Products Archives

August 24, 2017August 24, 2017

Shared Vision: LifeEdited Maui & Blue Ion Energy Storage

To power the LifeEdited Maui eco compound, we are using the amazing Hawaii sunshine to light our solar panels, but we need power at night too. And we wanted to find a company that shares our vision of leaving the planet better than we found it. Happily, our island neighbors Blue Planet Energy share this vision. The Blue Ion 2.0 Energy System that they created sets the bar for performance, safety, and reliability. This system allows LifeEdited Maui to be both off-grid and luxurious — it’s the smart future.

Until now, batteries have been a key missing piece in our sustainable future. Blue Planet Energy has changed that. Performance is excellent — rapid recharging and high output mean that you don’t have to change your lifestyle or worry about how the system works. You also don’t have to worry about safety. The science of Lithium Ferrous Phosphate (LFP) chemistry makes the batteries much safer than competing products. The reliability is exemplified by the 15-year performance warranty — best in the business. For more details, see the Blue Ion 2.0 Energy System.

Henk Rogers, founder of Blue Planet Energy

Blue Planet Energy CEO Henk Rogers is a well-known entrepreneur and innovator behind the popular Tetris franchise. He has since engrossed himself in the research, development, and advocacy of renewable energy storage to aid in the adoption of sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar. Rogers has applied the Blue Ion system to his home on Tantalus in Honolulu as well as his Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a Ranch home on the Big Island, completely taking his properties off grid. “Why am I doing this?” Rogers asks. “I want to find out what it’s like living in the future. It’s pretty nice. I didn’t sacrifice anything, my quality of life, to achieve any of this stuff.” His ranch also contains an 8500 square foot energy lab and is continuing a project to grow enough organic food to feed 50 people on the property.

The Blue Planet Energy Research Lab at the Pu‘uwa‘awa‘a Ranch with Henk Rogers and co founders Aleks Velhner (left) and Vincent Paul Ponthieux

Blue Planet Energy and LifeEdited are proud to help Hawaii reach its goal to be 100 percent renewable energy by 2045.

To get in touch with Blue Planet Energy follow them on their Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin. Stay tuned for more details.

January 2, 2017November 22, 2016

Keys? Who needs ’em when you have the August Smart Lock!

Another beautiful Yves Behar design, the August Smart Lock allows us to open and close our front door with our smartphone. With the ability to create virtual keys for guests, auto-lock and unlock, and keep the existing hardware of our door intact, the August Smart Lock is beautifully designed. It is also easy to install in 15 minutes over most common deadbolts. Graham loves the auto lock feature because it allows him to come and go with nothing but his phone in his pocket. It locks automatically after he leaves and opens up as he returns.

Learn about our Nest Cam security system here.

This post is one in a series that describes our LifeEdited 2 showcase apartment. LifeEdited 2 embodies our green, space efficient, and minimalist principles. We view LifeEdited 2 as a lab for experiencing things that are consistent with these principles. The product described in this post was given to us, which we appreciate, but we would not have accepted if we didn’t believe in it.

December 30, 2016November 23, 2016

Hufcor Accordion Wall – Instant Visual and Acoustic Privacy

If privacy is ever needed in the LifeEdited 2 guest room/office, pulling the Hufcor accordion door closed certainly does the trick. Usually used in institutional settings, Hufcor doors are designed with ceiling tracks and wall fixtures to ensure the accordion door seals tightly for visual and acoustic privacy. When closed, it has similar acoustic properties to an insulated 2×4 wall with 1/2″ drywall on each side!

In addition, the Hufcor material is extremely durable, and qualifies for LEED recycling.

For every foot of space it takes up when open, our Hufcor wall compacts to a mere inch when closed, allowing us to hide it away in a cabinet.

We love the way it easily creates a temporary space with excellent visual and acoustic privacy.

The team wanted a room partition that was the right combination of industrial strength and visual subtlety, so we covered the Hufcor accordion door with the aesthetically restful Maharam Tek-Wall Heritage textile.

To learn more about privacy in the apartment, also read our post about our Filzfelt wall and curtain which were created from felt remnants.

December 28, 2016November 23, 2016

Nest Cam and Nest Protect

One of the key features of the LifeEdited 2 apartment’s high quality of life is Nest. Having previously used Nest Cam to monitor construction projects and ensure the general security of his homes, Graham wanted to make Nest Protect, a high functioning smoke and CO alarm, as well as Nest Cam, an indoor and outdoor safety camera and app, a central part of LifeEdited 2. Not only is Nest Protect far more beautifully designed than your average smoke detector, but it also functions as a motion sensor nightlight and sends alerts to your phone in emergency and emergency-like situations. In the case of a false alarm, the Nest Protect that easily be hushed from a smartphone- no stools or ear plugs necessary!

Nest Cam has always allowed Graham to check in and record who is coming and going in the spaces he works on and lives in. Whether it is people working for him or resident doggies, the app allows for him to both see and talk to any people or animals from his smartphone.

