New York Renovator

The Old House Journal has a terrific article called How to Find Energy Efficient Bulbs That Don’t Suck: Nutrition Facts for Light Bulbs.

Starting in January 2011 light bulbs are required to be labeled with lumens, watts, kelvins and efficacy. Greek to you too? Not worry. The label is now clear, easy to understand and full of fun colors.

It’s good news to me. Here in New York State, we will be forced to use only CFLs (or LEDs) for lighting. I have discovered that not all CFLs are created equal, and have often wondered why the differences seems so enigmatic. I had no idea about kelvins and lumens and all that jazz. I recently purchased some “full spectrum” bulbs for our desk lamps, in the hopes that these bulbs would give us a little energy perk and cheer up our spirits on the gloomy days that New York often suffers. I’d heard that full spectrum bulbs simulate sunlight and therefore help improve mood and maybe help Thyroid imbalance and make you faster than a speeding bullet and etc. Honestly, I don’t rely on light bulbs to cure diseases! But if full spectrum bulbs give us a little psychological boost, then, hey- why not? Honestly, I can’t say I have noticed a huge difference. Maybe. I’m a pretty chipper person, anyway, especially when I’m at my desk.

Anyway, now we have a little guide for choosing CFLs. I like it. Here’s what Old House Journal said:

1. Bedroom and Living Room: Pick a bulb in the “yellow” range as close to 2700K as you can get.

2. Garage, Basement, Laundry and Utility Room: These are rooms where mimicking the sun is okay. So, look for bulbs in the “white” range and have a high color temperature of about 5800K. Don’t go too much higher than that or you’ll end up in the ugly “blue” range.

3. Computer Screen: There is a great free program I use called F.lux. It makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.

For more specific information, see the U.S. Department of Energy’s CFL lighting facts chart here (opens as a pdf document).

Oh my word, this is a day that will stand in history. We got some cabinets up!!!

AND we are 100% electrified now!!! See the ceiling fans? I can’t tell you how thrilling this is for us. We have endured over 3 years without electricity in parts of the house. And now we have switched lights and outlets! It’s an historic moment.

The boys had fun helping install the ceiling fans.

..."and whip it good!" LOLOL

So now we have lights and power AND a few cabinets. I am recuperating from last week’s hectic pace. A billion little jobs await me….

Choosing lighting for the kitchen has been really difficult for me. The kitchen is very large, 12 x 23, but it has a lot of angles and doorways. And the ceilings are 9 feet. I eventually chose two sets of chandeliers, which I absolutely love.

But I can’t say I have been 100% settled with the choice of chandeliers. They would certainly spit out a lot of light, but they would also generate heat, and could possibly be more costly to have on (certainly more costly than fluorescent lighting).

My kitchen gets very hot in the late afternoon. It is situated on the southwestern side of the property. Dumb, I know. I didn’t plan it! But the sun comes blasting through the windows in the summer. And the area right outside the window is a HUGE asphalt parking lot (I didn’t do that, either!!). The house used to be a parsonage, and was once connected to the church nearby. The previous owners installed a HUGE parking lot right outside the back door all the way over to the church. It gets pretty hot. I have planted trees to provide shade, but they’ve only been there a few years. So it’s HOT in the summer.

Plus, I will be installing a gas space heater in the kitchen. I will eventually save up money to purchase a very nice little gas fireplace, to create a small “hearth” in the location, but for now, it will be a gas heater. And I’ve been reading that if you have a gas heater, you should either purchase a blower unit to move the heat around ($150 additional), or install ceiling fans to move the air.

CEILING FANS!

So I got them. Two of them. I think they will be perfect. I’m going to return the chandeliers. I love them, but the fans are much more functional and just as beautiful.

That’s renovation for you. I think it’s impossible to have EVERYTHING pre-planned. Things change. For example, we had no idea we would have to change the heating system in this house, until we opened walls and saw the condition of the ductwork. Unfortunately, things like this have broken the budget, but at least we are making the house more efficient, more comfortable, and more valuable. So I’m rolling with the punches these days. There really isn’t anything you can do.

Anyway, I’m pleased with my fans. I’ve read through the manual and I really like Hampton Bay brand. The manual is in ENGLISH and it actually makes sense!

TIP: Never install a ceiling fan using a plastic ceiling hanger work box. Use a metal box, it’s much, much sturdier.

Winter’s shorter days will soon be upon us, so I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for more lamps for the house. In my searching, I discovered a website with some really quirky and weird (and some are outright vulgar) lamps. I certainly tend to be a tad more conservative with my lamp styles, but a quirky lamp or two wouldn’t bother me. Some of these are pretty weird, though, seeming more at home in the dark caverns of call center services or New York penthouses. I posted the best ones here for you to enjoy with me. Which one do you like best?

Just right for a doctor’s home (if his wife will let him):

[...]

OMG!! I found a really cool gadget website– specifically, a site with some extraordinary Alessi-design gadgets. Totally cool! Look at this floss holder! I think I love it!

Here’s a banana boat Salt & Pepper shaker set! [...]

I’ve been on the prowl for cool lighting gadgets ever since I found and bought the Touch&Glow set (I blogged about that here). I am having waaaay too much fun with lighting gadgets. I’m beginning to wonder about myself…

ANYWAY! Who cares! I found ANOTHER really, really cool gadget! This time it was at the Dollar Store. I was shopping for bird seed for our new bird feeder when I saw….. THIS!!!

Oh it doesn’t look like much. Um, actually, there WAS something in there. I took it out. I always do that, darn! I always wind up taking photos of empty boxes. But I am so eager to try the thing out when I get home, I just can’t help myself!

This was $5 at the Dollar Store. Yes! A steal! (The Touch&Glow thing was $15). Of course,this gadget is not as high quality, but it does do the job. I plugged it into my outlet receptacle, and plugged in my lamp. I have a lamp in the Laundry Room because the ceiling fixture doesn’t work. I’m still working on the electric in the house, so we have all these lamps. These gadgets are perfect because 1) I hate touching lamps when my hands are wet, and in the Laundry Room and Kitchen my hands are always wet. 2) The touch-y gadgets are very convenient so we aren’t groping in the dark. 3) We are not wearing out the switches on our lamps anymore, which is a huge plus. Lamps are $25 or more, and I was buying new ones every few months.

OK, so here is the Easy Switch gadget in action.

It is a wireless connection. The package says the components can be as far apart as 60 feet. I installed the switch about three feet from my lamp. (There’s a little hook you screw into the wall, and the switch can be used as a “remote” when you unhook it from the wall hanger). However, I did walk around the house a little, to test out the reception. It does work from long distances! You have to point the remote toward the lamp for it to work best. (And this could be soo much fun, shutting the lights on and off by remote when someone is in the room, heehee).

For $5, you really can’t go wrong. I love this gadget! And now I won’t have to do laundry in the dark!

This is a totally, totally amazing gadget! Can’t install a skylight because you don’t want to hack a hole in your roof? Get a virtual one!

It’s called the Ambient SkyCeiling. It’s actually an LED panel (some are flourescent), and they illuminate the images from behind. They are absolutely gorgeous! I think they’d be neat for Upstate New York, where skies are almost always cloudy and dull. Imagine coming in to the house and having sunshine and a bright blue sky over your head! And so bright! You wouldn’t need lamps to read your personalized books by. Nice.

Of course, they are pricey- this one is $50 a square foot. And then there’s the cost of energizing it. But still, pretty cool.

Photo courtesy of Sky Factory.