Question: Is it difficult to install low-voltage...

Question: Is it difficult to install low-voltage lighting, and what are its advantages?

Answer: Low-voltage lighting is not really difficult to install, but special equipment and transformers are necessary. Low-voltage lighting can be incorporated into individual fixtures or into track lighting, as one transformer provides volt application for many units.

Low-voltage fixtures are usually smaller than conventional lights and very versatile. Since they consume less electricity and generate less heat, they are especially well-suited for accent-lighting of expensive artwork. They can be a terrific energy-saving, since low-voltage lighting fixtures operate on 12 volts of electrical current compared with the usual lighting fixtures operate on 120 volts.

For more details, write Helen L. Cross at American Home Lighting Institute, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.

Q: All my monthly house payments seem to go toward interest. While this is tax deductable, it seems it will be years before I will have made a significant dent in the principal. Is there any system to accelerate the payoff without hurting my pocketbook too deeply?

A: S. Ramon Barrientos has written a 60-page booklet, “How to Own Your Own Home in Fifteen Years or Less!”

He writes that you can decrease the time it takes for home ownership from 30 to 15 years by doubling up on the principal payment (not the interest payment) of your monthly installments.

For example, if your monthly payment is $1,106, of which $23 is for principal and $1,083 for interest, you would make the $1,106 payment, which includes principal and interest, plus another $23 toward principal.

Copies of “How To Own Your Home in Fifteen Years Or Less!” are available for $6.95 each by writing to P.O. Box 1689, Loma Linda, Calif. 92534.

A reader has prompted me to add to the article that ran Nov. 10 regarding cockroach spraying. She pointed out that when you do the spraying yourself, it is very important to cover your mouth and nose with a surgical mask. The fumes can be extremely harmful to your respiratory organs, especially nasal tissue. Be sure to vacate the house for six to 10 hours after spraying.