LIGHTING AND HEATING
If common sense has governed our proceedings to date, the new house we
are building, or the ready-built one we have chosen, will have full
advantage of the one perfect light--that afforded by the sun.
NECESSITY OF SUNLIGHT
The health-giving properties of sunlight are so well known to all of us
that we wonder why so many otherwise sensible folk seem to shun it,
with trees and vines, awnings and blinds denying access to that which
would make the house wholesome. When possible, every room in the house
should have its daily ray bath, and our apartments should utilize the
light of the sun as early and as late as may be.
Perhaps nature intended all creatures to sleep through the hours of
darkness. If we had followed that custom we might be a race of
Methuselahs; who knows? Why some one has not established a cult of
sleepers from sunset to dawn is really inexplicable. But mankind in
general has persisted in holding to a different notion, and since the
sun declines to shine upon us during all the hours of the twenty-four,
and we insist upon cutting the night short at one end, we have had to
devise substitutes for the sunlight.
Of course the sunlight does not always leave us in unbroken darkness.
Few of us are so far departed from the days of mellow youth as to
forget certain summer evenings, linked in memory with verandas or
bowered walks, when moonlight--and even that in a modified form--was
the ideal illumination. But even if we could employ the good fairies
to dip them up for us, we should find the soft moongleams of the summer
evening a rather doubtful aid in searching for the cat in the dark
corners of the basement.
Omitting pine knots, which are rather out of vogue, modern home
lighting includes four forms--candles, oil lamps, gas, and electricity.
The first-named are not, it is true, used to any extent for what may be
called the practical purposes of lighting; but in many ways their light
is most beautiful of all. Some charming candelabra suited to the
dining table are found in the better shops, and an investment in a
choice design is a very justifiable extravagance. Candle illumination
is of all varieties the one least trying to the eyes and to the
complexion, though its effect upon the temper of the person tending the
candles is not so sure to be happy. However, the sort with a hollow
center, called Helion candles, require little attention, and the
patented candle holders, which work automatically, give no trouble at
all.
KEROSENE
Notwithstanding there are some points in favor of the old reliable
kerosene lamp, even when put in the scale with other illuminants, few
people of the younger generation regard it as other than something to
be endured. In view of the facts that an oil lamp requires a great
deal of attention, usually leaves its trail of oil and smoke, is
ill-smelling, disagreeably hot in summer, and always somewhat
dangerous, it is strange that those who cling to it as to a fetich are
usually the ones who have longest struggled with its imperfections.
The pretext for this conservatism, whether it be spoken or reserved, is
economy. If we are of this class, we may be shocked to discover that,
after all, kerosene lighting is really no cheaper than gas or electric
light, if sufficient illumination is afforded, and insufficient
lighting is surely ill-judged economy.
GAS AND MATCHES
Few communities of respectable size are now without gas or electricity,
and even in the country the latter is almost everywhere obtainable. If
not, an individual gas plant, of which there are several makes, may be
installed at a moderate cost. Properly placed, such a plant is safe
and easily regulated and will furnish light for somewhat less than the
usual charge of the gas companies.
Gas has never fully supplanted kerosene, even where it is readily
obtained. Why this is true we need not pause to discuss; perhaps a
fairly well-founded suspicion of the meter has had something to do with
it. But certainly no one building a house in these days would fail to
pipe it for gas if the supply were at hand, even if it were to be used
only for kitchen fuel. Gas has its virtues as an illuminant also, and
is favored by many on account of the softness of the light.
But while gas is preferable to kerosene, electricity is with equal
certainty preferable to gas. It is more adaptable, is in many places
quite as reasonable in cost, and is cleaner and safer. In numerous
country communities where gas is not to be had electricity is
available, as frequently a large region embracing several towns is
supplied from a single generating plant.
Gas is subject to fluctuations in quality, sometimes becoming quite
dangerous in its effect upon the atmosphere. Water gas, which is very
generally manufactured, is said to carry four or five times as much
carbon monoxide per unit of bulk as retort gas. It has for the
hemoglobin of the blood four hundred times the affinity of oxygen, and
a proportion of only two tenths of one per cent may produce heart
derangement. While we are wondering that we are alive in the face of
such dreadful facts, we may note further that gas is rather variable in
its qualities as an illuminant. We have mentioned the suspicious gas
meter, whose vagaries doubtless have caused more virtuous indignation
with less impression upon its object than anything ever devised. An
open flame is always a menace; and then there is the burnt match. Most
housekeepers, I am sure, would testify to their belief that matches
were not made in heaven. Is there anything that so persistently defies
the effort for tidiness as the charred remains of a match, invariably
ignited elsewhere than on the sandpaper conspicuously provided, and
more likely to be tossed upon the floor or laid upon the mahogany table
than to find its way into the receptacles that yearn for it?
