NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire -06/27/12)- This time of year, the heat is literally on to make affordable, sustainable improvements to home comfort. "Our favorite products offer all kinds of savings," says Tom Kraeutler, home improvement expert and syndicated radio show host of The Money Pit. "They save water, electricity and even human energy, with simple installations and everyday convenience."

Kraeutler recommends five sustainable solutions for summer comfort.

Hands-free convenience for the kitchen"The MotionSense Arbor pulldown faucet provides hands-free kitchen convenience," says Kraeutler. "Just activate it with a few simple hand movements, and you can wash hands, clean dishes and prepare meals, all with greater water savings and reduced risk of cross-contamination." MotionSense's Wave Sensor and Ready Sensor allow hands-free water flow, with a side handle for manual operation. Featuring transitional styling, it's available in Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze or Spot Resist Stainless finishes. Learn more about MotionSense at http://www.moen.com.

Easy-care, efficient replacement windows"If you have old, drafty windows that are hard to open or need frequent scraping or painting, replace them with beautiful, energy-efficient windows from Andersen," says Kraeutler. "Andersen's 400 Series Tilt-Wash Double-Hung Insert Window is available at The Home Depot and is custom-sized to fit inside an existing window frame, with minimal disruption to your home." Easily installed from inside, it features a tilt-to-clean function for easy care and High-Performance Low-E4 glass. Design an efficient new view at http://www.andersenwindows.com.

Smarter lighting controlLights that are left on can be a big energy drain and bulk up your electric bill. Install the Lutron Maestro Occupancy Sensor, and lights will turn on automatically when you enter a room and off again when you leave. Maestro's sensing technology ensures that lights stay on when a room is occupied, and detects natural light so that fixtures only turn on when needed. It works with all types of light bulbs and doesn't need special wiring. Switch to automatic energy savings at http://www.lutron.com/occvacsensors.

Better bulbs for your bottom line"The right light can do wonders for your home's energy efficiency, ambience and comfort," says Kraeutler. "And Philips AmbientLED bulbs provide dimmable soft-white light that lasts over 22 years, on a fraction of the energy used by incandescents." Philips AmbientLED bulbs are available in a range of shapes and wattages, provide instant-on light, and are mercury-free. Find the right Philips AmbientLED bulb for any lighting fixture at http://www.philips.com/beautifullight.

Customized cooling for summerMitsubishi Electric residential cooling and heating systems provide energy-efficient comfort to specific rooms or a whole house, all without ductwork. "These compact cooling systems are 35% more energy-efficient than central A/C systems and 40% more energy-efficient than window units, and that means big savings during the hottest days of summer," says Segrete. Mitsubishi Electric cooling units have long-life allergen filters, a whisper-quiet sound level, and offer a variety of convenient control options. Design more efficient cooling at http://www.mehvac.com.

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Sustainable Home Solutions for Summer

In todays economy, people are trying to save some green by going green. Rob Rutherford, the president and co-owner of Nelson Homes, located in Arrington, is trying to help his clients do that by offering numerous options to become more energy efficient.

Each of the homes available through Nelson Homes is energy-star certified, a government-backed certification promoting energy efficiency. In order to be certified energy star, the home must be 20 to 30 percent more efficient than a standard home. Some of the things Rutherford offers in addition to the standard energy star appliances and better insulation are geothermal and solar technology.

Were trying to set ourselves apart in the industry, Rutherford said. We want to be the energy experts.

Nelson Homes, a 15-employee operation, sells different types of homes, but specializes in modular homes. The average Nelson Homes home sells between $180,000 and $220,000, including the installation. Nelson Homes has sold more than 400 homes around Virginia since it opened in late 2000. Four other companies branched out of Nelson Homes and include another sale site in Rustburg.

Rutherford committed to being an energy star home builder in 2007. This year, he committed to being a 100 percent energy star home builder.

Since 2007, Nelson Homes has built 39 Energy Star homes, 22 of them in the Lynchburg area with 21 certified in the past 12 months, the most for the area. The next highest is Long Meadows Inc. with 19 total homes, 16 of which are in Lynchburg and three of which were certified in the past 12 months.

One of the things Nelson Homes focuses on is improving the insulation to help keep heating and cooling costs low. Some of their methods are draft-stopping caulk and foam, a wrapped crawl space to prevent heat transfer in and out of the home through the floor, and thicker walls. The walls are made with two-by-six framing, instead of the usual two-by-four.

