almost any home can be retrofitted for a central vacuum system without damaging or replacing sections of interior walls. As long as tubing can be routed horizontally between joists and vertically through an interior wall, utility chase or cold air return, the home can be equipped with a central vacuum system. The only openings required in walls are no larger than an inlet valve.

Secondly, because of a volatile real estate market in many communities, a growing number of consumers are choosing to upgrade their existing homes, rather than sell and buy a new home. Central vacuum systesm have been shown to increase the value of homes, as well as to make the home environments cleaner and healthier.

A third factor is that many consumers want the added cleaning convenience a central vacuum system delivers. It's much easier to clean stairs with a hose that covers the entire staircase than trying to balance a portable vacuum on a stair tread, or to extend the central vacuum wand to reach ceiling corners, fans and vents.

To learn more about retrofitting a system into your home, contact your BEAM dealer.

Adapt Your Cleaning Routine to the Season

2011-10-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

Everywhere we look these days we see reminders that the cold dark days of winter will be here soon. For most of us, it means less time outdoors, driving to and from work in the dark and wearing layers of clothing.

I've also noticed that I've changed my cleaning routine.

The cleaning starts a little later in the day when there's enough natural light to see what we're doing. The hardwood floors get vacuumed more frequently to remove the leaves that blow in from outside whenever I open the garage door or front door. A BEAM Central Vacuum sure beats a broom for removing leaves. And raking the yard is overrated.

Speaking of outdoor issues, some Asian beetles were introduced to the Midwest several years ago as a way to control other insect pests in farm fields. They look like ladybugs, but an insect expert told me once they're a different species. The problem is they have become pests in their own right and cling to the south wall and window of the house and often find their way inside. And they occasionally bite.

So last week, I pulled out the ultimate weapon -- my 30-foot central vacuum hose, and got every last one of them, removed the bucket, wrapped it in a plastic bag and drove five miles out to the countryside and liberated my catch.

Is Your Home Ready for the Chill?

2011-10-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

With several remaining weeks of nearly perfect weather remaining, thoughts are starting to turn to the fall and winter heating season and how best to prepare for it.

Is there enough insulation in the attic or over the garage?
Is the furnace in good working order?
Is it time to re-caulk around windows and doors?

Another thing to consider should be the air quality in your home. Afterall, the windows will likely stay shut in most American homes from November to March. That means the air quality inside the home could get worse. The pet dander, dust mites, other allergens and smoke from the fireplace or elsewhere, will be trapped.

As you know, BEAM Central Vacuum Systrems improve indoor air quality by completely removing contacted dirt and allergens from the living area.

If you own a system there are a couple of things you should consider this fall to keep your central vacuum system at peak performance.

Empty the system's collection bucket. Doing so now will mean less frequent trips to a cold garage or basement this winter.

Clean the tubing system. Most BEAM dealers offer specially design cloths that remove dust residue from central vacuum inlet valves and tubing. Simply vacuum the cloth into the system and it will clean the tubing all the way to the collection bucket.

BEAM Exhibits at CEDIA

2011-09-07T12:59:00.000-07:00

Members of the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association (CEDIA) will get an opportunity to learn first-hand how they can enhance homeowners' indoor air quality and grow their custom installation business with BEAM Central Vacuum Systems.

BEAM will be among exhibitors at this year's CEDIA Expo in Indianapolis. CEDIA members, including many current BEAM dealers, will learn about the Serenity IQS Central Vacuum System, BEAM Q PowerTeam and Hide-A-Hose, a complete central vacuum hose system that retracts into the central vacuum system's tubing, eliminating the need to carry a hose from inlet to inlet.

CEDIA members also will attend training sessions covering a variety of topics ranging from sales techniques to installation.

Builder Survey Ranks BEAM No. 1 in Quality

2011-06-10T13:02:00.000-07:00

Builders and contractors have ranked BEAM by Electrolux as the highest quality central vacuum systems on the market for the seventh year in a row, according to an annual survey of more than 3,000 builders and contractors.