For cooking, however, gas must still be a main dependence, and for this
reason, as well as to provide for remote emergencies, the house should
be piped for gas. At least it should be brought into the house, even
if the piping is not continued farther than the kitchen.
ELECTRIC LIGHT
In seeking to secure sufficient light we often go to the extreme of
providing a glare that is trying to the eyes and would test the beauty
of the loveliest complexion that ever charmed in the revealing light of
day. We go further, mayhap, and concentrate the glare upon the center
of the room, with a shade of bright green which gives an unearthly but
not a heavenly cast to all the unfortunate humans who come under its
belying influence.
Objection is sometimes made to electric light that it is too powerful,
and that it is difficult to modify and control. This impression is due
to the tendency of which we have spoken--the working out of the thought
that proper lighting is a question of quantity. For some persons the
ideal arrangement would seem to be a searchlight at each corner of the
room, with a few arc lights suspended from a mirrored ceiling.
Electric light, to furnish the most agreeable effects, must be softened
and properly diffused. If the light units that so perfectly illumine a
room during the day were concentrated they would make a blinding glare,
but diffused they are properly tempered to the eye. The common thought
seems to be to put all the lights of the living room in the center, and
to make them so powerful that they will penetrate every corner of the
room and make it "light as day." In consequence the center is
overlighted, and instead of a similitude of daylight we have unreality.
PLEASING ARRANGEMENT
For the dining-room and library table some form of drop light is
essential. There are arrangements that will transform the banquet or
student lamp into an electric drop light, or the special outfits for
this use may be had in some very artistic designs. For general
lighting, wall sconces, lanterns, or brackets are preferable. Some of
these are very beautiful, though there is a tendency to
overelaboration. Design, of course, should be in keeping with the
general decoration and outfitting of the room. Instead of four
sixteen-candle-power lights in a center chandelier, eight of
eight-candle power will "spread" the illumination better and add little
to the expense, except for fixtures. In beamed ceilings which are not
too high, the effect of lights placed upon the beams is pleasing,
though the effect upon the monthly bill may not have the same aspect.
Electric lamps at the sides should be at a fair height and throw their
light downward, instead of wasting it upon the ceiling.
The pretty lanterns of antique design are expensive, the simplest sort
costing $4 or $5 apiece. There are numerous artistic brackets,
however, that may be had for smaller amounts. Bulbs are made in all
sorts of shapes to fit recesses or for special purposes, and the
designs in shades and candelabra are legion.
ADAPTABILITY
Electricity's strong card is its adaptability. It can go wherever a
wire may be carried, and into many places where gas or oil lights would
not be safe or practical. The only thing lacking is to make it
wireless, and perhaps invention sooner or later will be equal to that
demand. Early installations were rather carelessly made, but municipal
and underwriters' rules are now so strict that practically all danger
of fire has been eliminated. The householder in the country should
make sure that the underwriters' prescriptions are fully observed, as
his insurance may be affected. In the city, official inspection
usually guarantees correct wiring.
Probably only in the hall, dining room, and living room will we be
greatly concerned with the decorative phase of lighting. Elsewhere the
question is largely one of practical use, though considerations of
taste are not to be neglected. Careful study should be given to the
adaptation of lighting to the future uses of the rooms. This will
perhaps avoid the use later of unsightly extension cord, though this
avoidance can scarcely be made complete.
PROTECTION
A very useful light may be provided for the veranda, just outside the
door, illuminating the front steps and path to the sidewalk. This
light may be turned off and on by a switch key inside the door. It is
particularly comforting when some stranger rings the doorbell late at
night and one does not feel overpleased to be called upon to open the
door to an invisible person. Other switch arrangements make it
possible to turn on the upper hall lights from below, or the lower hall
lights from above, and the lights in each room from the hall. When
there are unseemly noises downstairs in the wee sma' hours it is much
more agreeable to gaze over the balustrade into a bright hall than to
go prowling about in the darkness for the bulb or gas jet, with the
chance of grasping a burglar instead. Some burglars are very sensitive
about familiarities on the part of strangers, and it is always better
to permit them to depart in a good humor. The basement lighting, too,
should be regulated from above, and the dark corners should be well
looked after. At best, the basement is a breeder of trouble. If the
light is in the center, and must be turned off at the bulb, the return
to the stairway from the nocturnal visit to the furnace is likely to be
productive of bruised shins and objurgative English; if the light
operates from above, one either forgets to turn it off and leaves it to
burn all night, or becomes uncertain about it just as he is beginning
to doze off, necessitating a scramble downstairs to make sure. Perhaps
it would be well to have a choice of systems.
