TOM KRAEUTLER: Welcome to this edition of The Money Pit’s Top Products podcast. I am at Greenbuild—2012 Greenbuild Expo in the booth for Andersen and they are introducing some really interesting products for us today. The first one I think we are going to talk about is something called VeriLock a system for improving your home security where it is actually built into the window. And with me to talk about that is Stacy Einck. She is the Brand, Public Relations, and social media manager for Andersen. Hi Stacy.
STACY EINCK: Hi, Tom. How are you?
TOM KRAEUTLER: We are great. So tell me about the VeriLock sensors, because this really seems like a game changer. We are used to alarm systems being attached to windows, but now you guys have found a way to build it into a window.
STACY EINCK: VeriLock has been designed right into the hardware system. So there are a couple of advantages of it. Number one, it is wireless, so there is not drilling any holes into your window. That makes it a lot easier to use it in all aspects of your house as well because you are not running wires or anything, so there is a cost savings there as well as some flexibility. [00:00:59]
But one of the big things about VeriLock that we found has been a real top selling point is it not only tells you that the window is open or shut, but it will tell you if the window is locked and it is the only system that does that right now.
TOM KRAEUTLER: So it is not a wired system. It doesn’t take power from a central source, so how does it get power? Is it battery powered?
STACY EINCK: It is battery powered in the same way that your garage door opener is. So there is a battery right in—it is hidden into the hardware and the batteries last about five years. So you just go around the house and replace those. It will be hooked into the panel that will tell you that the battery needs to be changed. We have worked with Honeywell to develop this system, so you will have a Honeywell security system and all the knowledge that they have to go along with it and then it hooks into the VeriLock hardware. [00:01:49]
TOM KRAEUTLER: Well it is nice that you don’t have to actually attach the sensors to the windows. I had a bad experience when we had a central system installed in our house where the installer just started drilling through my beautiful wood trim to try to get the wires where they needed to be. And so needless to say, I wasn’t too happy. Plus, the crooks can see from the outside where these sensors are and they know how to defeat them. In this system, they can’t really see the sensor, though, can they?
STACY EINCK: No, they can’t. It is completely hidden. In fact, in some of the demonstration work that we have had, we will make it transparent so you can actually see it because some people won’t even—from a distance you wouldn’t be able to tell that it is even there.
TOM KRAEUTLER: Now it is available in windows. Do you expect to see this roll out into your door products like your patio doors?
STACY EINCK: We are looking at using this same hardware concept in a lot of our different products, doors included. [00:02:33]
TOM KRAEUTLER: We are talking to Stacy Einck, she is with Andersen. She is the Brand Public Relations Manager. Another collection that you guys are launching at Greenbuild is the Architectural Collection. And this is a system that, to my understanding, enables you to really match the windows to the style of your house in a way that wasn’t possible before, correct?
STACY EINCK: Right. The Architectural Collection gives you the ability to be able to stay with authentic architectural style. So our A Series products were designed around that concept. So we have a full home style library which is available online. You can take a look at it. If you have a bungalow style home or a Georgian Federal or a farmhouse or something like that, the Architectural Collection and the A Series helps you to be able to determine what windows actually fit into there, what proportions, what hardware, what grill styles, colors, exterior colors, trim, everything. So it gives you a guideline so you can make sure if you are building a house or you are remodeling a house, all those things can look authentic in the way that you would want it. [00:03:29]
TOM KRAEUTLER: I think that makes a lot of sense because I find that homeowners have trouble envisioning just by looking at a catalog page or a webpage what a window might look like in their house. So if you have given the ability to match the window with their home style, that really helps narrow it down and makes that process a lot less painful.
STACY EINCK: Right, and it helps to create a common language for people, too, because that is one of the things that people have trouble with is they are trying to communicate with their spouses or their builder or their architect or something to explain what they want. The Architectural Collection and the A Series product line with the home style library allows you to do that.
TOM KRAEUTLER: That’s Stacy Einck at Greenbuild 2012. Thanks so much for filling us in on these new products.
STACY EINCK: Thank you. Thanks for coming.
TOM KRAEUTLER: And if you want more information, you can go to the Andersen website, which is AndersenWindows.com. That is AndersenWindows.com
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