Growing Spaces Conserves Energy on a Daily Basis

Reduce:

• Photovoltaic grid tie system: We sell electricity back to the grid. We may be the only off the grid manufacturing place in Pagosa Springs.
• We minimize our phantom loads by routing all computers through power strips and turning power strips off each night.
• Extra insulation has been installed on the shop ceiling: foam board with foil paper.
• Solar powered shop heater: hot air and antifreeze in a radiator. Cuts our heating bill from $300 to $160 using free energy!
• Solar powered forklift is a big deal in manufacturing, it isn’t a wimpy one, it lifts heavy loads.
• We use high mpg vehicles when possible.
• Our domes are entirely solar powered by design, including solar cooling fans, undersoil fans, solar water fountain, and passive solar water tank.
• Low impact/cost storage spaces.
• Cottage industry: lumber kits cut at home locations to reduce the size of the facility needed.
• Some employees bicycle to work.
• Carpooling by owners and employees as often as possible.
• The bulk of our promotional and instructional materials are handled electronically rather than paper copy.
• Employee planting beds provide “locally grown food”.
• Lunchroom has real dishes, cups, glasses and silverware to avoid use of paper plates, plastic silverware, etc.
• Lunchroom has a water filter on the tap to avoid the use of bottled water.
• Lunch provided one to two times a week, reduces employee expense and car use to go get lunch. Many ingredients for the lunch are from the domes.
• Salad greens grown in the on-site domes are used for employee lunches.
• Using electronic fax program at our satellite office to minimize paper/ink usage.

Reuse:

• Composting our vegetable and plant waste on site in the garden beds.
• Feeding the pests to the fish: sow bugs, slugs.
• Rainwater catchments for irrigation.
• Office furniture is secondhand wherever possible, buy locally and reuse.
• We reuse every file folder, envelope, flip-side of paper.
  

Recycle:

• At a recent Green Festival instead of passing out paper brochures, we handed out small pea seed packets with our website address.
• Utilize pre-owned/recycled domes as “models/demonstrations” on site, even though they aren’t the newest example of our complete beauty.
• Recycling crates received for shipments going out and recycling crate materials in other construction projects.
• Practice recycling (not offered on a residential basis in our town) on site.
• Two sizes of our Growing Domes are available in recycled glazing option.
• Brochures are printed on recycled paper.
• The printer bypass tray is filled with recycled paper at all times, for non customer documents.