Some houses have been so wired that one can illuminate every room from
the hall or from the master's bedroom. This necessitates complicated
wiring and will not be found necessary by most of us. Neither will we
desire to spend our hardly won cash in wiring our four-poster bed for
reading lights, or to put lights under the dining table for use in
searching for the lost articles that always by some instinct seek the
darkest spots in the room. If there be a barn or shed on the lot, an
extension carried there will be found convenient and comparatively
inexpensive. In the kitchen and pantries the lights should be
considered in detail so that all the various operations may be served.
Shadowed sinks and ranges and dark pantries are not necessary where
there is electric light.
REGULATED LIGHT
In halls, closets, and bathroom lower-power lamps, or the "hylo," which
may be alternated from one- to sixteen-candle power, will prove an
economy. The "hylo" is also useful in bedrooms where children are put
to sleep, affording sufficient light to daunt the hobgoblins without
discouraging the approach of the sandman. Some persons cannot sleep
without a light; for them, and for the sick room, the low-power light
is eminently preferable to the best of oil lamps.
There are numerous conveniences to be operated by electricity, such as
chafing dishes ($13.50), flat irons ($3.75 up), curling-iron heaters
($2.25 up), electric combs for drying hair ($4), heating pads, in lieu
of hot-water bags ($5), and many articles for the kitchen. These are
operated from flush receptacles in baseboards or under rugs, or from
the ordinary light sockets.
THE TWO SURE WAYS OF HEATING
There is only one efficient and healthful method of heating a house,
and that is with a hot-air furnace. I have that on the authority of a
man who sells hot-air furnaces, and he ought to know.
Substitute "steam or hot water" for "hot-air furnace," and we have the
assurance of the man across the way who sells boilers and radiators.
The beauty of it is that each proves his case to one's entire
satisfaction--not only that his own system is a marvel of perfection,
but that the other systems are dangerous to health and breeders of
unhappiness and really ought (though he wouldn't like to say so) to be
prohibited by law.
So we shall have to decide the question for ourselves. If we err, we
can still abuse the dealer, or the architect, or the contractor, for
letting us make a mistake.
THE HOT-AIR FURNACE
The hot-air furnace costs least to install. (We leave stoves out of
consideration.) It is also supposed to be easiest to manage. That, in
a sense, is true. A good furnace will act pretty well even under
indifferent direction; a bad one cannot be made much worse by the
greatest of stupidity.
However, the average person can run the average furnace with a fair
degree of satisfaction to the household, if not to himself. For a
house of six to eight rooms the furnace may be considered an efficient
means of heating. It requires more fuel than some other apparatus, but
there are compensations.
Since ventilation and heating are inevitably associated, the argument
that the furnace provides for ventilation is a strong one. If the air
is taken from outdoors, passed over the radiating surface into the
rooms, and then sent on its way, something like perfect ventilation is
assured. If the air is simply taken from the basement--a poor place to
go for air--heated, passed through the rooms, returned, and heated over
again, we may well pray to be delivered from such "ventilation." The
success of the furnace depends not upon ability to keep up a rousing
fire but upon a proper regulation of air currents. Many a first-class
furnace, properly installed, fails to work satisfactorily because the
principle of heating is not understood. Even with the best of
knowledge, the air is hard to regulate, and the very principle that
gives the furnace its standing as a ventilator must prevent it from
being a perfect heater.
Unless some artificial moisture is provided, not only will the air be
too dry for comfort and health, but an excessive degree of heat must be
attained in order to warm the rooms, thus increasing the consumption of
coal. A water pan is usually provided in the furnace, but too often it
is neglected.
DIRECTION OF HEAT
If any mistake in selection of size is to be made, it should be in
favor of excess. Most authorities urge the choice of at least a size
above that indicated by the heating area. A chimney with suitable
draught is imperative. The furnace should be placed in a central
location and should be set sufficiently low to permit the essential
rise of the heat ducts. If the basement is low the furnace should be
depressed. While the heat conveyors should not ascend directly from
the furnace, they should not be carried any farther than necessary in a
horizontal position. The velocity of heat is diminished in carrying it
horizontally, increased vertically. Crooks and turns add to the
friction and decrease heating power. Therefore the pipes should be as
short and direct as possible. It is not necessary to carry the
register to a window on the farther side of the room, say some
authorities, as the warm air rises to the ceiling anyway, and the
greater length of carry involves a loss in warmth.
Pipes for the first floor should he large. Those for the upper rooms,
having a longer vertical range, may be smaller. All the pipes should
be double, with an inch air space between, as a protection against
fire. Asbestos paper on a single pipe is not regarded as a sufficient
precaution, as it is easily torn and quickly wears out.
REGISTERS
There are arguments in favor of side-wall registers. They save floor
space and obviate some dust. On the other hand, they are not quite so
effective in heating as the other sort, since the pipes for floor
registers may be of larger diameter and as a rule require fewer bends.