A tight, well insulated house thats the biggest bang for the buck, he said. About 29 percent of an annual energy bill for a single home is spent on heating and 17 percent on cooling, which are both affected by a homes insulation, Rutherford said.

Alternative technology, like solar electric panels to harvest and store electricity and solar thermal to heat water, are also available to lower energy costs.

People can also install geothermal technology, something Nelson Homes has recently begun pushing. Geothermal systems use consistent underground temperatures to help heat and cool a house. Geothermal usually saves between 40 to 70 percent on home heating and 20 to 50 percent on home cooling, according to Nelson Homes website.

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Nelson Homes pushing 'green'

Gilbert, Arizona (PRWEB) June 27, 2012

The Heat Is On And Its A/C Time!

Summer has arrived and A/C units are working overtime. As a homeowner the responsibility of having your comfort A/C system serviced and maintained is an important factor in assuring the longevity of that system and in keeping your home cool when the summer temps sizzle.

A/C Basics

Comfort air conditioning systems are designed to help keep people comfortable and to also provide healthy air quality. A complete air conditioning system is capable of adding and removing heat and moisture and of filtering and removing airborne substances, such as dust, allergens, and indoor pollutants from the space to be conditioned. When designing an air conditioning system, dehumidification and air flow are important factors to be considered in addition to temperature control.

A/C Maintenance

Properly maintaining air conditioning equipment is the best way to preserve your existing A/C system and to hedge your bet against expensive future repairs. A well maintained air conditioner will fail less frequently and will use less power and save you money. Be sure to have youre A/C system serviced no less than once a year, and in high dust areas a more frequent A/C serving may be required. Change your filter every month and make sure it fits tightly in the filter frame. If filters dont fit tightly then apply foam tape that can be found at local hardware store to the inside of the frame to assure a snug fit and to prevent dust and dirt from bypassing the filter.

A/C Repair

A/C Repairs can be expensive, and they can be repetitive. Air Conditioning units are machines and machines have a definite life expectancy. Wear and tear from operation under adverse conditions such as high ambient temperatures, dirty power supply, and transient voltage spikes from lightning storms and power company equipment failures can dramatically shorten the life of youre A/C unit, by causing damage to components and pushing the cost toward economic obsolescence.

A/C Replacement

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Air Conditioning Service Tips For The Homeowner! A/C Comfort 101

Despite the intensity of the fire when the first units arrived on scene, firefighters were able to save the majority of a two-story office building that caught fire Friday evening.

James Hartman, spokesman for Fire District 12, said the inclusion of firewalls in the buildings construction and the assistance the department received from other departments enabled firefighters to save approximately two-thirds of the building.

Firefighters with Fire District 12 were assisted by firefighters from Covington Fire, Fire District 4 (Mandeville), Fire District 8 (Abita Springs), Fire District 5 (Folsom) and Fire District 13 (Goodbee) as well as personnel from Acadian Ambulance, St. Tammany Parish Sheriffs Office and Covington Police as they battled the blaze at 2401 U.S. Highway 190 Friday evening.

The building housed Allstate Insurance Offices, D&S Surveyors, Inc., Law Office of Darrell R. Sims, a massage business and formerly housed Delta College.

A building at the back of the property, which now houses Delta College, was not harmed. The first call reporting the fire came in at 6:09 p.m., and the first units were on the scene by 6:14. The first firefighters on scene observed flames coming from the second story on the two-story office building and heavy black smoke billowing from the roof and windows. It appears the fire started in the front end of the building closest to the highway on the second floor.

Firewalls near the center of the building prevent much of the fire from spreading to the rear of the building.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Firewalls, mutual aide credited with saving building

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - A reopened police investigation has concluded that actor Dylan McDermott's mother was killed in 1967 by her now-dead gangster boyfriend.

Waterbury police reopened the investigation last year into Diane McDermott's death after Dylan McDermott contacted them with questions, the Republican-American newspaper reported (http://bit.ly/KX4WBx ) Sunday and Monday as part of a two-part series.

He was 5 years old when his mother was shot in February 1967. Her death was originally ruled an accident.