“Builders and buyers of new homes have great experiences with BEAM Central Vacuum Systems,” says Brian Campbell, senior product manager for BEAM. “For builders, that means more satisfied customers and few call-backs. For home buyers, it means years of reliable, deep-cleaning performance and healthier indoor air.”

The survey sponsored by Hanley Wood, the publisher of Builder magazine, examined respondents’ familiarity, usage and quality perceptions of brands in 81 product categories from appliances to windows.

To determine builders’ quality preferences, respondents rated central vacuum brands on a scale of one to seven, with seven being “excellent.” BEAM earned an average score of 5.51.

The survey also found that the number of builders who installed BEAM systems in their homes increased by 31 percent since Hanley Wood’s previous survey released in 2010. More than one-fifth of builders and contractors have had BEAM Central Vacuum Systems installed in their homes during the past two years. READ MORE.

No Installation Challenge Too Great for Resourceful Dealer

2011-05-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

Central vacuum system dealers pride themselves in their abilities to install systems in nearly any home, new or existing. Installation generally can be more complex in existing homes. However, dealers occasionally find new home installations that seem intimidating. That was the case for Jerry Nelson, owner of Central Vacuum Systems of Northern California, when he won the bid to install a BEAM Central Vacuum System in a 22,000-square-foot mansion in northern California'a wine country.

The house was built on slab and included several areas with 30-foot ceilings and no attic space – making it impossible to run tubing horizontally. Adding to the complexity was a dual winding staircase – reminiscent of the one featured in the movie classic, Gone With the Wind. Nelson also needed to install a system to clean an 8,000-square-foot detached office and garage where the home owner planned to keep classic cars.

In all, the installation required 33 inlet valves and three KickSweep Automatic Dustpans.

When he measured the house for the first time Nelson began to worry, “Did I bite off more than I could chew?”

Then the idea struck him. Much like a heating and air conditioning contractor might install zoned HVAC systems, Nelson decided zoned cleaning systems would solve the problem.

"I mentally broke the house down into five separate systems and provided five power units strategically located to service all areas of the house,” Nelson says. “A sixth unit was installed in the detached garage.”

BEAM Helps Stop the Sneezing, Wheezing

2011-05-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

May has been designated as National Allergy and Asthma Awareness Month for good reason. It’s the time of year when nearly 60 million allergy and asthma patients suffer the most. Maybe you are one of them.

It’s also the best time to find out the triggers for your allergy symptoms. If you're like most people a combination of particulates may be the problem -- household dust and dust mites, pet dander, pollen and many more. Controlling your exposure to these allergens can spell the difference between comfort and misery.

Using a BEAM Central Vacuuum System can reduce allergy symptoms by up to 61 percent. And it's the only central vacuum system clincially proven to relieve allergies. It does so by removing 100 percent of contacted dust and allergens from the living area. And it doesn't blow air ito the living area to stir up surface dust.

So for those airborne allergens in the house, BEAM also provides HEPA Air Filtration Systems that eliminate 99.98 percent of particulates from the air.

Together, a BEAM Central Vacuum System and HEPA Air Filtration System means that you breathe easy.

Improving Indoor Air in Vision House

2011-03-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

When husband-wife builders John Plevich and Kim Foy set out to build one of central Florida’s most sturdy and energy efficient homes, they were determined not to solve one issue by creating another. As a result healthy indoor air quality plays as important a role in Vision House 2011 as energy efficiency.

“Because we were building such a tight building envelope, we had to make sure we kept good control of the indoor air quality,” Foy, co-owner of Southern Traditions Developers, says of the Green Builder magazine-sponsored demonstration home in Orlando’s College Park neighborhood.

The 2,500 square foot main house plus 500-square-foot guest suite over the garage were built to meet guidelines of the “Blueprint for Safety: A Stronger Shade of Green” program administered through the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes. The program promotes building homes that not only meet traditional green building guidelines and are strong enough to withstand hurricanes and other forces of nature. As a result, insulated concrete forms provide a secure shell for Vision House that also forms a thick, energy efficient thermal blanket that limits interior temperature swings.

Although Southern Traditions rarely had installed central vacuum systems in previous custom home projects, Foy says this case was different. The BEAM Serenity QS Central Vacuum System that was installed in the Vision House delivers 600 air watts of quiet cleaning power to remove all contacted dust and allergens from interior surfaces.

