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By Home Ideas Editor, Tammy Crosby
With over 800 exhibitors at this year's International Builder's Show (IBS), there were plenty of new and innovative building products for consumers and builders to preview. Many offered interactive models, live demonstrations and of course Professional Builder returned for the 13th year with its Show Village where they showcased three distinct model homes — a net-zero energy cottage, urban infill duplex and Cape-cod inspired home. Each home featured dozens of interior and exterior home building products, which were chosen for their innovation and green attributes.
Here is a list of our editor's favorite home building products from IBS:
1 Homeowners and builders continue to look for alternative products to heat, cool and power their home. With the increase in awareness and advanced technology of solar products, companies like SolarWorld® are finally starting to shine in the home building industry. They offer SolarWorld® Sunkits, which are complete high-performance solar electric systems customized for your home and energy use. All of its components are made of aluminum and stainless steel making them extremely durable and efficient. You can expect the highest level of performance and quality, because each system includes their trademark Sunmodule™ solar panels. And SolarWorld has been doing this for a while, being the largest and greenest solar manufacturer in the world. Find out more by downloading the Sunkits™ Product Brochure.
2 The Riverby™ Enameled Cast Iron kitchen sink from Kohler® is ideal for smaller kitchens because it provides ample space to wash larger items. The new design is available in both undercounter and self-rimming versions and complemented by a colander with cutting board and stainless steel bottom basin rack. Choose from 18 colors to accent your kitchen's décor.
Riverby™ Single Basin | Model K-5871-1A2-0 | MSRP: $700
Bellera Faucet, Polished Chrome | Model K-560-CP | MSRP: $242
3 Another new solar product is the TAMKO® Solar Attic Vent, which is an innovative ventilation option that combines the beauty of a single unobtrusive unit with the benefits of a solar-powered system. This attractive vent is available in four mounting options and can be painted to blend with the color of your roof. So no energy is wasted, it comes with an optional cold-weather thermostat that will automatically shut off the fan when the temperature drops below 50 degrees.
TAMKO® Solar Attic Vent Surface Mount - Black | Model 31001286
4 Paint manufacturer Sherwin-Williams® came up with a really cool, interactive design tool called Chip It!, which is as easy and fun to use as Pinterest. In fact, it bares a close resemblance to Pinterest where you download a tool to your browser's toolbar, which allows you to take any image and drop it into the Chip It! site. Within seconds all the colors on your image will be pulled into a paint palette of over a 1,000 colors and displayed. You can easily save this paint project. I would say this new digital technology puts Sherwin-Williams® way ahead of its paint competitors.
5 How is this for cool, clean and efficient? The Parma Faucet is an automatic, hands-free faucet from Danze®. Simply place your hands in front of the sensor at the spout base and the water starts. It's perfect for water conservation, clean-up and messy hands. Their ingenious design lets you set the water to come on at predetermined temperature. And the flow stops when you put your hand in front of the sensor again or when the timer (which you can program) runs out. Of course, you can also use the handle manually like you would with an ordinary faucet.
Parma™ Dual Function Kitchen Faucet with Spray Product #D423058SS (Stainless Steel) | MSRP: $850
6 At IBS Rinnai® showcased its newly expanded Value Series featuring 180,000-BTU indoor and outdoor tankless units aimed at builders and homeowners looking for tankless water heater options without high upfront costs. The Value Series is ideal for smaller homes in warmer climates. They also introduced its new Scale Control System, which helps to ensure the performance and efficiency of Rinnai® tankless water heaters that are used in areas with hard water, a high concentration of mineral content that over time causes a build-up that reduces the efficiency of appliances that use water to operate.