Wired

A house is basically a body. Now that the framing is done, there’s a skeleton that the rest of the organs and arteries can fit around. Not sure what metaphor works best for the electrical wiring - arteries? nervous system? Anyway, it’s the first ‘system’ to be installed. This means that we need to work out where all the plugs, lights and switches will go.

I’m not a fan of recessed lighting in prewar apartments. They look too modern and the downlighting can feel harsh. But unfortunately, there wasn’t much prewar detail that survived and my apartments are going to feel fairly modern when they’re finished. New York winters are long, cold and dark, so I’ll err on having too much light rather than not enough. My compromise is to use fairly large 6” cans, spaced far apart, that will hopefully avoid the needling look that comes with a grid of tiny spotlights.

I had hopes of putting solar panels on my roof but got hit with some unexpected costs for the beam replacement and an air-conditioning system I hadn’t asked for in my original quote. There are great tax incentives for solar that will expire this year, but I’ll just have to wait until the next year or two and hope that the incentives get reinstated. Unfortunately, our country is still focused on subsidizing oil more than renewable energy, making solar still just out of reach for many home-owners.

If I hadn’t just stretched my last thin dime - Brooklyn Solar Works has financing options that can make your renewable energy dreams come true. If I wasn’t financing 97% of my entire project, I’d sign up now.