“With this house, we were excited to try it. In order to keep the dust down and everything, it was recommended to us that a central vacuum is a good way to increase the indoor air quality,” she adds. “So we did it and we actually love it.

Since Vision House opened to the public, Foy and Plevich have sold several additional homes, all with central vacuum systems.

“We build for a lot of young families and one of the things they talk about is having really good air quality,” she says. “There’s so much talk about cancer and allergies and things like that, especially the moms are concerned about those types of things out of concern for their children.”

Adding further to the home’s appeal is its price. Foy says home dispels a widely accepted myth that green building is costly. The Vision House was built for less than $150 per square foot.

“It doesn’t take a whole lot of extra money for things that are good for you,” Foy says. “The Vision House really pushes the envelope and demonstrates things that you can do any time you build that don’t require a lot of money.”

Eyes Watering?

2011-03-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

This week marks the beginning of the Cherry Blossom festival in Washington, D.C. And although much of the nation is enduring the final gasps of the winter season, the blossoms are an early warning sign that allergy season will soon be here.

While most of the media attention focuses on "outdoor" allergens, the allergens indoors pose the greater problem. The dust mite shown here is a major cause of allergy misery. Dust mite allergies worsen as the humidity increases in spring and summer. Add to that the outdoor pollen that gets into the house when the windows fly open in the spring. The result for many allergy sufferers is a long season of sneezing, watery eyes, sleepless nights ands a host of other problems.

Your BEAM Central Vacuum System is a valuable took to battle indoor allergies because it captures more dust than a conventional vacuum without stirring up dust and allergens in the living area. In fact it's been clinically proven to relieve allergy symptoms by up to 61 percent.

Angie's List Creator Explains Benefits of Central Vacuums

2011-03-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

Angie Hicks is one of the country's top consumer advocates. So she knows a good thing when she sees it. Hicks is Indiana woman who created Angie's List, the online service where you can check on any number of products and service providers to see how their customers rate their services or products.

Recently, she was interviewed by a television station and talked about how a central vacuum is a nice alternative for consumers who want an easier way to clean their homes. The television story also featured the BEAM Q PowerTeam and an interview segment with BEAM dealer Ryan English of Vacuums and More in suburban Indianapolis.

Central Vacuuum Systems Not Just for New Homes

2011-03-11T11:53:00.000-08:00

Tim Carter is one of the country's top experts on building and remodeling homes. He's a former builder who now shares his expertise with homeowners throughout the country in a syndicated column, he writes for more than 200 newspapers.

Click on "Ask the Builder" and see the column he recently published that explains how a central vacuum system can be installed in virtually any home -- new or existing. It's very informative, especially for those of you who never considered a central vacuum for your existing home.

Dealer Celebrates Milestone with Free Central Vac

2011-03-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Gary and Val Bock of Moorhead, Minn., are the proud owners of a BEAM Serenity QS Central Vacuum System and BEAM Q PowerTeam, thanks to Valley Central Vacuum of Fargo, N.D.

Gary Bock (center), David Ruzicks (right)
and Brady Boyd from BEAM

The dealership celebrated its first year in business with a special promotion that included a drawing for a complete system and installation.

The winning entry also demonstrated how easily a central vacuum system can be installed in an existing home. Valley Central Vacuum owner David Ruzicka says the entire installation in the Bocks’ 40-year-old home took less than a day and required no removal of interior walls.

BEAM Co-sponsors NextGen Flex Home

2011-01-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, BEAM co-sponsored the NextGen Flex Home at the International Builders Show. The home was built by Champion Builders and assembled just outside Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center. It is a home that takes into account the ever-changing needs of the American family. It provided builders with a learning laboratory where they could see how a home can meet the needs of digitally sophisticated, energy and health-conscious consumers and be fully functional for aging-in-place and disabled homeowners at the same time.

