Cooperative Living June 2021 - 25

KEEP OUTSIDE AIR OUTSIDE
Managing the infiltration of outside
radiant heat from
air can affect homes year-round.
Common recommendations are to
update the weatherstripping and caulk
around doors and windows, clean
filters and vents, and seal leaks in your
ducts. Pfeiffer
points out that leaky
ducts are more
wasteful than an
inefficient air
conditioner. It's
more important to make sure you have
an airtight heating, ventilating and air
conditioning system before upgrading
to a new air-handling system.
PREVENT RADIANT HEAT
R Radiant heat is absorbed from
sunlight and can be transmitted
through oofs and windows into
home. Pfeiffer advises using roof
adiant heat is absorbed from
through roofs and windows into the
h
ome. Pfeiffer advises using roof
ooverhangs and awnings or plantin
trees and landscaping to shade
facing windows, to prevent the su
verhangs and awnings or planting
trees and landscaping to shade westf
acing
windows, to prevent the sun's
rrays from hitting the windows dir
ADD INSULATION
Adding insulation to a home's attic,
basement, walls or crawl spaces will
improve energy efficiency. Pfeiffer
says that optimal roofing materials
combined with shade will prevent
Get to Work
by Julia Robinson
Planning your home office
for optimal productivity
Mischa Fisher of HomeAdvisor
explains that millennials are creating
home offices at a rate three or four times
faster than baby boomers. He says
that boomers are often in larger homes
that might already have a dedicated
workspace and are close to or have already entered retirement.
When folks are upgrading their current home office, they tend to
spend a larger percentage of the budget on improved infrastructure,
explains Scott Newnam of Audio Advice in North Carolina. Such
improvements include enhancing a homeWi-Fi network's connection
speed to accommodate telecommuting and distance learning.
" If suddenly you have four people in the house all trying to connect
co-opliving.com
ays from hitting the windows directly.
TThermal drapes and window cove
hermal drapes and window coverings
can also deflect heat from sunny rooms.
leaking into the
home in the first
place. Sealing
basements and
crawl spaces and
wrapping your
hot water heater in a thermal blanket
also improve energy efficiency.
UPGRADE LIGHTING
Efficient lighting and lighter colors
are key considerations when adding
a home office or hobby space.
Replace lightbulbs with energyefficient
CFLs or LEDs to decrease
energy consumption. An Energy Starqualified
CFL uses about one-fourth
nsumption. An Energy Star
CFL uses about one-fourth
and lasts 10 times longer
the energy and lasts 10 times longer
than a traditional incandescent bulb,
ditional incandescent bulb,
ergy Star-qualified LEDs last
times longer. Light fixtures
ang close to the work or hobby
hout getting in the way.
color of the horizontal
surfaces in the oom makes
and a Energy Star-qualified LEDs last
15 to 25 times longer. Light fixtures
should hang close to the work or hobby
space without getting in the way.
" The color of the horizontal
reflecting surfaces in the roommakes
a big difference in how much energy
got dark countertops, compared with
light-colored countertops. "
SAFETY FIRST
Rewiring your lights and adding
new electrical systems to your home
are complex and hazardous tasks that
erence in how much energy
Pfeiffer says. " You need about
you use, " Pfeiffer says. " You need about
es as much lighting if you've
three times as much lighting if you've
are best left in the hands of a licensed
electrician.
Replacing old electrical outlets with
ground-fault circuit interrupter outlets,
while not a cost-saving improvement,
is a necessary safety upgrade for outlets
around water. GFCIs protect against
shocks by breaking the flow of
electrical current if they detect a fault.
They are required in new construction,
but the Electrical Safety Foundation
International estimates 40 million
homes do not have these lifesaving
outlets in all " wet " rooms.
In addition,
consider having an
arc-fault circuit
interrupter breaker
professionally
installed. AFCIs
protect against firecausing
arcing that is commonly
caused by damaged or worn wiring.
Solar panels can help you create
your own power, but unless you
address your energy demands, they
won't have as big of an impact.
" Before you go to the sexy things
like solar on the roof, things that you
can talk about at a cocktail party, let's
reduce the demand of energy first, "
Pfeiffer says. 
Julia Robinson is a photojournalist
in Austin and a regular contributor
to Texas Co-op Power.
to the sameWi-Fi signal, the
quality of the network connection
is more important, " Newnam says.
Running a physical cable from
a wireless access point to your
modem and router will work
much better than so-calledmesh
networks or Wi-Fi repeaters, which
use a lot of bandwidth to connect
to the original router.
Newnam also suggests
upgrades to your home office
sound system if videoconferences are part of your daily routine.
" The fastest-selling products we have right now are what are called
powered computer speakers, " Newnam says. They provide a higher
quality sound than the cheap desktop speakers that were popular
10 to 20 years ago. A good quality pair of noise-canceling headphones
can also helpmanage a houseful of distractions while working and
schooling fromhome.
June 2021 | Cooperative Living | 23
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Cooperative Living June 2021

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