Alviston Blog

 

The argument is not difficult to make. First, look at the parts of the economy that are struggling. In transportation, it’s the big, gas-guzzling vehicles that are sitting on the lots. While at the same time, dealers can’t keep the Prius in stock.

 

In construction, housing starts are down all over the country. But guess what types of homes are selling. The ones that are the most efficient. Homes that make energy instead of wasting it, by conserving everywhere they can, and by making power using renewable sources like solar.

 

Once recognized, it’s obvious: there really is no purpose to waste.

 

It’s just like riding a bike. Once you get it, you’re gonna think you always knew. You can start by thinking of everything as having some sort of use. When we put plastic bottles in the recycling instead of the trash, when we turn our banana peels and coffee grounds into compost, we are doing it. Here’s another example.

 

The last big job we did was a 430,000-watt photovoltaic array for Macy’s in Fresno. Photovoltaics, sometimes called solar panels, make electricity when light hits them. Solar has become very popular in California for several reasons, including: a good incentive program, zero energy costs after installation, zero pollution, and relative ease of installation.

 

The 430-kilowatt array consists of almost 2,000 panels. Amazingly, because of some good design work by Sunpower, the manufacturer, and Bella Sol, the installation company, the entire project generated almost zero waste.

 

To make it truly zero waste, we are going to have to figure out what to do with the left over blue foam that was used in shipping the panels. This is where the concept of seeing value in everything comes in.

 

Each one of the photovoltaic panels is laminated to a 2-inch piece of solid foam insulation which provides the support for the panel. Scraps of this high-quality foam are used to protect the panels during shipping. It works great. Except that you end up with quite a bit of the foam on the roof when you unpack the panels.

 

The contractor in me says, “What the heck am I going to do with all this foam?”

 

The recycler in me sees this as an opportunity and says, “ Wow! Just think what I can do with all this high-quality, solid foam insulation.” Do you see what I mean? Instead of looking at something as “waste,” we look at it as a raw material.

 

I showed a piece of the blue foam to my mom and dad. Mom said we could use it to insulate dog houses. Dad said we could use it to insulate the floor of the attic.

 

I’m thinking I might use it under the floor of my house, which having been built in 1954 has no insulation.

 

Huh, using insulation to insulate. That’s not too big a jump.

 

But then, I told you it was simple.

 

Mark Alvis

 

 

 

 

Every year at this time I celebrate my independence by turning off my water heater. “How is turning off your water heater a celebration of independence?” you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you.

 

First, I need to admit that there is no great amount of sacrifice on my part by turning off my water heater. You might think I would have to be taking cold showers. But I’m not. And that’s because in the summer I get my hot water for free. Here’s how.

 

I have an uncovered, concrete driveway that is on the south side of my house. During the summer the driveway heats up pretty good, especially when it’s 106 like it is today.  It just so happens, the water line coming into my house runs directly under the driveway. So my driveway acts like a big solar water heater. If I use a great deal of water during the day I would eventually run out of driveway-heated water. But because I’m single, this hardly ever happens. So there’s plenty of hot water to go around. Actually, it’s more difficult to get cold water than hot. It turns out I have to use the hot water side to get cold water. This is because the water stored in the tank has had a chance to cool down. Who’d a thunk?

 

You might think that I celebrate because of my independence from the gas company. But that’s not it. You might think I celebrate because by leaving my water heater off all summer I use less gas and therefore reduce our dependency on foreign oil. But that’s not it either. The reason I celebrate my independence by turning off my water heater every year is because I figured it out and I actually do it.

 

In this country, we often take for granted the incredible freedoms we have.  One of those is the freedom to think for yourself. I realize that my good fortune of having a driveway that heats my water for free is probably somewhat unique. But that’s the beauty of it. I believe that if we all put our minds to it, we could each come up with a unique way to conserve energy and live more energy efficient, energy independent, happy lives.

 

A zero gas bill sure makes me happy.

 

Mark Alvis