Police told the newspaper that the evidence they found would be enough to file murder charges against John Sponza, who lived with McDermott at the time. He had told authorities that McDermott accidently shot herself after picking up a gun he had been cleaning.

Sponza, who police say had ties to organized crime, was shot to death in 1972, his body found in the trunk of a car in a Waltham, Mass., grocery store parking lot.

The state's medical examiner, H. Wayne Carver, reviewed McDermott's autopsy and determined that the gun found near the body was too small a caliber to have been the weapon used to kill her. The wound also showed that the murder weapon had been pressed to the back of her head, according to his report.

Police Superintendent Michael Gugliotti also stumbled over some of the initial findings.

"What troubled me was that there was very little follow up other than the statement Sponza had given to police," Gugliotti said.

"Sponza is telling the police that night that he very rarely, if ever, had arguments, yet everyone we spoke to, including Dylan, who was only 5 at the time, remembered very violent, vicious arguments," he added. "Dylan vividly recalls the amount of times, not only flashing the gun, but pointing it at the kid, saying, 'Shut up and get out of here.' He's still probably traumatized by that."

Dylan McDermott, who won a Golden Globe in 1999 for his role on the TV drama "The Practice," declined to comment to the newspaper about the investigation. His sister, Robin Herrera, said she is relieved that the truth has been discovered.

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Conn. cops: Dylan McDermott's mom murdered in '67

Bruce Trowbridge is back in Wellsville and Bruces on Riverside, south of Wellsville, is open for business and ready to give consumers the best prices around on mattresses, carpets and furniture.

Trowbridge who graduated from Wellsville High School in 1971, has years of experience when it comes to both the installation and business end of the new business.

Ive been in this business since I was 19 years old. I started installing carpet for Cooks Carpet, Trowbridge said.

From there, Trowbridge went on to owning furniture and carpeting stores in Bolivar, Wellsville, Shinglehouse, Pa., and Coudersport, Pa. In 2008, he closed the store in Wellsville to move to Galeton, Pa. into the former Lush Brothers Store.

Since the fall of 2011, he has been in the process of renovating and expanding the Riverside store and three weeks ago the store opened for business.

I decided to move back here and retire while building something for my sons to take over, he said.

Trowbridge believes in offering honorable service at the best prices around.

Im the only store in the area that is able to carry LAZ-E-BOY recliners. Allegany County would never get LAZ-E-BOY if we didnt have the numbers or the display area, but we have the purchasing power of three stores behind us, he said.

"LAZ-E-BOY is the most recognized brand in recliners and has the largest variety and best warranty and well be able to price them lower than anyone else, he said.

Trowbridge is also proud to be one of the only carriers of Restonic mattresses. Pointing out that the mattresses are made in Buffalo, he said the Restonic bed is specially made to support the heaviest part of the human body the middle and not sag. Bruces also carries $250,000 worth of floor covering carpet, vinyl and laminate.

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Bruce's flooring shop open on Riverside

In the news release, Phototron to Close Greners.com Acquisition on July 9th, issued 26-Jun-2012 by Phototron Holdings, Inc. over PR Newswire, we are advised by the company that the media contact information for the press release should be Sterling Scott, 1-800-651-2837, sales@phototron.com, rather than Steve Haas, as originally issued. The complete, corrected release follows:

GARDENA, Calif., June 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Phototron Holdings, Inc. (PHOT), a leading technology supplier to the hydroponic growing industry, today announced that its acquisition of Greners.com will close on July 9, 2012. Greners.com is a leading gardening website that sells everything from cutting and propagation to complete indoor lighting systems.

"We are excited to announce the closing of our acquisition of Greners.com, the premier hydroponics online supply business in North America," said Sterling Scott, the CEO of Phototron Holdings, Inc. "We have long admired the breadth of their product line, customer service and knowledgeable staff."

The acquisition of Greners.com, a leading contender to become the quintessential online hydroponics superstore, is expected to synergistically enhance revenues and profits for both Phototron and its GrowLife Companies. The move also represents a significant milestone in the company's efforts to distinguish itself from others in the space.

"The team at Phototron/GrowLife have been great to work with," said Tao Klauenburch, Co-President of Greners.com. "Even in advance of the closing, we have been working together to coordinate operations and increase our cross selling amongst the GrowLife companies. It is an exciting time for our industry and we are very pleased to join our companies together."