December 26, 2016November 22, 2016

Green and Sleek Edyn Garden Sensor

Graham’s proudest match making moment has come full circle with the addition of the Edyn Garden Sensor in the LifeEdited 2 apartment. In 2013, Yves Behar, founder and principal designer of Fuseproject, an award-winning industrial design and brand development firm, and Jason Aramburu, an ecologist and soil scientist, came together to create an exceptionally innovative gardening system. Edyn Garden Sensor monitors “minute changes in soil nutrition and moisture,” allowing the garden’s owner to “anticipate and resolve problems” before they even happen by receiving tips and notifications on their smartphones. Solar powered and Wi-Fi connected our Edyn also has a database of plants from which it can recommend flora to users based on their soil profile. The sleek design and incredibly intelligent technology work really well in the LifeEdited 2 apartment.

To learn about the smart and water conserving Edyn Water Valve, which we don’t have but conceptually love, watch this video!

December 21, 2016November 22, 2016

Sustainable Soma Water Filters and Vessels

Passionate about design and interested in creating water filters and vessels free of chemicals, Soma’s production practices are as sustainable as their products. This includes transparent labor policies, post-consumer waste packaging, using a portion of their revenue for water charities, and at the center of it all, their 60% renewable and plant-based product, disposable water filters which can be used with each vessel they sell. This is exactly why we use their Glass Carafe and Portable Water Bottle daily in LifeEdited 2.

To learn more about water and air filtration in the LifeEdited 2 apartment, see our Blueair and and Franke posts.

Graham is a proud investor in Soma.

December 19, 2016November 22, 2016

Filzfelt Wall and Curtain Add Texture and Sound Absorption

One of the coziest aspects of the LifeEdited 2 living room/bedroom/dining area is its 100% biodegradable 3 mm Filzfelt Wool wall and curtain.

The wall is made entirely out of offcuts laid out like shingles with plywood behind them and stapled in rows, adding texture to the space and absorbing sound really well. The curtain allows for full privacy when guests come to stay in the office/guest room across the way. Plus, Filzfelt even gets you LEED points.

December 16, 2016November 23, 2016

Insteon for a Smart Apartment

Insteon has made the LifeEdited 2 apartment truly efficient. With their Insteon Wall Switches and Keypad we can control, customize, and even schedule our Plumen hanging lights and Haiku Fan from a smartphone using Insteon Hub technology.

Plus, Insteon works in tandem with the Nest smoke detector and security camera and more, letting Graham follow through on his vision of a highly functioning, high tech, easy to use, energy saving apartment.

December 15, 2016January 6, 2017

Home Automation

Photo by Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen

Home automation is not just for nerds like me anymore. It promises energy efficiency, convenience, and a bit of fun. And it’s *much* easier to setup than it used to be.

I’m an engineer so I like to start from requirements, and I think you should too. Here are the requirements for our new showcase apartment LifeEdited 2:

Light control
Fan control
Door lock control
Smoke alarm
Air quality monitoring
Energy usage monitoring

Once you know what you want, I suggest looking at the ecosystems that support most of the above:

Nest / Google ecosystem
Insteon ecosystem
Amazon Echo ecosystem
Apple HomeKit ecosystem
Belkin ecosystem
Savant ecosystem
SmartThings ecosystem
Lowe’s Iris ecosystem
Wink ecosystem
And yes, there are more ecosystems

Since that is a rather daunting list, let me tell you a little about the systems that we chose for LifeEdited 2:

Nest. We have a Nest Protect (smoke & carbon monoxide detector) and a Nest Indoor Cam. We’ll write more about these in another post. But in short, they’re great.
Works with Nest. Nest also has a Works With Nest program for other manufacturers. We have a BigAss Haiku ceiling fan and Hunter Douglas motorized blinds. In other words, lots of automated ways to keep people comfortable without spending a lot on heating, cooling, and lighting.
Insteon. We are using Insteon in-wall switches, dimmers, keypads, and fan controllers. All of which can also be programmed and controlled from an app. It’s amazing how the feel of the apartment changes with the “relax” scene that dims all of the lights in the apartment.
Amazon Echo. Graham bought an Amazon Echo for the voice control. It works with a surprising number of home automation components. Graham also now has a Google Home device, and it will be interesting to see how it compares to the Amazon Echo.

Are you using Home Automation? We’d love to hear your experiences.

This post is one in a series that describes our LifeEdited 2 showcase apartment. LifeEdited 2 embodies our green, space efficient, and minimalist principles. We view LifeEdited 2 as a lab for experiencing things that are consistent with these principles. Some of the products above were given to us (Nest Protect, Nest Indoor Cam, BigAss ceiling fan, Hunter Douglas motorized blinds, Insteon equipment).

December 14, 2016November 23, 2016

Franke Under the Sink Water Filter

Our LifeEdited 2 Franke Water Filter with ceramic cartridges easily mounts under the sink, leaving more space in our kitchen and allowing us to drink filtered water straight from the tap. It’s a great way to get away from bottled water.

As a former crew member of Plastiki, “a unique 60ft catamaran engineered from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and srPET, a fully recyclable material … relying primarily on renewable energy systems,” Graham cares about the complete removal of bottled water from his and everyone’s lives. For him, the Franke water filter is an excellent and easy way for dwellers to help completely remove plastic water vessels from their lives.

Even though NYC has exceptionally clean tap water, Graham still uses his Franke filter to help remove potential contamination created from the old pipes in the building. To learn about the best filters for your needs, follow this link!