Brickeyee, I do know how much power I consumed on the days the testing occurred. I am one of those anal folk who keep a daily log (generally at 6:30 a.m. give or take 15 minutes) of power consumption. The first day of testing was Saturday October 11. 24 hours later the meter showed I consumed 46 KWH of power. The second day of testing was Sunday October 12. 24 hours later the meter showed I once again consumed 46 KWH of power. Similar temps. My results, therefore, are not meaningless. The unit works. That was the second tme I had done the test as recorded on the Tree Hugger forums, but only the first time I had published them. The first time I simply took the readings. The second time (published) I was carefult to record everything that was on/off, temps, times, etc. Short of taking the house into a laboratory, it doesn't get any better for real world testing. For those who utilize inductive motors such as found on heat pumps, hot tubs, freezers, refrigerators (no, they don't have to be old, either), this unit works well. If you don't have these types of units, don't buy one. You won't really get the benefit. The results are what they are. Sorry if you are one of those people who refuse to accept results that may run counter to your theory.

Earlier I showed my wife this thread and she like to thank everyone for the help. She couldn't believe you folks actually spent the time perusing the floorplan and provided us with valuable feedback. Ok back to business.. So she ruled out moving the fridge beside the DW. In fact, she was very much against it. I do have to admit it will solve all our concerns. Also she wasn't keen on moving the pantry/laundry room wall, she like to keep her walk in pantry and not stack the washer/dryer. Thinking about it some more, we are leaning towards the idea idea of shrinking the patio door from 6' to 4' double French door(not sure if builder offers it). This will allow us to add an additional 24" cabinet and counter space beside the DW. Based on all your feedbacks, it appear fridge and island are the bigger concerns. FRIDGE: For easier fridge access, we are thinking of shrinking the space between stove and fridge. Currently that space is roughly 24". If we do decide to shorten it, what will be a small enough counter width to still be useful? I like to create enough space between fridge and wall to install a pull out pantry as some of you suggested. If it gets too tight, another option we considered is move the stove "up" by 12" towards the sink. However I am not sure whether it will be too close to the sink or not, thoughts? ISLAND: Wife wants an island, so it's here to stay. The good thing is it's floating and not fixed. I still don't have a good idea of what to do with it, might just push it further out for now so it won't impede traffic. At the same time I don't want to push it so far out that we can't fit a table in the breakfast area. Also I don't want to pay builder more to make it bigger. *sigh* so much options, so limited $.

Thanks for all your input. I have decided not to replace the individual burners for both safety and insurance concerns. That said, enlarging the 4 individual burner holes (6-9" each) into a large rectangular opening, say 20"x30" or so, would allow a new drop in gas range top unit, greatly reducing the complexity of the project and eliminating the insurance and safety concerns. For the wok I think I will visit some used restaurant equipment stores and find a single burner light commercial unit that can be installed somewhere else in the new kitchen.

I already had a gas starter in my fireplace, so it was quite easy. I bought Peterson gas logs - think the style was "Rustic Oak". I did NOT use the grate that came with them as I have a very traditional LR and have some lovely antique polished solid brass andirons. They would not fit under the Peterson grate. The dealer told me I would be "voiding the warranty" and that "no one" uses andirons anymore. I told him he should get out more - EVERY ONE I know uses them! I called Peterson and they said the only problem was with a higher grate, one could see the flames coming from the base of the firebox. They suggested that I buy extra fake ash and embers and build it up so it would look more realistic. They were right and I'm very pleased. I have the kind that must be started with a match, not the remote starter.