Did you divulges know there crimson storm nmsu fells in are rules and regulations about how much natural light and natural ventilation must be present in each room of a home?Before your building department approves a house, an addition or even a window change, certain light and ventilation rules must be met. Closets, bathrooms, hallways and garages don't fall under these guidelines. Here are the rules:* Natural light -- A room must have a window or glass door sized to equal at least 10% of the floor area of the room. So, if a room is 10 feet by 12 feet, then the room area would be 120 square feet and the minimum size of the window in that room would have to be 12 square feet. * Ventilation -- Natural ventilation must equal 5% of the floor area, or half the requirement for that of natural light. In the example above, the window also would qualify for minimum natural ventilation if half of it was operable. Although handled as separate issues, natural light and natural ventilation have a very specific relationship to one another as far as calculation rules are concerned. Why is it so important that the amount of light be double that of ventilation? Simple, natural light cuts down on the need for artificial illumination and, therefore, can save energy. In the winter, warming sunlight can reduce heating costs. As for ventilation, Mother Nature's breath reduces mildew and mold.

And unless you live in parts of Los Angeles, outside air is quite medicinal (lots of oxygen) and refreshing. Of course, the rules get a little more complicated as you apply them throughout the house. For example, adjacent rooms may be grouped together for light and ventilation calculation purposes . However, the size of their shared doorway must equal at least 50% of the area of the wall space that separates the rooms. These guidelines just cover the minimums dabcc nmsu . There are also rules about maximums. If you have a question, consult your local building department before you spend money doing something wrong. --For more home improvement tips and information, visit the Careys' website at onthehouse , or call their hot line at (800) 737-2474, Ext 59. dona ana . IN the mid-'90s, after Scott Bakula had starred for five years as time traveler Sam Beckett in the TV series "Quantum Leap," the actor and avid gardener set down his hoe and listed his home in Ojai. "It breaks my heart to sell it," he said then of his retreat, "but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. "He put the five-bedroom house, which he had built, on the market at close to $1. 8 million lascruces nm . Now the home is for sale again, and the current sellers are asking nearly $4. 3 million. The price includes Bakula's garden, a combination of a planned landscape and native vegetation; a wild variety of roses; and a small orchard. About this house: The eclectic-style house, characterized in marketing materials as Mediterranean, reflects the actor's interest in the architecture of Greene & Greene, Wallace Neff and Frank Lloyd Wright. There are Arts and Crafts touches such as a hand-hewn frieze, depicting the Topa Topa Mountains, and the entryway floor, made of river rocks from a nearby creek. Asking price: $4,295,000Size: The 6,215-square-foot house is on 4 acres. Features: Walls of glass showcase oaks and vines; leaded- and stained-glass panels are reminiscent of an earlier era. The house has 4 1/2 bathrooms, two offices, a loft, a pool, a sauna and a gym A long driveway leads to a gated entry.

A large stone fireplace is a focal point of the living room. Where: OjaiListing agent: Jeff Maynard, (626) 390-0090, and Teresa Fuller, (626) 483-0710 Both are with Coldwell Banker -- Old Pasadena. --ruth. ryon . Political support for better fuel economy apparently goes only so far these days. A Bush administration official apologized this week for a newsletter sent to thousands of government employees that encouraged them to consider fuel-efficient vehicles built by Japanese automakers. "I deeply regret that our newsletter offended anyone, especially those Americans working in the automobile industry and the millions of people who make American automobile manufacturers successful," said Joe Ellis, an assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Some U. S lou henson. automakers and the Michigan congressional delegation have complained about an Aug nmsu afrotc . 17 e-mail sent by the agency to its 67,000 employees asking them to consider a list of a dozen "green" cars -- none built by Detroit-based companies. All of the cars on the list from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy were made by Japanese or South Korean firms. Rep nmsu aggie .

Bart Stupak (D-Mich. Pan American Center NMSU tickets ) said, "HHS officials should focus upon their mission of ensuring food and drugs are safe . rather than issuing inaccurate advice that appears to endorse foreign-made products. " nmsu aggies . On a much smaller scale, Aptera Motors Inc nmsu dacc . of Carlsbad, Calif. , plans to unveil its three-wheel hybrid/electric vehicle at a semiprivate confab this weekend. Called the Typ-1 (no, that's not a typo), the car is the latest advanced-technology vehicle to roll off the drawing board of someone not employed by GM, Toyota or one of the other big auto companies Pan American Center NMSU - nmsu . Plans call for having the Typ-1 in production by October 2008, with an initial goal of making 10 cars a month at a facility in Carlsbad, said Steve Fambro, founder and chief executive of Aptera. The price should be below $30,000, Fambro said nmsu dona ana . The car is designed to seat two adults, with room for a child seat. Trunk space will be ample, he said. It will be offered in two versions: all-electric with a 120-mile range or a plug-in hybrid.

Both will be powered by lithium ion batteries. Aptera has managed on less than $20 million in start-up capital, but Fambro is looking to raise more . One hurdle should be overcome this weekend when the company gets its website up and no longer has to rely on a MySpace page to get the word out. -- Martin Zimmerman nmsu pan am center . Bob Lutz sounds like he's about to change his name to Reddy Kilowatt. Lutz, vice chairman of General Motors Corp. , was in town this week to talk about his company's 2008 vehicle lineup nmsu sundancers . But the subject that really got his engine humming was the Volt, GM's potentially revolutionary battery-powered concept car. The Volt incorporates GM's E-Flex electric drive system, functioning as a plug-in hybrid with a 40-mile, all-electric range Pan American Center NMSU - nmsu . "This vehicle is about allowing most Americans to make their daily trips without having to hear the sound of an internal combustion engine," Lutz said Pan American Center NMSU . GM, you may recall, was the reluctant star/villain of last year's documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car?," about California's failed attempt to jump-start the use of electric vehicles on the state's freeways,Whether the experiment failed because of a lack of political will, corporate negligence or a dearth of consumer demand is still hotly debated nmsu tournament of bands . But Lutz clearly believes that electrons will be a key automotive power source in the future. And not the distant future either. Lutz repeated his belief that GM can have Volts with plug-in hybrid powertrains in showrooms by the end of 2010. Price: under $30,000. Meeting that deadline will require advances in lithium ion battery technology that Lutz is convinced can be attained.

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