Home Utilities On Display

#8 of 10 Home Design Mistakes

A modern house has home utilities, things like air conditioning compressors, and some of these have to be outside. Air conditioning units, propane tanks, and satellite dishes all have to be outside of the walls.

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Some, like solar panels, can take up a sizeable chunk of real estate. Most homeowners have found a way of tucking these away, keeping them obscured from passers-bye.

Unfortunately not everyone seems to care. Out in the country propane tanks are the ubiquitous. To some people they have become invisible, so they don’t bother hiding them. 

I have mine buried. Some people have bushes planted around them. Others just put them in the front yard for the world to see.

Satellite dishes are more common now but a lesser problem than they used to be. The old style resembled a tracking satellite at NASA. Now they are small. Still, they can be a problem. Mounted on an upper floor in a conspicuous position they can be an eye magnet. The tens of thousands you spent making your house attractive have just been negated by the cheap satellite dish looking like a large wart. This may be unavoidable in the city in some circumstances, but it is best to explore all of your options before settling for one you will regret for decades to come.

With most such appliances it is best to keep them low. I was touring a historic area and came across a house that had recently installed one of those ductless air conditioners where the air-con unit pumps coolant into the room through an insulated hose. The beauty of these units is that the appliance part can be tucked away down at the base of the house. So what did these people do when they wanted to cool their upper room? They built a bracket to elevate the air conditioning unit closer to the room. There it was drawing attention to itself and looking very out-of-place.

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