January, 1923 
37 
THE ELECTRICALLY EQUIPPED HOME 
In which Comjort, Convenience, and Pleasure can be Increased, in Many Ways 
by the Thoughtful Use of Electrical Current 
ETHEL R. PEYSER 
W E HAVE become a nation of home¬ 
builders. This condition has come 
about so quietly and gradually that 
we are scarcely aware of the great flood of 
desire for homes that has swept across this 
country. We have built nearly a million 
moderate sized bouses in the past year and 
that is not half enough. 
And these new homes are almost with¬ 
out exception built with that percentage of 
luxury which all Americans consider their 
just due. By luxury we do 
not mean extravagance— 
much wise economy has un¬ 
doubtedly been practised in 
the building of these homes, 
on the site, the size, the 
number of stories, ornamen¬ 
tation, and even the number 
of rooms, but never do we 
save money on such essen¬ 
tials in constructional detail 
as lighting, plumbing and 
heating. It almost goes 
without saying that our 
homes must be bright, warm 
and sanitary, and this holds 
good down to the four room 
bungalow. 
If you talk to a man who 
is going to build this spring, 
the chances are he will say 
little about the style of his 
house or the period of his 
furniture, but he will want 
to know everything you can 
tell him about electricity, 
the new methods of heating 
and the most modern ways 
of making his home safe 
and sane. 
All these home luxuries 
today are considered when 
the house is being planned 
so that they may be incor¬ 
porated in the very con¬ 
struction of the dwelling, and 
the price of a house is rarely estimated 
without including the outfitting of the 
cellar, the best possible bathroom and 
kitchen and that wonderful miracle worker 
of this past Century, electricity. 
A wise old Irishman once said of Amer¬ 
ican homes that "they had too much air and 
too little light.” One questions if there 
can be too much air in warm houses, but 
there is no doubt that we are just begin¬ 
ning to understand how to light a house 
adequately and to realize that whenever it 
is possible the whole question of lighting 
must be thought out and placed on paper 
by the architect. 
Of course this does not mean that a house 
cannot be wired for electricity after it is 
completed. Most of the old dwellings in 
New York have been done that way, just 
as in the very old ones, excellent systems of 
plumbing have been added. But if you are 
just thinking of building, plan for a beauti¬ 
fully lighted house from 
the very start. Keep light 
in your mind when you are 
wiring the cellar, the kitchen, 
the porch, the attic, the stair¬ 
way, the halls, endless cozy 
spots besides. 
By adequate wiring is 
meant introducing sufficient 
electricity into the house to 
permit enough convenient 
outlets for present and future 
needs. It does not mean that 
at the start every electric 
device in the world must be 
introduced nor that your 
hemes should be perforated 
like a sieve with electric holes 
(outlets) for connecting elec¬ 
trical appliances. To wire 
your house sufficiently at 
the first is wise in just the 
same way that it is sensible 
to have good and sufficient 
plumbing in the house from 
the beginning. If you need 
a new washstand you can 
have it any day if your house 
is properly piped, and so if 
you have your house well 
wired when it is built, you 
can add outlets as you need 
them. 
People who are going to 
build should make a point 
of studying into the questions 
A cozy morning meal with an electrical table grill on which bread 
can be toasted and eggs cooked at the same time, and a glazed 
pottery percolator. Courtesy The Rochester Stamping Company 
