A number of new technologies are being employed in newly built homes. These include improved robotic vacuum cleaners that integrate with the home layout, home appliances that interface with mobile computers, wet rooms, under floor heating, heated driveways, and ethanol fireplaces.
One recent innovation in home cleaning is the laser robot vacuum. Earlier robotic vacuum cleaners simply wandered around the house bumping into things, but laser robot vacuum cleaners can scan the house and make an internal map of it. This allows them to tell what areas have recently been clean, which still need to be done, and how to automatically return to its home base.
Increasingly, appliance companies are releasing “smart grid” home appliances that integrate with mobile applications. This means that users can monitor and control the appliances with their smartphones or tablets on the go. For example, it might be helpful to know that the dryer is done when on the opposite side of the house.
Heating and cooling systems such as geothermal ground source heating are great solutions for under floor heating. Geothermal heat pumps use the ground as a heat sink in the summer, and borrow heat from it in winter. The cooling system can use refrigerant, natural groundwater, or a combination of the two.
Wet rooms are a structural redefinition of the modern bathroom. The wasted space typical of in a separate shower stall and bathroom setup is eliminated; essentially, the entire room is a shower. This increases shower space while making the bathroom easier to keep clean. The floor is built at an appropriate gradient so that all water seeps into the drain.
For homes that could not justify the monetary or space cost of a built-in fireplace and chimney, ethanol fireplaces represent an affordable and environmentally friendly alternative. They are typically made with stainless steel and run on ethanol and other biofuels made from sugar cane or fruit. Another advantage over typical fireplaces is that they do not emit smoke or harmful gases.
.jpg)
