The Z-Wave-based home management solutions are now available in Fry’s stores across the nation, making it the first retailer nationwide to offer affordable energy savings for the whole home.
Yan Rodriguez, Director, Home Networking & Access with Wayne-Dalton, one of the members of the Z-Wave Alliance, said, “Our offerings at Fry’s will provide consumers with easy to install wireless products that can solve real challenges for today’s busy homeowner including energy conservation, enhanced safety and security, and remote home management from a PC or cell phone, to name a few.”
The Z-Wave display will feature products from three Z-Wave Alliance members -- Wayne-Dalton, Hawking Technologies and GE -- to provide a one-stop shopping resource for Z-Wave-enabled home automation and control solutions.
We’re Still Getting Greener - Gradually, WSL Pulse Report Reveals
We’re Still Getting Greener - Gradually, WSL Pulse Report Reveals
Shoppers who are squeezed for cash have not been forced to trade-off the often pricier sustainable products, according to WSL Strategic Retails’ Pulse Report. Of course, some of what is sustainable is also cheaper in the long run - like CFL bulbs - but clearly being Green is important enough to many to escape the squeeze.
The most popular Green behavior is also the easiest - buying those CFL light bulbs (62% vs. 59% a year ago), while almost half of us are now choosing energy saving appliances (+2% over 2007). Almost a third of us (31%) say we’re using those re-usable grocery bags. Around a quarter of us are being proactively green - either by looking for biodegradable/recyclable packaging (28% up 4%), consciously avoiding products which have too much packaging (27%) and shopping at stores where sustainability is a priority like Wal-Mart (22% - up 4%).
Fully 84% of those over 55 are trying to conserve energy compared to 67% of those under 35. In some areas like switching from a gas guzzling SUV to a fuel-miser like a Prius, younger people are the most likely to be going Green -though saving money is probably as important as saving the planet.
Americans Ready To Spend More On
Greening Up Their Home, Survey Shows
Many Americans are going green when it comes to their homes, according to the findings of the Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Living Green Consumer Survey. Despite “cost” being singled out by 36% of respondents as the greatest impediment to going green, half of those surveyed have paid more money for an energy efficient product in the past 12 months and one in three homeowners (30%) claim they would be willing to spend $5,000 or more on green improvements to increase a home’s appeal to potential buyers.
“As their environmental awareness grows, American homeowners are beginning to take action on green issues and are willing to spend their money accordingly,” said Sherry Chris, President, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. “This survey confirms that homeowners are identifying greater value in green and when the time comes to sell their homes, they will look to convert high consumer awareness levels on the green issue into a market differentiator.”
Older Demographics Biggest Users Of Green Products, Says ICOM Survey
Bucking the belief that environmentalism is a youth movement, consumers over 55 years old are the most prolific users of green products in the U.S., according to survey results released by ICOM Information & Communications. Both male and female groups 55 years and over reported above average usage of environmentally friendly home goods. Leading the way was the 55-59 year-old female demographic, who was more than twice as likely as the average consumer to use green products. Males 65-69 years old were second, more than 1.7 times as likely to use than the average American.
Peter Meyers, ICOM’s V.P., Marketing, said “While the numbers show that significant inroads have been made with the older demographics, they also suggest untapped potential in prime younger consumer groups to engage them with eco-friendly products. The data suggests that targeting these groups with more calculated offers - such as at slightly more aggressive price points, appealing to their personal values or reinforcing the true benefits for the environment - could introduce green products to a new, promising consumer base.”
Sterling Promotions
Green Mountain Coffee Brings Single-Cup Brewing
To Grocery Stores
Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig, are providing their single-cup brewers and patented K-Cup® portion packs to grocery stores. A new single-cup brewer from Keurig is available exclusively at grocery locations. In addition, Green Mountain Coffee has debuted a new and compact 12-count box of K-Cups®, available in ten different varieties of coffee.
Husqvarna Launches Solar Robotic Lawn Mower
Husqvarna’s Automower Solar Hybrid is a fully robotic lawn mower partly powered by the sun that uses no fuel or oil. Husqvarna’s Automower Solar Hybrid is powered by innovative technology that combines solar power with electricity. Incorporating solar and battery power, it uses considerably less energy than any conventional mower with its large integrated solar panel and is emissions-free.
Lower power consumption and an extended battery life enable a faster, more environmentally responsible cut.
Envision Introduces
Solar Shade Structures
Envision Solar has expanded its product line of photovoltaic shade structures to include two "flat-pack" easy to install modular shade structures, each with eight solar panels providing 1.4 kilowatt of clean energy. The LifeTree™ is a single post steel structure with a cantilevered canopy, and the LifeShade™ is a four-post structure made of Forestry Stewardship Council certified sustainable wood.
An electrician can connect the AC wiring from the structure to the house meter.
Fulton Debuts
Wireless Blender
Fulton Innovation, creator and exclusive licensor of eCoupled intelligent wireless power, has integrated its technology in a blender, which works without a power cord or cable by simply placing it on an eCoupled-enabled countertop or work surface.
“We’re especially excited to demonstrate wireless power fully integrated into a high-powered everyday appliance like the blender,” said Dave Baarman, Director of Advanced Technologies for Fulton Innovation.
WD-40 Conducts
‘The Last Straw Tour
The WD-40 Smart Straw has hit the road with ‘The Last Straw Tour’ to educate consumers about the product’s many uses and new permanently attached straw - the last straw your can of WD-40 will ever need.
The tour will make stops at retail outlets throughout Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Arkansas. It will also help increase awareness for Rebuilding Together®, a national nonprofit organization that provides free home repair and renovations for low-income homeowners.
Most of the tour stops will be at local Lowe’s retail locations, which will also feature WD-40 displays in select stores.
Fluke Mobile Merchandiser
The Fluke Mobile Merchandiser encourages customers to "test" Fluke products by getting them out from behind a sales counter where they are traditionally merchandised. The shelves have the operational test tools secured with a retractable cable. The shelf design enables the test product to be easily changed. The main display cabinet merchandises product on wire grid hooks, secured behind a locking clear door. The header signage is tailored to specific retail channels. The Fluke Mobile Merchandiser was created by Santa Cruz Icon, 244 Larita Drive, Ben Lomond, CA 95005.
Hunter Fan recently participated in a test to launch a new product category, home lighting control. SMS designed a fully interactive display complete with thirty seconds of voice-over audio, synchronized to 5 independent light boxes, each illuminated with ultra-bright LED clusters. A vacuum-formed casing housed the electronics, duratrans and a single illuminated push button, to create a shelf-to product display which functioned as both a brand and product salesman. For more information, contact SMS, 760 Lakeside Suite D, Gurnee, IL 60030.
Harbor has been developing and producing custom interactive displays for over 15 years. An integrated display means combining various interactive elements, such as print graphics, video displays (display or touch-screen), lenticular, lights, audio and more into a single display. Integrated displays, while attention-getting and more impactive than traditional displays, also provide consumers the opportunity to select the information they wish to receive in the manner they wish to receive it at the time they want to receive it. For more information, contact Harbor Industries, Inc., 14130 172nd Ave., Grand Haven, MI 49417.
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