Other Videos and Posts

Here are some other interesting information that didn’t fit in with the other topics!

What It Means to be the Nation’s First Virtual Dealership

Going Off Grid with Texas Tech

The H.U.M.S.—Home Utility Management System—is essentially a complete resource system designed to harness natural resources, both monitoring their future availability compared to their current level of storage and then making suggestions to a home owner’s routine that will allow the resources they’ve acquired to sustain them until more of the utilities are harvested.

The H.U.M.S test home, a manufactured home purchased through Braustin, will be equipped with solar panels and wind turbine on the roof, as well as a water collection system with a holding tank capacity of at least 5,000 gallons.

With an end goal of offering this system as an affordable utility option for middle class homeowners, strenuous testing will need to be done to streamline the product and confirm its compatibility with normal life.

To accomplish this, a couple will live in the test H.U.M.S. home located at the Texas Tech University Center at Junction, under supervision of Tom Arsuffi, Ph.D., Director of the Llano River Field Station. The test couples will follow their normal way of life while interacting with H.U.M.S. and following its suggestions for conservation and use of the stored resources.

Dr. Lindquist, and Nadia Y. Flores-Yeffal, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Sociology, will analyze the testimony of the residents as well as observe their daily activities in person about once a month.

The idea of solar panels and windmills may not seem completely unique, but the difference hoping to be achieved with H.U.M.S. is accessibility.

Off-grid systems do exist but cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not only that, but these systems are not what Dr. Ancell would consider “utility complete”. Meaning each component is separate and not linked up to software analyzing data for each resource and are commonly focused on power rather than both power and water.

Combining the management of these utilities with the use of a high-tech and multi-faceted weather report and observations of human behavior would seem to make this a promising tool for harnessing renewable, grid-independent resources.

Most homes set up for off-grid living are out in the mountains or deep in the country, making their impact on the environment very positive, but not affecting much of a larger community. Producing a system that could be affordable by the larger population in cities and neighborhoods would mean less displacement and greater stability in the aftermath of disaster.

A grand opening ceremony will be held once the home is completed, but before the first test couple moves in.

Get Your Own Buyer’s Guide Here

Recovery After Getting Laid Off From Your Job

Recovering from a layoff can be difficult, and many of us have been there. Being laid off does not define you and often it is an opportunity for a new beginning. Since we sell homes, we can also tell you being laid off does not mean your home buying dreams have gone out the window. For many people, their home buying dreams are only put on hold until they start working again.