Each register should have a separate pipe from the furnace. Where
direct heat is not desired, a register opening in the ceiling of a
downstairs room will sometimes carry enough heat to the upper chamber
to make it comfortable for sleeping purposes.
Since furnace efficiency is largely dependent upon air control, a
strong wind sometimes makes it difficult to heat portions of the house.
To meet this emergency there is a combination hot-air and hot-water
heater which supplies radiators on the upper floors, or elsewhere if
desired. The additional cost is practically all in the installation,
as the same fire furnishes both forms of heat.
For an eight-room house or smaller, a first-class steel-plate furnace,
securely sealed against the escape of gas and smoke, costs free on
board about $150. Each two rooms additional raises the price about
$25. Other furnaces may be had as low as $50. Cost of tin work, brick
setting, etc., depends upon locality.
HOT WATER AND STEAM HEAT
Hot water and steam heat cost more for installation, but have many
advantages over the furnace. Their chief drawbacks are the space
usurped by radiators, lack of ventilation, and the possibility of an
occasional breakdown. The ingenuity of the makers, however, is partly
overcoming these difficulties, mainly by the device called the indirect
system.
We need not fret ourselves here with a technical elucidation of either
form of heating. We may, however, consider some of the claims made for
hot water, which is apparently coming to be considered the preferable
arrangement for dwelling houses. There is not a great deal of
difference between the essential features of steam and hot-water
systems.
It is declared that water will absorb more heat than any other
substance, hence will take from the boiler practically all the heat
produced in the combustion of fuel. As the temperature of the water is
automatically controlled, the atmosphere of the rooms may be kept at
the desired degree, the presence of radiators in each room, all of the
same temperature, giving an even heat over the entire house.
There can be no sudden drop in temperature, as the water in the pipes
continues to distribute warmth even after the fire has been checked or
has been allowed to go out. The fuel required for an ordinary stove,
it is asserted, will warm an entire house with hot water. An engineer
is not required. Inexperienced persons have no difficulty in operating
the ordinary boiler, and there is no danger whatever, because, the
makers adduce, for steam heat the maximum pressure is about five
pounds, while with hot water there is practically no pressure at all.
Very little water is used, and a connection with the street water
system is not imperative, though convenient.
INDIRECT HEATING
Indirect heating is provided by passing air over radiators attached to
the ceiling of the basement, thence to the upper rooms. In the
"direct-indirect" system the radiators are placed in the partition
walls of the rooms they are to heat, the cold air being brought through
a duct and, being heated, passing into the rooms. These two systems
are economical of space and afford provision for excellent ventilation.
They are considerably more expensive, however, than the direct system,
which involves exposed radiators.
Radiators are now constructed in many different forms, to fit under
windows, in corners, in fireplaces, under cabinets, and so on. Much
effort has been directed also toward relieving their painful ugliness,
and if of a neat design appropriately colored they need not be a
serious blot upon the decorative scheme of a room.
Radiators, in the direct system, should be placed far enough from the
walls to permit free circulation over the heating surfaces, and should
not be directly covered at the top. Ordinarily there are good reasons
for putting them near the more exposed places, such as windows and
outer doors. As both steam and hot water furnish a dry heat, provision
should be made in every room for evaporation of water.
SUMMARY
With no prejudice against good furnaces, it may be said that hot water
apparently affords the greatest possibilities for comfort and
regularity of heating, and that there are usually no reasons why it
cannot be utilized in country houses. A hot-water installation is
likely to cost twice as much as a furnace, but if we are to live in the
house it is better to make our estimates cover ten or twenty years
rather than to bear too strongly on first costs.
The following table, while it must not be taken as fully conclusive,
gives at least a basis of consideration:
HOT AIR. STEAM. HOT WATER.
First cost.................. Small. Higher. Highest.
Comparative coal
consumption ............ 18 1/2 tons. 13 1/2 tons. 10 tons.
Average durability.......... 12 years. 35 years. *Indestructible
Heat distribution........... Uneven. Regular. Even.
Temperature................. Variable. Fair. Regular.
Ventilation................. Good, if Good, with Good, with
properly indirect indirect
managed. system. system.
Quality of heated air....... Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.
Dust and dirt............... Much. Little. None.
Danger of fire.............. Moderate. None. None.
Danger of explosion......... Slight. None. None.
Noise....................... None. Occasional. Almost none.
Management.................. *Delightful. *Pleasure. *Joy.
Relative cost of apparatus.. 9 13 15
Ditto, plus repairs and
fuel for five years..... 29 1/2 29 2/3 27
Ditto, plus repairs and
fuel for five years..... 81 63 52 1/2
* Makers' statement.
These comparisons are probably, on the whole, somewhat unfair to the
high-grade furnace.