We've been using a smart meter, that informs the power company of the times of day that the client uses power, and they bill at a lower rate for off-peak hours. Some claimed that their power bill went up, and I heard a figure of something like $20.00 a month from people in different jurisdictions, but that hasn't been our experience. When the landlord heard that it'd cost him about $40.00/month if he installed a separate service in his shop here (he lives elsewhere) ... ... he decided to run the whole thing through the one meter, and that I should tell him how much he owed for the shop. We just adjusted for last year's bill ... and the total was about $3.00 under $100.00/month (and he's happy with paying about 15%). I can't see working myself up into a tizzy about possible radiation that may be coming my way: it seems to me that it's peanuts ... and wouldn't be troublesome if I were to carry the thing around in my back pocket all day, every day. If you want to worry about something - how about the food that's increasingly sourced from all over the world, these days, and produced in factories that undergo what kinds of regulations ... and, supervision? Plus ... I'm of the opinion that much of our food produced and processed in-coutry isn't overseen nearly as much as it used to be: in some cases, they've worked out situations where the processors self-regulate. But to have the women/(men?) roast turkeys at home to bring to a turkey supper at the church ... ... has become a big "no-no"! ole joyful

One of my friends used to have a really funny comic strip on her fridge about this. In the first frame, a wife runs into the living room, where her husband is watching television, and starts yelling, "Hurry! We have to get this place cleaned up!" In the second frame, they're both working busily, when the husband stops and says, "Who's coming over, anyway?" In the last frame, the wife says, "No one. I was just tired of having the place be such a mess." I think that's the case for most of us. For our family, you know company's coming when the coffee table is clear.

I just got back from Lowe's and thought the Levolor brand had a very limited selection, and the Bali were twice the price. I liked the Allen and Roth roller blinds. The clerk told me that Allen and Roth are made by Hunter Douglas. I have 2 very large windows 48"X100" and want some simple white or cream colored roller blinds that have some texture and allow as much light as possible while giving privacy at night. I will decide on curtains later. Who ever thought buying two roller blinds would take so much time and thought. I bought cellular blinds from Blinds to Go, but have had to have them repaired twice in 3 years. First they actually got shorter and shorter. Then one of the mechanisms for the cord stopped locking in place. They repaired them quickly for free, but it is not fun to have to take down and put back up. Thank you all. The price at American Blinds for the Bali Blinds is very good. I may go with them, but then I have to install myself, 12 feet up. If Allen and Roth are truly made by Hunter Douglas and have good reviews I will buy those.

You might pick out which AC manufacturer you want to use (Trane, Carrier, etc.). Narrowing down which equipment you want to use will help you narrow down which contractor you want to use. Then get 3 - 4 HVAC contractors that sell that manufacturers equipment, that also have good online customer reviews, and get quotes on the equipment and the duct work. The contractors probably will want to replace the duct work and the equipment at the same time so that's something to consider. You should read up on the basics of Manual J and Manual D. That will give you some questions to ask and help you assess if the contractor knows what he's doing. Here's a link to some basic information on it. You could consider only using HVAC contractors that will use Manual J and Manual D to properly size your AC unit and duct work. That is another way to screen out your HVAC contractors. You could contact your utility company and see if they have any rebates to offer if you buy a more energy efficient system. My utility company has a list of HVAC contractors they work with on their rebate program so maybe your utility company does that too. The list could help you narrow down your list of contractors. Do you know what SEER, EER and HSPF means? If not then you might want to research those acronyms too. Here's a link to the federal goverment's Energy Star site where they list the most energy efficient units for 2018. You might want to get a few of the model numbers and then go to the company's website and read up on what the technology is that makes the units so energy efficient. For example, you could go to the Carrier website and look up the the Carrier 25VNA Infinity Series and read up on the technology used to make it so efficient. You could look up reliability information on the various manufacturers on the Consumer Reports website. Consumer Reports tracks central AC reliability separate from heat pump AC reliability so make sure you are looking at the correct data for the type of AC unit you plan to buy. You could look up which companies have manufacturer backed, extended labor warranties (only York and Amana do.) You could read contractor reviews on Angies List, Yelp, Google, etc. to check the reputation of the contractors in your area. In my state they require contractors to register to get their business license and the state also tracks any complaints against contractors in an online database. That information can be viewed online at the Registrar of Contractors website in my state, so you might check to see if your state has something similar. Then you just need the contractor's license number to check for any official complaints. You might see if your state has business organizations for HVAC contractors and see which contractors have received positive recognition or awards for using good business practices. Once you narrow it down to a few quotes then you could post the information here and also over at HVAC Talk Forum to get a second opinion from HVAC contractors on the specific equipment (including model numbers.)