A new concept in solar power, photovoltaic shingles, can help protect your home from the elements while generating pollution-free electricity.Wires from the photovoltaic cells on each shingle connect to a junction box. The current is sent to a battery for storage, and an inverter converts it to AC power. You can operate everything from a home computer to a security system with the electricity generated by these shingles.

Tim Woods from Internet Home Alliance demonstrates the features of Panasonic's Replay TV service.

Joe Kreis from MJ Cordaro Electric Company explains the installation of a Leviton structured wire system. The system is designed to seamlessly allow the transmission of data, phone, and cable signals within the home. The home was pre-wired at the Simplex factory to plug into a central control panel once the modular pieces were assembled. Each bundle of wires runs from the individual room�s networking box directly to the home�s central system with no splits or connections.

Inspired by the interior wall panels seen in the Winslow-Crocker house in Yarmouthport, Mass. (see tour in episode 1), Bob and crew go to work on replicating the panels in the Modern Colonial project house's dining room. To talk more about the general design of the home, Ben Larochelle, director of custom home plan services for Drummond Designs, visits the project house. Larochelle demonstrates the computer design software that was used to modify the house plans. Using professional design software, Drummond Designs can make custom modifications to any home plan to suit the owner's needs.

Keep electrical wires separate from computer or cable wires. The household current carried through electrical wires can cause interference in other cables. An easy solution is to keep then at least 4 inches apart and never tie them together. If they need to cross, keep them at right angles.

Here's another great tip from BobVila.com. Kids grow so fast, it doesn t take long before their rooms can feel pretty small. But before you plan an addition, here are some simple solutions that might help. One way to make a bedroom feel larger is to cover cluttered shelves and TV and computer screens with cabinet doors or a simple fabric panel. If two kids over age 5 share a room, bunk beds work wonders and can be lots of fun dressed up with curtains or canopies. Or for long, narrow spaces, take your cue from nautical berths or Swedish box beds with a short dividing wall between the beds and curtains for privacy. Often what feels like lack of space is just clutter taking over. You might want to give the toys their own space: an alcove, an enclosed porch or a wide hallway is a great place for built-in shelves or benches with toy storage underneath, keeping the bedroom just for sleeping. To make shelves neater and more efficient, try installing slide-out baskets or organizing toys and art supplies in clear bins with labels. Store some toy bins away and then re-circulate them after a while to keep them interesting and your child amused. It might seem like overkill, but the kid in all of us benefits from having a place for everything and bins and labels eliminate a lot of excuses when it comes time to clean up! Find out more at BobVila.com: The ultimate home improvement web site! BobVila.com 2008

In this segment Bob meets Eddie Fisher, the master electrician on the Brooklyn project's infrastructure team. The team of five electricians from AC/DC Electric is rewiring the building from basement to roof deck. Fisher's team is pre-wiring the building for telephones, computer and cable TV. New York City building codes often require the use of materials and techniques not often seen in residential construction. Codes enacted in the summer of 2003 in New York City require a separate power line from the main electrical box to each GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt) circuit. Also required by code in this building is the use of BX, or metal-shielded, cable. BX is a rigid, flexible metal conduit with a wire bundle, consisting of individually insulated conductors covered by a flexible spiral-wound layer of metal. BX will typically last longer than vinyl-clad cable and may prevent some inadvertent damage in the future.

Bob explains that the house being remodeled was built in 1921 and has never had a real facelift on the exterior. As a consequence, the home's trim, porch ceiling, decking, and windows were all in need of repair. Bob points out the oriel window's exterior frame that has allowed cold air into the home. To fix this problem, local carpenters were called in to tear it apart, insulate, and restructure it. Forester Molding & Lumber was then brought in to replace the 85-year-old trim. Bill Hopkins from Forester Molding & Lumber reviews how old house moldings cannot be found in lumberyards and must be replicated. Hopkins uses a needle gauge to trace the profile of the trim. The needle gauge is then placed on a piece of graph paper and traced. The profile is then used to search for available matches in the Forester catalog. If there is no match, the trim is scanned into the computer and a specialized knife is cut. The knife is then used in the machine to rip the molding.

Bob Ryley meets with Ken Frankel from Lucent Technologies to talk about the new HomeStar wiring system. Ryley points out the outlet part of the system on the wall. These outlets, of which there are six in the house, connect into the basement. Ken explains that the HomeStar system takes care of television, phone, internet, and security for homeowners. Homeowners can be sitting in the living room and see who is at the front door without getting up. Cameras are linked into the television for exterior and interior monitoring. The wire connecting the outlets distributes voice, data, and video through the house. Bob then shows us the hybrid wire which consists of three wires on the inside. The first is a cable wire for television. The second is for video distribution and security monitoring, and the third is for telephone and computer. The telephone and data wire is the highest grade wire called a Category Five wire. Ken tells us that cat five is six hundred times faster than a regular phone wire and perfect for home office use. He points out that using HomeStar a homeowner can save money with the networking capabilities of cables linking various televisions and computers throughout the home.

Bob talks about the "Smart House" system that will be installed in a house. He first looks at some light fixtures. The recessed light fixtures being used allow insulation to come into direct contact with them. Pete Tim, the electrician, explains that with Smart House wiring there will be an integrated computer system that controls cable TV, communication, appliances, heating and air conditioning, and security. They look at a hybrid branch cable that is used for wiring. Pete also uses some innovative cable stackers that keep the wires in the center of the wall cavity so no one will put a screw or nail in the wire.