What's new with New construction?

Do you ever wonder about what has changed about houses over the last few years? What are the new cutting edge things happening with new construction? When I started working with new construction I was amazed at some of the new features! If you work in the industry some of this will be things you have already seen for awhile but many have not. Here is your inside look at the what's new with new construction! First we will start with taking a look at Philadelphia's newest home: The Ironworks!
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The Ironworks In Northern Liberties

Click play above to see The Ironworks Slideshow!

The Ironworks is Northern Liberties newest home! With studio, 1 bedrooms, and 2 bedrooms. So what is new with the newest home in Philly?
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​Latch Systems Bluetooth Locks

https://www.latch.com/m-series

This is something I have never seen before until working on The Ironworks Project. Bluetooth locks.....THE FUTURE..... The locks connect to your phone so you can unlock your door from your phone, no more fumbling with keys. That's great right? I think the real benefit to this is you can give someone a temporary code! So if you have a dog walker they can go into your place for the hour and then the code expires. Or if you get groceries delivered you can give the driver a code and get them put away for you while you're out! Never lose another package again!
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The mirror

The Future of fitness ... As gyms have shut down in America I see this becoming a huge new shift in the way we work out, and THE IRONWORKS have it! The Mirror is a one stop shop for fitness. It looks like a normal mirror but once you touch it The Mirror turns on. It has a ton of interactive online fitness classes and takes up minimal space. 
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Dog wash

https://nextluxury.com/home-design/home-dog-wash-station-ideas/

Our generation is increasingly bringing their four legged friends with them to where they live! The How Group (the company building The Ironworks) says bring them along! They are installing a dogwash room in the new Ironworks building. Instead of going to take your dog to the pet shop in the winter why not go to the first floor of your building. At the Ironworks you can bring 2 pets with no breed restrictions! Did I mention the Ironworks is across the street from a dog park too!
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Shared Rooftop Deck In the works

In the pre and post war eras people in Philadelphia hung out on stoops and porches. This is how people got to know their neighbors and create the community we love! Now we have shared roof top decks! What I love about all of our roof top decks is they all face Center City and get decked out with beautiful patio furniture! 
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What's new in the industry?
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Pex Systems

Picture belongs to https://www.finelinehomes.com/pex-plumbing/

If you work with new construction you have probably seen this for awhile but many have not. This is one of my favorite features of new construction builds especially because I do most of the work on my house myself! Pex plumbing is basically plastic plumbing. The Pex system is basically an electrical panel for you water lines. Anything that uses water leads back to this panel and has an individual shutoff! My house was built in 1940 and when I went to redo my kitchen I may have spent 30 minutes trying to shut off the right water line. I NEED THIS!
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More Efficient Ac Systems

So again some of this stuff is 10 years old but many people still don't know about it. 

Bypass/Damper Systems

So a damper system works so that one AC can cool a large house. It cools one zone at a time. Thus if it's day time and you're having people over cool the downstairs then upstairs at night. I'm not an HVAC guy though so I will kick it over to this YouTube video that describes it better. 

Mini Split Air Conditioners

Picture from https://www.homedepot.com/p/MRCOOL-DIY-Gen-3-18-000-BTU-20-SEER-ENERGY-STAR-Ductless-Mini-Split-Air-Conditioner-Heat-Pump-w-25-ft-Install-Kit-230-Volt-DIY18-HP-230B25/311900321

Mini split air conditioners are great because they can be installed without duct work! This is a great solution and very efficient. They work off remote control or by your phone and are the most efficient system. There is generally one in each living space or bedroom. So if you are in that room turn it on if not turn it off and save electricity! There are DIY friendly kits but this deals with water and electric something I would pay someone to do for sure!
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Working in new construction and seeing the innovations has been eye opening to me. I'm so excited to see what they will come out with next!