A key reason BEAM chose to participate in the project was the fact that this home is being donated to an American hero. U.S. Army veteran Waldemar Alameda was severely wounded by an IED explosion while serving in Tikrit, Iraq. He suffers from severe leg and back pain, and while he can walk short distances, he uses a wheel chair most of the time. In addition he is diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and mild post traumatic stress disorder. The NextGen Flex House will offer a comfortable, functional place for Mr. Alameda to raise his family in close proximity to the VA Medical Center where he undergoes rigorous physical therapy. The family will move into the house in March.

The ABC affiliate in Tampa covered the home's relocation to its new foundation.

Less is More

2011-01-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

The recent International Builders Show brought to life the adage, "The Best Things Come in Small Packages."

Builders today are building homes that are an average of 200- to 300 square feet smaller than they were just a few years ago. They're also healthier and much more energy efficient. And many of the products featured at the show were products that help make smaller homes more livable.

A big draw at the BEAM booth was the new Hide-A-Hose. It stores the entire central vacuum hose within the tubing inside the wall. You simply pull out the length of hose you need, start cleaning, then use the power of the central vacuum system to retract the hose into the inlet valve when finished.

Not far from the convention center in Orlando, sits the KB Home Greenhouse. It's Builder magazine's latest concept house and it was designed by Martha Stewart. The 2,667 square foot home is so efficent, it produces as much energy as it uses. It also includes a BEAM Serenity IQS Central Vacuum System to help maintain healthy indoor air quality.

Pictured at left is D.J. Singleton, BEAM's Southwestern Territory Sales Representative, with the Serenity power unit during a reception at the concept house

Hopeful Sign for Housing

2010-12-22T12:10:00.000-08:00

The Commerce Department recently announced some encouraging news for the people who build homes and consumers who want to buy them. Single-family housing starts increased by 6.9 percent in November.

It was the first monthly increase since August. The National Association of Homebuilders says the jump in housing starts reflects the need of many builders to replenish their inventory of new homes for the Spring 2011 buying season. The fact that builders believe their inventories of new homes are too low is a good sign. But it's also clear that builders have learned important lessons during the past three years. There may be more buyers in 2011, but they'll be very discriminating. Many of them will be looking for more value, more features, healthier living environments and energy savings.

The fact that BEAM Central Vacuum Systems improve indoor air quality means that if you're shopping for a new home in 2011, there's a good chance that a BEAM system will be either a standard feature or an affordable upgrade.

A Novel Approach to Marketing Green

2010-11-29T13:17:00.000-08:00

We ran across a series of articles in the current issue of Builder & Developer magazine about Pardee Homes and a variety of new residential communities the company is building in California. Pardee is a Los Angeles-based homebuilder wirth communities throughout southern California and Nevada that has some innovative approaches to market its green homes.

Pardee promotes a variety of specific options packages under the umbrella brand of LivingSmart.

For homebuyers whose top priority is cutting energy usage, there's the EnergySmart package that includes added insulation, efficient heating and cooling equipment and so on.

There's HealthSmart for those whose priority is indoor air quality. BEAM Central Vacuum Systems, low or no VOC paints and air filtration systems are among the products included in that package.

There's also WaterSmart that stresses water use efficiency and EarthSmart that uses building materials produced from sustainable resources.

We encourage you to check out this month's issue.

Oh, no! Cabin Fever Will Soon Be Here

2010-11-12T14:07:00.000-08:00

The switch back to standard time and news of snows in the upper Midwest, Northeast and Rocky Mountain states mean that the winter season is fast approaching. It won't be long until the dog becomes a snow bird -- vacating the dog house for a few months inside the family home.

Millions of us prepare for the season by caulking around the windows, weatherstripping the doors. Those are good things to do to conserve energy. But at what cost?

The more tightly we seal our homes to keep out the cold, the more difficult we make it for bad indoor air, pet dander and dust mites to get out of the house.

Here are three things that will help you keep your home healthier this winter.

Run your central vacuum system more frequently so that you remove as much dust and allergens as possible from the living area.
Do your best to keep the home ventilated -- even if it means opening a window or two when the outside temperature permits.
Change your furnace filters at least once per month and better yet, install a BEAM HEPA Air Filtration System.