About Greners.com

Greners.com is a leading gardening website that sells the best of everything you need to grow your garden. Featured are the products from the most reliable companies backed by the best warranties for sale at the best price. On Greners.com you will find all the tools for cutting and propagation to complete indoor lighting systems. Growing mediums, soils, bulbs, ballasts, reflectors, meters, timers, growing accessories, climate control equipment, LED grow lights and hydroponic systems. For more information, please visit: http://www.greners.com.

About Phototron Holdings, Inc.

Phototron Holdings, Inc. (PHOT) (PHOT) is a progressive company with core holdings in innovative technology based products and services for home gardening specialty markets including Stealth Grow LED brand LED grow lights and the Phototron single plant systems and accessories. For more information visit http://www.stealthgrow.comand http://www.phototron.com.

For comprehensive investor relations material please follow the appropriate link: Investor Presentation, Investor Portal and Investor Fact Sheet.

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/C O R R E C T I O N -- Phototron Holdings, Inc./

GARDENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Phototron Holdings, Inc. (PHOT), a leading technology supplier to the hydroponic growing industry, today announced that its acquisition of Greners.com will close on July 9, 2012. Greners.com is a leading gardening website that sells everything from cutting and propagation to complete indoor lighting systems.

We are excited to announce the closing of our acquisition of Greners.com, the premier hydroponics online supply business in North America, said Sterling Scott, the CEO of Phototron Holdings, Inc. We have long admired the breadth of their product line, customer service and knowledgeable staff.

The acquisition of Greners.com, a leading contender to become the quintessential online hydroponics superstore, is expected to synergistically enhance revenues and profits for both Phototron and its GrowLife Companies. The move also represents a significant milestone in the companys efforts to distinguish itself from others in the space.

The team at Phototron/GrowLife have been great to work with, said Tao Klauenburch, Co-President of Greners.com, Even in advance of the closing, we have been working together to coordinate operations and increase our cross selling amongst the GrowLife companies. It is an exciting time for our industry and we are very pleased to join our companies together.

About Greners.com

Greners.com is a leading gardening website that sells the best of everything you need to grow your garden. Featured are the products from the most reliable companies backed by the best warranties for sale at the best price. On Greners.com you will find all the tools for cutting and propagation to complete indoor lighting systems. Growing mediums, soils, bulbs, ballasts, reflectors, meters, timers, growing accessories, climate control equipment, LED grow lights and hydroponic systems. For more information, please visit: http://www.greners.com.

About Phototron Holdings, Inc.

Phototron Holdings, Inc. (PHOT) (PHOT) is a progressive company with core holdings in innovative technology based products and services for home gardening specialty markets including Stealth Grow LED brand LED grow lights and the Phototron single plant systems and accessories. For more information visit http://www.stealthgrow.com and http://www.phototron.com.

For comprehensive investor relations material please follow the appropriate link: Investor Presentation, Investor Portal and Investor Fact Sheet.

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Phototron to Close Greners.com Acquisition on July 9th

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

(GE) Brookshire Brothers (Lufkin, Texas) operates 72 retail supermarkets in an area covering Texas and Louisiana. Supporting its simple mission to Create a satisfied customer! the company recently launched a facility-wide lighting update including in-store, parking lot, exterior signage and refrigerated case fixtures. Using a myriad of new linear fluorescent lighting (LFL) and LED technologies from GE Lighting, Brookshire Brothers will, once all of its stores have been completed, reduce its annual operating costs more than $235,000 while establishing a model for energy-efficient lighting renovations at its stores.

When we looked at options to impact our total energy costs, we identified several areas at different stores where new lighting, including LED fixtures, made a compelling case, both indoors and out, said Eric Johnson, director of construction for Brookshire Brothers. Shortly after we met with our GE Lighting team to understand the anticipated electricity and maintenance savings, then made what was an easy decision to move forward.

Indoor retrofits return significant savings

Re-lamping of linear fluorescent lighting (LFL) fixtures is now complete at 69 Brookshire Brothers locations where GEs more energy-efficient 28-watt T8 has replaced 32-watt bulbs in approximately 450 four-lamp fixtures per 30,000-square-foot supermarket. These efforts include the replacement of existing ballasts with GEs high-efficiency UltraMax electronic ballasts as needed. Each UltraMax ballast installed will create additional energy savings of approximately eight watts per fixture.

