watchthewaves

If possible at all, see the TVs in a dim surrounding cos the usual showroom floors are way brighter than your usual viewing at home. One place I remember is Harvey Norman at Millenia Walk. They have one wall which is specially dimmed for some of the flat panels. Trust your own eyes. You may also want to check out Xtremeplace.com for more expert advice. BTW, these TVs are actually still LCD TVs. They have just replaced the CCFL tube backlights with LED backlights. True LED TVs have yet to hit the consumer mass market. Don't get fooled by marketing. BTW, for over 40 inch sizes, and especially if you go bigger, worth considering the plasma panels too. The bigger the panel, the more costly LCDs get. het, I think you made a mistake with your TV specs -- contrast is not measured in mHz. If you committed based on that, then you probably made a mistake in relying on some figure that you didn't understand. But as long as your eyes like what you see, that's what matters.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Very good learning for me. Thanks for the link too. Yes, I am aware of the need to switch if grid connected. But unless I understand wrongly, there are established brands on the market for these inverters that allow connection to the grid. And the feed in to the grid is not really a loss to you because you are selling the power back to the grid. The advantage I see is that in the day, when home power consumption is typically low, excess electricity is sold to the grid. And in the evening/night, when power consumption is up and the panels are not producing electricity, you take power from the grid like everyone else. But set up cost lah .... haiz. Somemore other countries have incentives/rebates for homeowners, but not here apparently. No incentive to go green.

Thanks bepgof, yoongf, for your feedback. I'm not looking at a system with battery backup, but a grid connected one, so battery cost is not an issue. The concern is the high installation cost and when the breakeven point is. I'm also looking into energy efficient articles in the home, eg: - Lighting system - considering LEDs, but again, high initial cost. Dunno whether worth it or to simply go with the current energy saver tubes/bulbs. - Induction hob instead of gas hob. maha22, Site address missing from your post?

Thanks, that's useful info. So: - $6 to $8 psf for parquet (I'm assuming its the 6x2inch size pieces or thereabouts). - $11.50 or $18psf for maplewood timber strips. - $13.50psf for bamboo strips. Looks like bamboo is priced about the same then. Was this quote for installing pre-finished strips, or for installing and sanding/finishing on site? I understand that pre-finished strips come with added protection layers, but may give you grooves between the strips, whereas finishing on site will give you a smoother surface but won't have the special protection layers and costs more. Difficult choice. I'm looking into strips for the flooring, but need not be the really big strips, so can keep the cost down. Currently thinking of bamboo or teak. Teak mainly cos termites are said to leave them alone. Dunno whether they attack bamboo though.

Your maplewood is in the form of timber strips, is it? Can you share how much it cost, compared to the quote you got for bamboo? I thought that the cost for bamboo is about the same for other woods, assuming we are talking about similar sized pieces/strips of wood.

If Toto, can try their showroom itself. Can talk to them about discount. I've also heard of people buying Toto from Home & Bathroom along Balestier Road (their signboard advertises Toto, hansgrohe, grohe).

I'd like to hear from those who have installed photovoltaic (PV) (aka solar power) solutions for their homes, whether just the water heater type or for general electricity supply (grid-connected or battery storage). What was the installation and usage experience like? (installation cost, problems; electricity savings, maintenance problems; etc) Would you recommend the installer? Please post or PM me. Thanks.