BEAM, Builder, KB Home and Martha Stewart Omnimedia Team Up on Showcase Home

2010-11-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

A BEAM Serenity™ QS Central Vacuum System will be among the indoor environmental quality features of the KB Home GreenHouse™: An Idea Home Created with Martha Stewart. The home will be a focal point of the 2011 International Builders Show in Orlando.

In addition to the home design from one of the country’s leading lifestyle experts, the KB Home GreenHouse will demonstrate to consumers that this environmentally friendly home not only provides a healthy living environment, but also saves energy and water through the use of solar and thermal systems and meeting EPA's WaterSense for new homes specifications. It will be the first net-zero energy, single-family home in the Concept Home series produced by Builder magazine since 1998.

Central vacuum systems are an important component of green building because they completely remove contacted dust and allergens from the living area.

Find out more at http://beamvac.com/usa/press_center/beam-central-vacuum-to-be-featured-in-builder-concept-home-2011.aspx

BEAM Making Waves at CEDIA

2010-09-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

Most everyone has seen or heard about the annual Consumer Electronics Show that is held in Las Vegas every year. Well a not-to-distant cousin is about to have it's annual event across the country in Atlanta.

It's the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association's annual convention and trade show, the CEDIA Expo. The members of CEDIA are the businesses that sell and install home electronics -- everything from home audio and home theatre to security systems. In fact many of the top BEAM dealers in the U.S. are members of CEDIA and will be attending the show.

It's also a place where manufacturers make waves -- and not just those that make audio systems. BEAM will be introducing a number of new products to dealers that are bound to show up in dealer showrooms during the next several months. We'll showcase those products here next week. BEAM will be helping CEDIA members with a series of seminars featuring Rodney Webb -- one of the top sales consultants in the home products industry.

When All Days are Dog Days

2010-07-27T13:21:00.000-07:00

We're in that period of mid-summer commonly referred to as "dog days." My guess is the name has a lot to do with the fact that it's hot outside and the time of year when people like to take it easy, like a dog sleeping under a shade tree.

If you suffer from allergies and have pets in the home, dog days can last the entire year. Millions of people are allergic to pet dander and when they explain the problem to their doctor, they're frequently told to get rid of the pet. Now who really wants to do that?

Instead, perhaps there are lessons to be learned from veterinarians. A growing number of vets are installing BEAM central vacuum systems in animal hospitals and pet clinics across the country for a number of reasons:

The BEAM system removes dander from exam rooms, waiting rooms and surgical suites. That's expecially helpful for dog owners who are allergic to cat dander.

It doesn't blow air into the room to stir up the pet hair shed or shaved from animals undergoing treatment.

And it allows the clinc staff to clean exam rooms more quickly between appointments. That allows the vet to treat more pets each day -- get more work done.

So, if the BEAM Central Vacuum System can do all of these things in a veterinarian's office, imagine how it could work in your home.

Home Show Time

2010-07-01T11:22:00.000-07:00

One of the interesting things that happens each summer is the annual Home Show. You've probably been to some -- a subdivision of newly constructed homes loaded with about every bell and whistle imaginable. Like most people who go to home shows, I'm not in the market to buy a new house, but I am in the market for great ideas: the newest, most interesting built-ins, and great designs. I suspect home shows deserve credit for the demise of the avocado-colored refrigerator.

These shows have changed during the past couple of years. Oh the granite counters, vessel sinks and stainless steel appliances are still there. But I've also noticed builders are placing major emphasis on technology and "green" features like Energy Star appliances, high-efficiency HVAC systems, and central vacuums and air filtration systems for improved indoor air quality.

We'd like to hear what you look for at a home show and whether you like the growing focus on green products.

A Breath of Fresh Air

2010-06-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Seems like most of the country has missed out on a normal spring -- going from the chill of a nasty winter right into a hot and sultry early summer. As a result, the house has been closed up for weeks and the air is getting stale.

There are plenty of air filtration products on the market -- some good, others, not so much. The best solution is a whole-house filtration system like the HEPA Air Filtration Systems manufactured for BEAM. Two models are built-in systems that connect to the air return of forced air heating and cooling equipment. A portable model also is available. The systems provide three levels of filtration and removes 99.97 percent of particulates 0.3 microns or larger -- particles as small as smoke and many airborne viruses. The result is indoor air quality that is as good or better than most hospitals.

