Bluemax ARA Assoc

• Electric Fireplaces
• Electric Fireplace Inserts
• Dimplex Electric Fireplaces
• Classic Flame Electric Fireplaces
• Entertainment Center Electric Fireplaces

There are many people that name a fireplace as a necessity when building or buying a new home. The romantic ambiance and warmth are a luxury in the master bedroom and/or bathroom, while the crackling sounds and aroma create a warm, cozy glow in the family room. Not to mention the focal point that the fireplace creates with the hearth and mantle adding a certain atmosphere to a room as well. Fireplaces are a gathering place during holiday celebrations and cold, rainy days. The reasons are endless why someone would want one in their home. However, as environmental issues are growing concerns in the United States, wood burning fireplaces most certainly have to be included on the list of major pollutants. For this reason, you might want to consider the implications and alternatives to wood-burning fireplaces.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, wood-burning fireplaces emit nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, organic gases and particulate matter. Just like the pollutants in cigarette smoke, the smoke coming from your fireplace could contain cancer-causing properties. It could especially cause health concerns for children, pregnant women and people with respiratory problems, as well as healthy adults.

Fireplace smoke increases smog in more urban areas and some cities have considered banning them altogether. Many cities have taken the steps to change local ordinances to only approve certain EPA certified wood-burning fireplaces in new construction. Some organizations have enacted voluntary awareness programs to lower burning on already poor air quality nights. This includes posting notices for “no burn” nights, as well as ad campaigns targeted at prevented new wood burning fireplaces from being installed.

If you are concerned about the pollutants you are putting into your home and the Earth’s air with a typical wood-burning fireplace, there are steps you can take and even alternatives to a traditional fireplace.

To keep pollutants from entering your home, you can install an EPA certified clean burning insert to your existing wood burning fireplace. This insert prevents pollutants from leaving your chimney. A lot of new construction homes are already using these, but they are easy to install in older homes too. Also, install a glass screen on your fireplace to keep smoke contained. You can also mount a carbon monoxide monitor in the room with the fireplace to monitor the levels that are being put into the room.

A few other considerations include pellet stoves and electrical fireplace inserts. Pellet stoves burn compressed wood waste pellets. They are efficient and have little pollutants. They are a good alternative because they are cheap to purchase and run. Electric fireplace inserts have the look, feel and warmth of a fireplace without the pollution issues. The inserts can be installed directly into the firebox of the home. While they have flames and warmth, they are run completely by electricity. Some can even be customized to provide crackling wood sounds or different colored flames. This means the family can have a hearth, a mantle and the glow of a cozy fireplace, but none of the environmental worries.

With the knowledge of the environmental impact of wood-burning fireplaces, be kind to the environment and take steps to reduce or completely remove the pollutants coming from your fireplace.

When most people think of a scale, the first thing that comes to mind is a bathroom scale, the meat-weighing scale at the butcher shop, or the hanging scale that a large fish might be hung from. The world of scales is much wider than most of us know. Scales can be found in health care, office supplies, food and retail, and the industrial sector.

In the health care industry, weight is an important measure of health. Doctors scales, which give a standing patient’s height and weight, can be found in any doctor’s office in the country. Pediatric clinics use infant and toddler scales that allow a small child to be placed on a flat surface for a weight measurement. Flat scales are available to weigh a person in a wheel chair. Even some hospital beds have an internal scale that can be used to measure a patient who is lying down.

In the office, scales can be found in many places. Postal scales allow a company to weigh letters and small boxes to calculate postage rates. Parcel scales let shipping departments weigh larger boxes to determine shipping weight, which allows the shipper to know the price of shipping the item before it is even picked up by the shipping company.

In the food and retail world, more types of scales are available than just the food scale found in the meat department. Point of sale scales allow the check-out clerk to weigh produce and other items that are priced by weight. The scales are usually connected straight to the point of sale system so the price is automatically calculated and added to the total. Hanging produce scales are found in every produce section, allowing customers to weigh fruits and vegetables before purchasing to know how much they will be buying. Food portioning and home use kitchen scales allow portion-conscious people to measure exactly how much food will be served in a portion, making weight loss and calorie counting easier.

The industrial sector uses scales for many different functions. Floor pallet scales make it possible to weigh a pallet full of material by simply wheeling the pallet over a sensor pad. Parts counting scales let the user count the number of small parts available. A single part is weighed first to determine the weight that represents one unit, and then the system calculates the weight of the rest of the parts and gives the user a final, accurate tally. This is a far more efficient manner than hand counting which saves precious time for warehouse workers during inventory assessment time.

Scales are also used regularly in scientific laboratories. Analytical balances allow scientists to weigh very small amounts of material with extreme precision. High capacity balances give the same level of precision, but let the user weigh heavier materials.

Scales are found in almost every industry in America. They provide us with accurate data necessary to make produce purchases, health decisions, ship packages cost effectively, and mix the right amount of chemicals to make pharmaceutical drugs. Though most people never give scales a thought, they are a vital tool, which we cannot live without.

• Digital Scales
• Baby Scales
• Bathroom Scales
• Counting Scales
• Floor Scales
• Food Scales
• Hanging Scales
• Kitchen Scales
• Medical Scales
• Postal Scales

There are many, many different kinds of scales available today for both residential and commercial applications.

One of the greatest boons to inventory management was the invention of the counting scale. The counting scale is used to determine the quantity of small parts like nuts and bolts, electronic components and other parts that are very small and time-consuming to handle, and which might be stored by the hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of pieces. Without the counting scale, someone would have to count every piece in order to make sure that the right number were made available for the factory production line and to make sure that the amount of inventory still available is sufficient without a new order being placed.

Industrial pallet scales are designed to allow forklift drivers to weigh each pallet of material before it is loaded onto a tractor trailer track. Over the road trucks are required to comply with strict limits on the maximum weight they can carry. Although the limit varies by the length of the truck, most are allowed something like forty to forty five thousand pounds. The weight is verified by enforcement officials at highway weigh stations across the country. Pallet scales allow the weight of the trucks contents to not only stay within the allowed limits, but also allows the fork lift driver to make sure the load is evenly balanced within the truck so that it handles properly.

On the smaller side, postage scales allow the weighing of letters and packages and tell the sender how much postage is required. Some of the better models also have postage printers built into them and will print out a metered postage stamp for the package or letter that’s being weighed.

Another small scale is the kitchen scale. The finely calibrated kitchen scale can measure recipe ingredients down to the hundredth of an ounce, and even convert to metric if the recipe calls for it. Many diets also call for weighing out portions so that strict calorie counts can be maintained.

Even the common bathroom scale has been updated these days. Instead of just telling you how much you weigh, many can tell you how much body fat you have and whether you are properly hydrated or you need to drink more water. For those with difficulty seeing the numbers on ordinary scales, some new models have large raised readout panels that make it easy.

On the medical scale side there are scales that can accommodate wheelchairs and correct for the weight of the chair so that they can be used conveniently for patients with poor mobility. Others have sturdy handrails or the ability to calculate Body Mass Index at the touch of a button.

The variety of scales for all different purposes is incredible these days. There is a scale for literally every application imaginable.