Brookshire Brothers will save an average $3,200 per store per year in electricity expense after switching to GEs 28-watt solution a more than $220,000 annual cost benefit to the company based on a $.09 kWh electricity rate and 12 hours use per day. The company plans to explore even more efficient 25-watt GE lamps and UltraStart ballasts to suit future needs.

Outdoor area light efficiency adds up

Five supermarket parking lots, including company headquarters, have thus far been retrofit with GE Evolve LED Area Lights, bringing high-quality white illumination and energy savings to these spaces. Brookshire Brothers first worked closely with GE to create improved new lighting designs in the lots. GEs 210-watt Area Lights displaced 400-watt high-intensity discharge (HID) fixtures in two lots while in the others, 1,000-watt HIDs were replaced by 270-watt Area Lights.

As a result of this substantial watts-per-fixture reduction, Brookshire Brothers will save more than $14,000 annually in electricity costs and further stands to diminish maintenance time and expense. Where its 400- and 1,000-watt HID fixtures had been rated for 20,000- and 15,000-hours life respectively, GEs new Area Lights have a rated life of 50,000 hours.

Other LED installations cut cost

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Southern Supermarket Chain Rings-Up $235,000 in Energy Savings with Full Cart of GE Lighting Solutions

EPM Architects announced today the opening of the newly expanded state-of-the-art Microsoft EPM Training and Solution Center in Houston, Texas. Upon the June 8th completion date, the new Center opened its doors to the first class.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) June 26, 2012

EPM Architects decided to nearly triple their capacity because of the growing demand for their Microsoft Project 2010 and Project Server 2010 courses and implementations. Students have been so impressed with the quality of the training and caliber of the instructors that demand has been steadily rising. To meet this demand, the training center went from providing enrollment for 12 attendees to now offering availability of up to 50 attendees a day in a multiclass facility. Along with expanding their space, they are also increasing their curriculum. Currently, students can earn up to 28 PDUs by attending EPM Architects Microsoft Project 2010 and Project Server 2010 courses, and with the new growth they will offer fundamental and intermediate Project Management courses as well.

EPM Architects President and CEO, Michael Samadi, commented, Recently, at the PMI Annual Conference and Expo, I had an opportunity to present to over 500 attendees. When I asked the audience how many had used Microsoft Project, nearly every attendee raised their hand. However, less than 10 felt that the Microsoft Project training they had received was valuable or worth the money they spent. Mr. Samadi added, Our training is second to none, our material is entirely internally authored and our curriculum is carefully produced based on the real world experience of our team. Our hands on labs and the flow of the courses are so well thought out, that every student has followed up with praise for our instructors and courses.

The center is located at 6300 West Loop South in prestigious Bellaire, Texas, and is conveniently situated directly off I-610 at Bissonnet, just west of Downtown. The location is near two major airports, the Galleria, the Museum District, the Medical Center, and an abundance of restaurants and hotels. The new center offers ample free covered parking and a fully equipped lunch and break room.

In celebration of the new opening, EPM Architects will be giving away two $1,000 training vouchers every month for the rest of the year. On the third of each month they will be announcing the winners on their Facebook page and on the front page of their website. The drawing is open to everyone. Entries can be made directly on an entry form on their website; only one valid entry per person.

Along with the monthly giveaways, EPM Architects will be hosting several complimentary events and workshops in the coming months to celebrate the opening of the new center. Be sure to visit their website and Facebook page for these events.

About EPM Architects, Inc.

EPM Architects is an Enterprise Project and Portfolio Management consulting firm focused exclusively on the Microsoft EPM solution, mainly Microsoft Project and Project Server. We are one of the top Microsoft Gold Certified Partners in the Project and Portfolio Management competency. As the largest EPM company in the region and one of the premier Microsoft EPM companies in the US, we are quickly building a reputation as the "go-to" EPM company for implementation, development, training and support. Our clients consist of Global 50, Fortune 50, 100 and 500 companies as well as small to mid-sized companies in several industry verticals.

For more details on EPM Architects products and services, please visit us at http://www.epmarchitects.com or call us at 1.888.444.EPMA.

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EPM Architects announces expansion of its dedicated EPM Training and Solutions Center