Category Archives: Home / Energy

by Christine Graf

A large-scale study conducted in Japan showed that increased work from home has led to an increase in lower back pain, and Google searches for the words “back pain” reached an all-time high in January 2022. Poor ergonomics in the home office are thought to be partially to blame for the worldwide surge in back pain.

Since the start of the pandemic, chiropractor Dr. Brad Elliott, owner of Elliott Chiropractic in Clifton Park, has seen an uptick in the number of patients seeking care for back, neck, and shoulder pain.

“Home workstations have kept providers like me busy,” he said. “There’s been a lot of overuse injury from working from home without a doubt. I’ve seen a lot of neck, shoulder, and upper back issues and a lot of nerve and muscle-based issues from forward head carriage.”

Denise Didio Buher, PT, owner of Orthopedic and Spine Physical Therapy in Queensbury, said her practice has also seen an increase in the number of patients seeking treatment for back and neck pain.

“I have certainly seen an increase in all of this because people have been more sedentary since COVID, and they are all working from home. During COVID, I did tele-rehab, and I had a ton of people from New York City who were really trapped in their apartments. I worked with them to correct their seating, correct their posture, and give them exercises to counteract everything that they were doing.”

By Christine Graf

Aviation company Wright Electric has moved its headquarters to the 280-acre Saratoga Technology + Energy Park (STEP) in Malta. 

Founded in Boston in 2017, the company is developing zero-emissions electric airplanes for short regional flights. Their electric motors and motor controllers are versatile and will be able to serve other industries including the maritime industry, according to the company.

Co-founder Jeff Engler, a Hudson Valley native with a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, is an entrepreneur who has also worked in the private sector. He previously co-founded Podimetrics, a company that designed the SmartMat, a medical device used for the early detection of foot ulcers in diabetics.

“These foot problems lead to early amputations and early death, and it often tends to be in veterans,” he said. “It costs the medical system billions and billions of dollars. It’s a large social problem and a large economic opportunity, and that’s really the same as with electric airplanes.”

Engler’s interest in electric airplanes was piqued ten years after he visited a web site that allowed him to calculate his personal carbon footprint.

“What I found was that it turned out that each time I ate vegetarian, it had a relatively small impact on my carbon footprint. But a single flight had a huge impact,” he said. “Subsequently, there has been a lot of research on this, and it turns out you would have to eat vegetarian for over a year to offset the carbon from even a single New York to Chicago flight.”

By Paul Post

Community solar is a large array of solar panels at an offsite location that allows customers to access such power without installing panels on their homes. Developers build and operate community solar projects, and energy delivery companies like National Grid purchase and distribute credits generated by the projects to participating customers.

It’s an easy way for residential and small business owners alike to offset the current 8.5 rate of inflation by shaving up to 10 percent off their electric bills.

“There’s very little downside with this,” said Nathan Giebel, EnergyNext LLC vice president of energy services. “It’s a win-win, which is why they’re so popular. We partner with a lot of chambers of commerce. That’s how a lot of businesses come to interact with us.”

EnergyNext is a division of Chicago-based Satori Energy and has an office in Saratoga Springs.

There are three main issues the firm helps clients navigate when deciding which community solar project to enroll in.

“The biggest thing people care about is, How much am I going to save? What’s the guaranteed savings percentage? Most are 10 percent. Some are 5 percent. If you see something less than 10 percent, there’s probably something better available,” Giebel said.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

The Saratoga Showcase of Homes is back this fall, celebrating its 25th year, and executive director Barry Potoker said it will not disappoint. 

With a lineup of some of the area’s high-end homes, Potoker said it’s the perfect event to get people out to enjoy all that Saratoga has to offer.

The 2021 Saratoga Showcase of Homes is being presented over two fall weekends: Oct. 9, 10 and 11;  and Oct. 16 and 17.

Tickets will also be available at any showcase home during tour hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or can be purchased online at www.saratogashowcaseofhomes.com. The site includes an interactive map of home locations.

“Last year with the pandemic, we had to pivot and have the showcase as a TV show special. It was so important to us to be able to honor this tradition in its 25th year, and so we are so happy to be able to bring it back as an in person event, which is the best way to really show off what these spectacular homes have to offer,” said Potoker.

By Christine Graf

Because  of the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans are working from home than ever before. The remote workforce grew from 22 percent in 2019 to forty-two percent in 2020. In some white-collar professions, 80 percent of workers continue to work remotely, and because employers are realizing that employees can be just as productive from home, remote work options are expected to become common even after the pandemic ends.

For those who are spending more time in their home offices, interior designers suggest having a space that is both productive and aesthetically pleasing.

According to Shelly Walker, interior designer and owner of Finishing Touches Home Décor in Malta, home offices have become a staple in people’s houses.

“People really want to make their home offices comfortable because they are going to be there a lot. Some of my clients say they aren’t even going back to the office and will be working from home from now on,” she said. “People are definitely dressing up their space behind the computer for having Zoom calls. They also want the lighting to be right for being in the meeting and for just being in the room. You want a lot of light including natural light.”

By Christine Graf
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing businesses and homeowners to become increasingly concerned about indoor air quality and the spread of airborne infectious diseases. This concern is having a direct impact on the global HVAC industry.
Many Capital Region companies experienced a significant slowdown in business at the beginning of the pandemic. Some, including Superior Co-Op HVAC of Cambridge, closed during this period. According to owner Gerald Davis, his company was closed for two months but experienced a surge in business after they reopened. He hired an additional employee and added a truck to his fleet to keep up with demand.
“When the governor closed down March 23, we closed up,” said Davis. “I laid everybody off because I didn’t know what was going to happen. In May, we were able to open back up and the floodgates opened up on us.”

By Susan Elise Campbell
Interior design generally follows style trends, the dominant one today being: Form really does follow function as people repurpose and refurbish their homes for office spaces, schoolwork stations and staycations.
Julie Maleski Putzel, founder of JMP Interiors in Clifton Park, said residential clients are using every square foot to create areas or zones they never needed before the pandemic.
“We are shifting the way we live in spaces, move through them and function in them,” said Putzel.
Her forté is “clean and understated but impactful design,” she said. “It’s a refined approach about contrasts, playing with opposites and blending styles that one ordinarily wouldn’t think of but somehow work.”

By Jamie Wallace
Chimneys are like septic systems. No one thinks about them until there’s a problem.
They are especially ignored in second homes and rental properties. A chimney can be a dangerous thing to forget, one that can cost you the loss of property and/or life. There are some simple steps you can take to drastically reduce your chances of ever becoming a statistic.
Step 1: Have your chimney inspected every year, even if you hardly use it. Chimneys change like children grow. Water, settling, and time will continue to alter the flue system.
Having your chimney inspected annually, and swept when needed, is the requirement given by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 211, Standards Codes for Chimneys, Fireplaces, Vents, and Solid Fuel-Burning Appliances.