If your set on using a setback thermostat I would seriously consider one with an outdoor temperature sensor and lockout capability. On a setback using the EMR the stat can use the current outdoor temp and calculate how far back to start ramping up the temperature without running the strips. For instance if your setback temp is 65 and you want it 70 at 5pm and its 20 degrees outside it might start ramping up at 3pm. In the same scenerio if it was 50 degrees it might not start until 4:30 and accomplish both with using as little strip heat as possible. A regular programmable just does not have the available information to make setbacks very useful. The other good thing is you can lock out the strips so if its above say 35 degrees the strips will not come on unless defrost mode kicks in. The heat pump can be locked out below certain temps also which in severe climates or older systems is useful. A good stat that senses outdoor temps and has lockout capability will pay for itself in savings rather quickly. The honeywell visionpro series is what I have and many others in here. The visionpro IAQ only needs 3 wires at the stat and the control module for the rest mounts at the unit so no extra wires are needed except for the outdoor temp sensor. I would shop online or Ebay. I haven't seen a decent stat at home depot or lowes yet. If you take advantage of the outdoor temp sensing and with staged strips and lockouts on at least the strips..it will give you very good bang for your buck summer and especially winter.

OK, I have an issue that does not allow me to purchase without over researching a product. So I did consider a few brands. I really like Miele, and they do have a larger unit. Nothing like the size of these, but I don't think you need something as big as these Samsung units to wash a comforter. Although I keep going back to Miele, the issue of their warranty and the lack of local people to sell and service the units takes them out of the running. I did look into Asko, but the small size and the bad reviews (over many years) makes them just an interesting read. I had a hard time deciding between LG and Samsung. I chose Samsung because of their Diamond drum technology. Although I was unable to find out much about it, it was similar to the honeycomb drum idea of Miele. That really closed the deal for me. I really felt that more manufacturers should have put more into their drum designs and make that information available. Sadly, only two lines have taken drum technology seriously and serious enough to flaunt it to the public. I ended up with the largest Samsung units because of the steam and the internet connectivity. (And frankly the deal I got.) I was hoping that if there was a problem, Samsung could just hook into the machine and tell me what is wrong. I'm not sure they can do that, but they can certainly update the units over the wireless. I would say that I was also impressed with the anti vibration technology. I wish they had explained the difference between the regular antivibration and the upgraded antivibration of these units. I imagine it is some computer sensing thing. I was also impressed with the warranty on the motors and the 2 year warranty. Oh, I just registered my units and got an additional 3 months warranty for registering. Thanks Samsung. I would add an extra year on my own by purchasing with Amex and eliminating the purchase of extended warranty. I looked into Speed Queen because they are American. Solid units but lack the modern technology and efficiency I was looking for. Rough sturdy brutes was all I could imagine from what I could find out about these products. I think the companies do themselves a disservice by not putting out all the information they can on their products. This is one case and point. I went as far as looking into purchasing commercial units, but when all is said and done, I felt that the Samsung units were a better deal. Service and warranty work is much different for commercial than on consumer models. Here is a really cool washing machine I found that I really wanted to get. I have a friend in CA who used to own Laundry Mats. He said, "That's a commercial unit. What do you need a commercial unit for?" Well, it looks so cool and is so well engineered etc. It was too much of a machine for my needs, but I really would have loved to have one. The Crossover Washer. (http://www.laundrylux.com/crossover.html) The world's first small chassis washer engineered to commercial laundry standards for your business needs. I think for the person who wants to have what no one else has, these units would be an interesting choice. Here is some more information on the Crossover: 3 Engineered to be superior to all competitors 3 15,000 cycle machine life design 3 3 OPL liquid chemical injection ports and signals 3 3 compartment soap drawer 3 4 professional wash programs + 2 cycle options 3 Field adjustable water levels 3 Top quality SKF bearings in heavy duty assembly 3 3 seals with 5 lips 3 Professional grade 8-point suspension 3 Pump-drain standard 3 Solid steel counter-weights�no concrete 3 Energy Star compliant The costs were about 2,000 a piece or less from what I remember. Stunningly beautiful beasts these are. They are made I believe by LaundryLux. I also looked at Miele Little Giants. Just amazing little laundry units, but way out of my price range for what I want to spend. I think these are made for people with yachts. These are also stunningly beautiful. The bottom line is I spent months looking at units. For me, with the space that I had and the money I wanted to spend, I settled on the Samsung. I had to use my Samsung units again tonight as the baby had an "out of diaper" experience. Not something for the faint of heart. Loved I could go and select sanitize on the computer screen and choose extra rinses and steams and prewashes and super hots etc. If they had nuclear radiation I would have chosen that too, but as of now, it is not an option on my units. I got a 3 hour cycle and trust me that is exactly what the job called for. I think I'm very happy right now with what I purchased. Look, as long as the darn units stay working without needing service etc, anything you buy will be fine. Again, I'm not happy about having to stand on a stool to see the dryer screens, but it really is not a big problem. The anti vibration on these really works great and the noise level is very good. The calming music the machines play to signal the end of the cycle is still OK with me and I'm not ready to beat the machine to death if it plays that tune one more time. Just if anyone wants to see how these machines do on a soiled white one piece baby garment, here is how it just came out of the washer. I don't think I can believe how clean and white this is. You cannot see where the mess was. I have had experience in the past with my other machine where the white clothing was stained yellow after such an incident. All I used was about 1/4 of the recommended amount of ECOS plus natural liquid from Sam's and a tiny amount of delft liquid softener. No bleach. I did hit it with some Oxy prewash spray before putting it in. Look, I have a laundry upstairs that I am doing. I decided to make it a "sound proof" room because of my experience with my old front loader. It was loud! Probably had gotten worse over the years because the bearings were going. So I double sheet rocked with green glue and put heavy clay on the backs of the electrical boxes. I put in a sound proof floor which I am waiting to tile right now. Well, I did all this because of my fear of the noise I would get from the front load machines. I think had I placed these Samsung units upstairs, the sound proofing would have been overkill. I'm hoping the GE unit I have for upstairs will be as quiet. I bet most of the better machines will be quiet. I think that the other companies caught up with Meile and have incorporated many of the concepts and bring these machines at a value price. Will they last the 20 years Miele says theirs will? I don't know, but these machines have a longer warranty then Miele and they can be found everywhere. This means that your chance of getting service should be good.

