Noodling on stuff...

So as the electrical continues, my wife has a pretty clear sense in direction as far as what light fixtures to use. Im all about the energy efficiency and making the home green...and some of her tastes dont follow that (not all, but some)....as far as lighting goes.

We finally compromised on some lights (well, ONLY for the recessed lights) and we are ready to move forward with the purchase of those items. Even though I said a few recessed lights, the total count is still up to about 18 - a lot in the garage and basement though. The wife isnt a fan of recessed lights, but I think we did the best we could as far as keeping it clean and still pretty standard.

Choices will be 4" LED Recessed lights using 2400k bulbs. This ensures we keep the nice warm light - not the fluorescent white light. These will be mostly in the hallway and a few in the kitchen (though the majority of the kitchen lighting is fancy. We'll save that for later when they get mounted. Fancy as in...not typically what you find in kitchens (since most pretty much do recessed lights). For us, we only have it in two places - over the sink and over the peninsula/bar area.

Im not sure if I mentioned this before, but we are also getting up to speed with electrical outlets - scattered throughout the house in places that make sense will be outlets with USB ports. This is just for convenience for us and guest in case you want to plug in your phone. No need for bringing your bulky charger - just bring the cable and plug right in.

Here are some pics of the simple more standard lights we are getting and some other things. The cans for the lights look like they are pretty good (you wont see them when the drywall is up), but Im showing it as I learned something when we went through our energy audit (the "before" audit). We will do an "after audit" and then PG&E will credit us up to $4500.00 for becoming more energy efficient. Since we are doing EVERYTHING energy efficient (the larger items and some smaller ones), our audit person informed us we would maximize the credit pretty easily. Looking forward to it.

The reason I pointed the cans is because they are sealed. In an energy audit, they actually look for any and every possible location for air leakage. Basically things need to be pretty air tight if you want to be SUPER efficient. This way, either heat stays in or you stay cool when you need to be cool. No air movement if ALL areas are sealed fairly well. Naturally there is always going to be some natural leakage - no one can be that air tight in their house, however doing things the proper way help. Proper cans for the recessed lighting is one. Since it is fully enclosed, you are no longer fully exposed to ceiling air (the gap between ceiling and roof). We will be insulated after all is said and done, but the light housings/bases will also be pretty leak proof. Comparing what I show here and some older stuff - there are holes and such that allow air to travel down or up through from the bulb housing area causing either cold air to enter or hot air to escape...neither of what you want - makes your furnace work harder or AC work harder (but we wont have AC - no need in this climate).

Anyhow, no work on the house today...just plotting stuff and finalizing 10 million things.

Some of our Electrical Outlets will be like this (the two slots on the sides are USB Ports)

This is the LED Lighting we are using for the recessed lights. They do not use a typical bulb socket and rather a GU24 Standard. Apparently its better for our inspection and some other mumbo jumbo for electrical - keep an eye out for this, Im told this will be more of the standard in the future due to certain characteristics that make it better than a traditional socket. One thing I do know is the ballast is integrated in the bulb. Most bulbs today arent and usually have a separate ballast in the housing. This is the NEW NEW!!!!

This is New Construction housing for our new bulbs. Pretty massive, but notice the enclosure. It is fully sealed and will prevent that air from leaking through or leaking out.

Thats it for today - Im actually going to create the CAD drawing for the garage and basement. My mother in-law (our designer) basically did all the areas she was working on. Instead of asking her to spend time on it, Im taking it into my own hands and will attempt to lay it out in some CAD software I just purchased for Home Design. Wish me luck.