# Inventive way to save electricity



## Rover 1 (Dec 28, 2006)

*I know this will probably get moved , but I thought this was a good way to get free lighting and keep those power tool batteries perpetually charged*


http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=174189

A North Attleboro man faces financial ruin because he built a new home so close to dangerous high-voltage transmission lines that fluorescent bulbs inside the house light up without even being plugged in. The electric currents running through the two-story home are considered so potentially harmful that the town’s fire department has strung “caution” tape around the house while an electrical inspector has refused to issue a final permit out of fear someone might get electrocuted. The home’s metallic door knobs and exterior shingles give off mild electric jolts when touched, while flowing currents are strong enough to light up fluorescent bulbs on their own, the homeowner and experts agree. “I spent everything I had,” said Chris Zagami, who invested up to $70,000 of his own money and took out a $290,000 construction loan to build the 1,700-square-foot home just 27 feet from giant overhead 345,000-volt transmission lines owned by National Grid. Zagami, 30, whose bank is now threatening to call in its loan, blames the fiasco on others, including the town of North Attleboro for issuing him a building permit and National Grid for allegedly constructing one transmission tower years ago too close to his property. 

“Financially, I’m so in over my head that it’s ridiculous,” said Zagami, a phone-company technician who grew up only 50 yards away from his new home on Lindley Street in North Attleboro. 

The building inspector who issued the permit no longer works for the town. John Rhyno, a town selectman, said he wants to know why the town issued a building permit in the first place, though he maintained there’s nothing in state statutes that sets guidelines for building homes close to transmission lines. 

“You would think common sense would have prevailed” before construction started, he said of everyone involved, including Zagami. 

A spokeswoman for National Grid, which owns the transmission lines, said Zagami has no one to blame but himself for proceeding with construction last year without getting the company’s permission. 

Debbie Drew, the spokeswoman, said Zagami built his home on National Grid’s easement and ignored its repeated warning to stop. 

Zagami, who is single and whose now largely completed home sits abandoned, said his surveys show that National Grid actually built one transmission tower off of its easement years ago. 

“My life is being destroyed,” said Zagami, of the financial crunch he’s now facing. “I was trying to live the American dream and now I’m getting killed.”


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## bruce56bb (Dec 28, 2006)

wow! i'll bet there are some lawyers chomping at the bit over this.


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## kevinmoelk (Dec 28, 2006)

Zagami doesn't sound like a very smart man.  As the building inspector said, you would think common sense would prevail.  Why in the world would you want to live that damn close to a tower?  It's one thing if your home is already there and the pwr company builds a tower near you, in this case it sounds like the reverse situation.

$360,000 for a 1700 sq foot house that you built yourself?  Yikes.  Maybe a large portion of that was spent on the prime land he got, lol.

-Kevin


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## jjbaer (Dec 28, 2006)

John Wayne said it best...."life it tough but it's even tougher when you're stupid". .......


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