Pitch for Lutron 1. The company has been around for quite a while now and their products are generally considered to be the market leaders - in terms of performance, reliability. 2. They have active development in wireless comms/ control and control more of the ecosystem than vendors like SmartHome (Insteon). 3. They have partners (Control4, ...) Zigbee at this point in time is an IEEE (802.15) standard that hasn't been curated / tended to with as much attention as 802.11 Wifi. That will change with time as chip vendors figure things out and finally put more effort into ensuring an industry wide standard that works reliably. If you're going with Zigbee, imo, it would be prudent to stick with Control4 as they have been actively pushing development in the HA side even though it has been more proprietary than open. FYI, Control4 uses a sub ghz band (~900 Mhz) for signaling using ZigBee protocols while a bunch of other vendors are using the 2.4Ghz band for ZigBee. Both are allowed in the 802.15 specification. To reiterate, the controls you purchase today should 1. Last and be supported for (by the manufacturer) at least 10 years or more. After all, all HA controls cost significantly more than the plain old manual decora / toggle switch. 2. Work as well as non connected controls like the Lutron Maestro dimmers - similar dimming performance, durability, ... 3. There should be a means of interoperating with other vendors' systems (eg - Chamberlain garage openers, GE alarm panels, ...) Conclusion - the top 2 choices are still Lutron RadioRA2 or Control4.

I'll throw in my own two cents here. For starting seeds, I use T8 strips. I have 4 tube fixtures above each of my seed starting shelves, and I use 2 cool white (~4100K), 1 warm white (2700K-3000K and 1 daylight (6500K) in each fixture. I don't have pictures, but my seed starts under these lights look about the same as seedlings started in full sunlight. Seedlings need a much more balanced spectrum of light, and conventional white lamps seem to very work well for sprouting seedlings and in the early stages of growth. The red/blue lights are often misunderstood, and most of the ones on the market have a "mix" that is tailored for growing "medical flowers" from established plants. In that environment, blooms = $$$$, so those lights are made to stimulate blooming with a lot of red light. You don't want to stimulate seedlings to bloom immediately, so red light is not what you really want to put on seedling starts. Looking at aruzinsky's setup, I see 11:1 red:blue. That's really pushing it even for established plants, and not what seedlings really need at all. For established tomato and pepper plants, the red/blue (3:1 or maybe 4:1 red:blue) LED "grow lights" work great. You'll get prolific production from those lights as they really stimulate blooming and fruiting. Just be sure you're fertilizing regimen is adequate for the production you're demanding from the plants. Using the LED "grow lights," I got more cherry and Roma tomatoes per plant from my "basement tomatoes" last winter than from the plants in my garden over the summer. There are some kinds of plants (leafy herbs like basil and cilantro, and woody herbs like sage and rosemary) that you don't want to stimulate to bloom. Those plants benefit from a lot more blue light after they are established. Blue light stimulates leafy growth. The "blurple" LED strips or lights with 3:1 or more red:blue LED's will make cilantro and basil bolt and bloom quickly, without producing much tasty foliage. I'll be experimenting this coming winter with all blue or blue/white(/deep red) LED lighting for my leafy and woody herbs. This comes after a year of failure using the red/blue lights with a high red:blue ratio last year. I had some of my woody herbs die from lack of (proper) light, and my leafy herbs bolted/bloomed early and failed to produce much foliage with the very red "LED grow lights."