Electric Yard

Saw this post over on Cyberhome’s site while I was checking the value on my house (this is the site that Bank of America referred me to when I wanted to refinance my mortgage).  KB Home is adding as an option on every one of their homes nationwide the ability to add pre-wiring for electric vehicles.  KB Home doesn’t list a price, but Cyberhome cites an automobile blog on the NYTimes.com site as this costing between $750 and $2000 per unit.

This is a great move by KB Home. They are putting themselves out there as offering a feature that no other new home builder is offering (that I know of) and this is a great value-add for people purchasing a home today.  Even if they don’t have an EV (electric vehicle) today, a home buyer could potential envision owning one in the future, and knowing the cost of retrofitting your driveway with a 240V connection.

Looking at the locations that KB Home builds, I’m not sure that they are on the leading edge of EVs, except for the California areas.  They build in Columbia and Charleston in SC, and Charlotte and Raleigh/Durham in NC (my part of the world), and I think only Raleigh/Durham would have anyone interested in the option.

All that said, if they price it right (say, $1000), I’d spring for it in a new house.  I might not ever get an EV unless my income changes, but I could see it being a unique item to list for resale sometime.

On one of the deal sites that I visit, they posted a deal on an Outdoor 3-Piece Solar Stepping Stone set.  The image shows them as being fairly bright, but I’ve never had great success with solar lighting being very bright.  However, with stepping stones, bright isn’t as important as visable.

I could see using these in that well-worn path to the garbage can outside, or maybe another path that runs off your sidewalk.

$68 plus free Ship-To-Store seems a little high, especially considering some of the 50/50 reviews, but might be a nice addition to your yard.  Let us know if you got them, and what you think!

Check it out at Wal-Mart!

Since most of your yard work is probably done for the year, ElectricYard.com is going to focus on your holiday lighting needs through the holidays.  As you see new lighting become available or great deals, be sure to post in the coments or in the forum and we’ll highlight them!

We’re starting with a great deal to run November 5-15 at Home Depot.  When you buy any energy efficient LED light set, you can get $3 off when you recycle an old set of lights.  More information about the deal is at HomeDepot.com’s site, but it looks like a great way to get rid of some old lights, save yourself some power and money, and help the environment as well!

Nice deal going on at Woot.com for the rest of today…a refurbished Neuton CE6 battery-powered lawn mower for $349.99 plus $5 shipping.  I have a Neuton that is 2 models older than this one and love it.  My CE4 (I think)  is about 3 years old and runs just fine.

The CE6 is the newest Neuton available.  It has a 19″ cutting path, a battery that will last for 1 hour on a charge and up to 5 years if properly maintained.  It is refurbished, but comes with a 2 year warranty from Neuton.  A refurbished CE6.3 direct from Neuton runs $474.00, so this is a good deal!

As with all Woot.com deals, this deal is only good today (August 7), but they seem to have the Neutons on their site fairly often.

Let me know in the comments if you get one!  Post your feedback in the forums as well!

Saw this on CrunchGear … a solar powered pool skimmer from Solar-Breeze.com.  According to the description, the Phoenix-based company claims the robot runs all day long while receiving sunlight, cleaning your pool of dust and dirt.  The skimmer will reduce your pump run-time, decreasing your power usage.  Since it operates on top of the water, it catches most things before they sink, which reduces the pump time, as well as reducing the amount of chemicals you need.

Don’t have a pool to test this one out…let me know if you buy one!  No word on if it will also carry drinks around the pool for you.

ElectricYard.com will be your source for everything in your yard that needs a battery or a power cord.  Everything from your electric or battery-powered lawn mower or string trimmer to your low voltage or solar landscape lights.  We’ll feature reviews of solar and wind features for your yard, as well as traditional electrical items to make your yard more enjoyable and beautiful.

Our forums will be an opportunity to share ideas with each other.  We will also have user blogs, where you can have your own space on the web to brag abot your own Electric Yard.

Drop me a note at Twitter at http://twitter.com/electricyard .  Hope to see you back soon as the site grows!