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The latest and greatest for the home

A trade show features insulation made from soybean oil, hot water from a box, not a tank, and aluminum-frame windows that look like wood.

ORLANDO - More than 11,000 builders, architects, interior designers and developers gathered in Orlando last month for the Southeast Building Conference. They walked a trade show with more than 800 exhibits, seeking out the new and the novel.

There was the guy from Home Team Pest Defense, walking around with a live 6-inch Madagascar hissing cockroach on his shirt front. (You could have your picture taken with him.) Countrywide Mortgage endeared itself to the throngs by handing out free Dove bars.

The chef who was cranking out mini pigs in blankets in 41/2 minutes in a GE Advantium oven confided that these fast-cook ovens are dangerous: It's too tempting, during an evening in front of the TV, to run out to the kitchen and prepare a high-calorie snack during a commercial break.

Here are some of the highlights from the trade show floor.

We eat soy burgers, we drink soy milk, so how much more politically correct could this product be: soy insulation. BioBased Insulation is an expandable polyurethane foam based on soybean oil.

The foam expands to 100 times its original size, filling holes, cracks and crevices. The company claims it can reduce utility bills up to 50 percent. Besides, it's derived from a renewable resource soybeans, grown by 600,000 American farmers, not from a finite and nonrenewable resource, petroleum. Southeast sales manager Steven Dixon says the soy insulation controls moisture, reduces noise and dust and promotes indoor air quality. Last year it was named Outstanding Green Product of the Year by the National Green Building Conference. Details at www.biobased.net

Peter Cosentino of Largo was talking himself hoarse at his booth, where he told crowds about the Gemini Tankless Water Heater. This replaces the standard electric hot-water tank with a box, 12 by 13 by 3 inches. Inside are two manifolds that heat incoming water to 120 degrees, promising an endless supply of hot water on demand. Only the water that is needed is heated, and only when it is needed. That's unlike a 50-gallon tank, which maintains all that water at 120 degrees all the time, even if no one is using hot water. Tanks can run out of hot water at times of high demand, like when everyone in the house wants to take showers or to run repeated loads of laundry.

This technology is common in Japan and Europe and entered the United States about 25 years ago but has been slow to catch on. The crowds at the booth suggest that in water-conscious Florida, its time may be here. The system starts at $499.

The U.S. Department of Energy offers a fact sheet on tankless water heaters at www.eere.energy.gov/consumerinfo/factsheets/bc1.html Gemini Tankless Water Heaters in Largo can be reached at 727 586-7054. Web site: www.geminitankless.com

Coming this fall from window manufacturer PGT: aluminum frames with a wood-frame look. Aluminum-framed windows resist corrosion and pitting in salt air, but nothing beats the appearance of wood. And for those trying to replace windows in homes in historic districts, these are a find. They come in a variety of stain and grain combinations.

PGT also was showing its Eze-Breeze windows. In a screen room or pool enclosure, these vertical four-track panels rack and stack to open 75 percent of the window area to the breeze. When it's rainy or cold, slide them down. They're made with tough vinyl rather than glass for lighter weight and lower cost. Detail at www.pgtindustries.com

Interior designers and builders were gathering with interest around the booth where Distinctive Wood Designs of North Naples displayed its modular wood-trim ceiling systems. Built-in-place coffered ceilings, of wood or drywall, are attractive and popular, but they're labor-intensive and literally a pain in the neck to create, since workers are standing on ladders craning their necks upward.

These factory-built modular systems, which go under the brand name Wood-lock, come in a variety of shapes and sizes that are light in weight and can be installed in hours rather than days. Information: (239) 591-2204.

Loft floor plans, townhouses and great-room layouts mean the appliances are on full view, and they'd better not look kitchen-y. Electrolux showed its Icon refrigerator in stainless steel with handsome curved handles and LED lights on the control panel that glowed in sophisticated blue. The refrigerator comes in a counter depth that gives a built-in look. Suggested retail: $2,499. Details at www.electrolux.com

Water pours from the breasts of game birds or from under the chins of deer that Sarasota artist Olympia Zacchini creates in bronze in limited editions of 25. Imagine these in a rustic lodge or bar; they can be sink faucets or bar taps, with deer hooves as the hot and cold handles. They're not inexpensive: the pheasant is $15,800; the deer (she'll attach the rack from a deer you shoot) is $12,800. Reach her at (941) 351-4512.