Hey Brad There is a woman in our OS who has done exactly this - she has a section of the basement enclosed, with several HID lights inside. Her plants are absolutely magnificent, and flawless - basically it's like growing outdoors but without critter damage, sun burn, or water splash damage. She lets the heat generated from the ballasts create the diurnal drop that so many orchids enjoy, and waters with rain water. The room is sealed with some sort of plastic - much easier to work with than glass. Not sure if she does this, but the lights can be run at night, thus saving electricity costs. Not sure about the whole LED light thing - I haven't been following the debate, but haven't heard anything conclusive yet and it seems like the cost is prohibitive...with three HIDs, you can light up a pretty decent area...but I am suspicious as to how many LEDs you would need. Also, the red/blue glow looks hideous in my mind! I think the advantage of HID lights for a large room environment is that the huge range in brightness allows for multiple light niches. With something like a fluorescent T5 tubes, sure you get a rectangular area directly underneath with good light, but move a foot in either direction and your light is essentially non-existent. I believe she has the lights on a light mover as well. Looking forward to hearing your updates to this project!

LOL. Getting back to fuel, I do wonder about diesel. Wonderful engines etc and probably the go-to for commercial power backup but I wonder about the fuel life in terms of standing....it does go off after time, and I suspect the standby maintenance is bigger - and maintenance is something many probably don't factor into costs. I wonder if you can get the special diesel that doesn't include the road tax and is cheaper? The gas equivalent here in Canada is called "purple gas" but don't know if there's a diesel equivalent. If it was legal to do so and you were committed to having the tank topped off regularly, or had two tanks, I suppose you could, theoretically, have a diesel vehicle and use the fuel from tank A) when it was getting old, keeping tank B) full, then swap and use up tank B) - I believe you can have such fuel tested too. Reading the Costco fliers I thought the Natural gas gensets sounded appealing - no dangerous fuel storage, no old fuel to get rid of, but then you are reliant on the outside gas supply. I suppose propane beats this, but how long does IT keep?

Go to your local building department and ask an electrical inspector to come out and have a look. Ask for a list of contractors who are registered with the city. Get another opinion. Your GC is lazy. He doesn't want to do anymore than he has to. It is YOUR HOUSE. Don't back down. Make sure its done the way you want. NOW before the drywall is up.

If the current location of your range works functionally, then I vote for (a). BTW...The need for a range hood is not dependent on the technology used for cooking (gas/electric/induction), rather it's dependent on how foods are cooked...frying/browning, stir frying, boiling water, grilling, etc. all contribute to the gunk that builds up above & around ranges. The dirt or steam settles on the ceiling/walls/cabinets/appliances/etc. and then dust/dirt/etc. stick to it...once that happens, you have to scrub to clean...and clean often if you want to keep up with it! My cooktop is on an interior wall b/c it works better that way functionally...so we vented up and over approx 12'.