I would lock out the strips so they will not come on until the temp drops BELOW 35-40 degrees. I would lock the heat pump out at 15 degrees so the heat pump will not run if it is below 15. For best efficiency the strips need to be staged otherwise you will be shooting yourself in the foot running all of the strips along with the heat pump any time the heat pump cannot quite keep up by itself. Here is the scenerio - say it drops to around 20 degrees and the heat pump cannot quite keep up and you have 20kw of heat strips which by themselves can make the home nice and toasty. The t-stat calls for aux and if not staged all of the strips kick on along with the heat pump. If say your heat pump draws an extra 20 amps of power and your strips draw 100 total, your now running 120amps. $$$ouch$$$ With the strips staged you drop that to around 70amps or so and only when the tstat calls help from the strips. If the systems strips are not staged it is better to shut the heat pump down at a higher temp so your not running all strips and pump at once. I think 35 degrees is way high to be shutting off a heat pump. I would let it run on down to at least 20 if the strips are staged. My old tempstar I had could do a fair job of keeping up at 20 degrees with little help from the strips and below that depended on how windy it was out. I noticed a big savings staging my strips and even more after getting a t-stat with outdoor temp sensing and ability to control the cut in and out temps of the strips and pump. This subject is the best bang for the buck besides better home sealing/insulating out there in my opinion.

The Honda's towing capacity is 1500 pounds. That covers a light amount of construction materials. You'll need a good trailer hitch for it. I suggest a hidden hitch with a convert-a-ball attachment. That will hide away most times but let you tow trailers of varying ball sizes in case you want to rent a trencher or other piece of construction equipment. Make sure you have your vehicle wired to supply trailer lights and don't buy a trailer without them. The most useful trailer dimension would be a 5 or 6 x 10 one. It's long enough for 10' drywall sheets or 10' lumber and plumbing pipes. A heavier duty one will give you better service than one of the Harbor Freight tinker toy ones. Be sure you get a trailer hitch lock for both when you tow and for storage. An additional chain around a tree will also help as a theft deterrent. Small trailers are very easily stolen unless you keep them locked up. Also be sure to use sufficient blocking if you have to park it on a slope. Backing a trailer isn't the easiest thing to learn if you don't have an in person coach, so find someone who can teach you and practice with his trailer in an empty parking lot before you buy one. A trailer with a longer tongue is easier to back than one with a short tongue. If you can't manage the skill, you can at least move it into it's storage spot by hand after you empty it, but it will make it harder on you to have to haul construction materiqals from the street, so keep practicing your backing skills with a spotter.

No neighborhood is safe these days, unfortunately. My home was burglarized 8 times in two years: probably illegal aliens setting up housekeeping--I would come home from work to find no knives, forks, pots,pans, towels, jeans, etc. down to the alarm clock & of course anything small & valuable. The sheriff advised me to get a dog; said there was no way they would ever be able to prevent the crimes. I also had my wedding ring stolen by my handyman (I think). I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the criminal has some connection to the workers who have been in your home. Maybe the contractor is suspecting the wrong guy. Could you stand to borrow someone's dog for a while? Otherwise, get the camera up for sure. He may have thought you would be gone already by 0630 or might be able to sneak in somehow at that time. Be careful with that gun! He would be happy to steal that too, you know.

I agree with your assessment millworkman. To the extent that I can feasibly soundproof walls without having to tear into the wall too much, I would consider that in addition. Given that I'm on the 5th floor of a condo building (i.e. its not just my preferences that matter), I may have problems doing much. I plan to get a professional assessment as to whether there are other avenues for noise pollution to get into the unit. Again, would have thought that it would be fairly easy to have a number of options for replacement soundproof windows in the NYC. If I had any handyman skills or interests, it'd be a good business opportunity.