In fact, Stuart Krawll owner of BEAM of St. Louis, arranged to have two systems installed to treat the air in tents that were set up in a parking ramp to handle emergency room overflow of H1N1 and other respiratory patients at St. Louis Children's Hospital. Here's the full story.

Ten Facts You May Not Know About Central Vacuums

2010-06-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to David Letterman, almost everybody has a top Top 10 list. So why not have one here?
Here are 10 good reasons to consider adding a central vacuum system to your home.

1. Indoor air quality ranks just behind energy efficiency in importance to home buyers.

2. Central vacuum systems improve indoor air quality. They remove 100 percent of contacted dust and allergens from the living space without stirring up dust.

3. Beam Central Vacuum Systems have been clinically proven to reduce allergy symptoms up to 61 percent.

4. Installing a central vacuum systems earns 5 Indoor Environmental Quality points in the new NAHB Green Building Standards and 1 point in the LEED for Homes Program.

5. About one-third of luxury homes and one-fifth of move-up homes are equipped with central vacuums and those ratios are growing as more and more builders offer central vacs as standard features.

6. A central vacuum system adds value to a home – typically more than the $1,000-$1,2000 cost of installing a system in an average home.

7. Each central vacuum inlet valve can handle 700-750 square feet of living space.

8. While installation generally is easier in new construction, virtually any existing home can be retrofitted with a central vacuum system in less than one day.

9. In new construction, central vacuum systems can be roughed in at the same time as electrical, HVAC and plumbing rough-ins.

10. Central vacuum systems are sold and installed by independent dealers. Electrolux Central Vacuum Systems – manufacturer of Beam Central Vacuums, has a network of nearly 800 dealers throughout the U.S.

Worst Places for Allergy Sufferers

2010-06-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Anyone who suffers from seasonal allergies already is aware that 2010 has been a pretty miserable year. The Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America has just come out with its list of Spring Allergy Capitals for 2010. The list ranks 100 communities across the country on the basis of pollen counts, the prevalence of allergy medication use and the ratio of Board-certified allergists per patient. The list shows this year has been especially miserable for those who live in the mid-South and the Midwest.

Knoxville, Tenn., tops the list followed by Louisville and Chattanooga. The rest of the top 10 cities include Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; Greensboro, N.C.; Jackson, Miss.; St. Louis; and Wichita.

Find out where your community ranks.

Green Home at Entry Level Price?

2010-05-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Conventional wisdom suggests that a "green" home will cost about 5- to 10 percent more than a conventionally built home. Mike Kargar is putting that notion to rest in Daytona Beach, Fla. Karger, who used to build million-dollar homes, is now building starter homes that include several green features common in the most expensive new homes on Florida's Atlantic Coast.

Foam insulation and energy efficient furnaces assure low utility costs and BEAM Central Vacuum and HEPA Air Filtration systems improve the homes' indoor air quality. All are standard features in Kargar's Masters Glen subdivision in Daytona Beach's fashionable LPGA International golf course community.

The homes range in size from 1,500 to 2,500 square feet with prices starting at $169,900.

Men Don't Cry

2010-05-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

My Dad was the epitome of stoicism. He almost never showed his emotions, unless I’d done something stupid. His mantra was, “Men don’t cry.” Well, he never suffered from allergies. But I do, and every spring, my eyes would look like I’d just watched the movie Rudy. Same thing happened with my 100-pound Labrador. The pollen outside had gotten inside every spring when I opened the windows to let in fresh air. Within a couple hours the eyes start to itch and tears begin streaming down my face.

Rather than face a life of daily allergy medications, I decided to try to manage my interior environment by getting the pollen and pet dander out of the house. I started being a lot more careful about opening windows – leaving windows closed on extremely windy days. I used to wait six months before replacing furnace filters. Now I change them every month. And my wife and I installed our Beam Serenity Central Vacuum System, and we use it at least twice per week.

Since then, I’ve managed to follow my Dad’s mantra, except for the time I watched the ending of The Bucket List.