Expert Advice on Home Improvement TV Host of Emmy®-Nominated Today's Homeowner® and home expert for The Weather Channel

Before the drywall can be installed, all the plumbing and wiring in the walls must be run. Everything from electrical and phone lines to cable and speaker wires need to be roughed in and routed to the proper locations.

With the cost of energy on the rise, producing electricity from the sun is looking more promising than ever. But while sunlight is free, producing electricity from photovoltaic cells is still quite expensive, costing from $30,000 to $40,000 to convert an existing home to a solar powered one. Until solar cells become more affordable, there are other solar options worth considering, including solar landscape lighting and solar hot water heaters.

Home automation systems can be used to control everything from heating and cooling to lighting and music. Z-Wave technology uses a two-way wireless system to reliably transmit signals from a controller to the device.

It’s easy to make a mistake when measuring and marking the location of electrical outlets on drywall. To prevent this from happening, coat the edge of the outlet box with brightly colored lipstick. Position the sheet of wallboard in place, and push it firmly up against the outlet box.

While skylights are a great way to bring more natural light into your home, they can be hard to install, result in unwanted heat buildup, and are prone to leaking. ODL Tubular Skylights solve these problems by using a small diameter round lens on the roof to gather sunlight and shine it down a reflective metal tube to an diffuser mounted on the ceiling.

If you’re tired of constantly untangling and tripping over your extension cord, try turning a 5-gallon plastic bucket into this handy cord caddy. To use, place the bucket near an electrical outlet and plug the end of the cord that extend through the hole into the outlet. It’s a good idea to spread the cord out during use to keep it from overheating.

Danny revisits a couple of NuTone products used during Today’s Addition. The NuTone video answering system helps bridge the distance from the addition in the back of the house to the front door. The system uses a Cat5 cable to relay video from a small doorbell camera back to a LCD display in the master bedroom. Above the breakfast bar, a NuTone recessed light performs two functions. It provides a cone of light and with a flip of a switch it removes humidity and odor as an exhaust fan. The exhaust function is completely housed inside of the lighting unit.

Danny talks to an automated lighting expert about wireless remote controlled lighting. These systems can let you set lighting to time, mood, or control it from the car.

From high-tech gadgets to simple changes, Danny takes a look at some new ways to make your home green whether during new construction or a remodel. Automated irrigation systems, solar paneled roofs, and programmable thermostats are just a few of the green additions seen here.

Power or voltage surges are very short periods of high voltage that happen in the blink of an eye. An extremely high voltage surge can damage major appliance motors and totally destroy sensitive electronic equipment.