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Our Environment - Sarasota
Green House Project
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Aqua Tech pools, new, remodels, outdoor kitchens, spas.
Authorized Pebble Tec dealer 941.488.3990 3-12 www.aquatechpoolsgc.com
Sarasota County was so impressed with our Sarasota Green House Project that they said they were going to use it as a model for implementing a County wide example for a Green Residential Certification Program.
Primary Sponsor
Co-Sponsors
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Summer trimming time:)
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Absolute Windows & Shutters, Inc.
Energy Efficient and Impact Windows
(941) 485-7774
Free Estimates
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Go Green
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Tree Trimming and Removal, Inc.
We Trim Shrubs, Trees
Stump Grinding
Prepare your trees for winter now
Wayne Shelton
Licensed and Insured
941- 922-7518
5-27-09
At the Sarasota Green House (SGH) , 1/22/09, morning temps hit 29 degrees outside. Inside with no heat on the temp was 66 degrees due to new energy efficient windows. The SGH's home insurance premium also declined by around $800 a year due to the impact resistance of the windows. Reduced energy consumption and impact windows pays.
Learn about Florida's Solar Energy Policies and Rebates.
Sarasota Sustainability
Sarasota County Government on how we can help protect
our local environment.
Solar is our future
Here are some other interesting solar PV energy
facts from the
U.S. Department of Energy: PV stands for photo voltaic or solar panels.
• Compared with electricity generated from fossil fuels, each kilowatt of
PV-produced electricity offsets up to 830 pounds of oxides of nitrogen, 1,500
pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 217,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, every year,
according to a report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
• Studies have shown that, depending on the type of PV technology, the clean
energy payback of a PV system ranges from one to four years. With life
expectancies of 30 years, 87% to 97% of the energy produced by PV systems will
be free of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• Today, the PV industry generates about 3,000 jobs for every $100 million of
module sales. If the industry continues to grow at the rate we've seen in the
last few years -- an average of about 36% -- it could employ some 150,000
Americans in high-value, high-tech jobs within 20 years (Solar Electricity: The
Power of Choice, 2001).
• Contrary to some popular notions, the landscape of a world relying on PV would
be almost indistinguishable from the landscape we know today. ... In the United
States, cities and residences cover about 140 million acres of land. We could
supply every kilowatt-hour of our nation's current energy requirements simply by
applying PV to 7% of this area -- on roofs, on parking lots, along highway
walls, on the sides of buildings, and in other dual-use scenarios. ... We still
wouldn't have a land use issue, even if we didn't use roofs for PV. We would
need only 10 million acres of land -- only four-tenths of one percent of the
area of the United States -- to supply all of our nation's energy using PV.
We added a touch of nature to our Green House Project with this teak shower
bench/table from www.Aquateak.com . It is
around 24" long and 18 1/2 inches tall with a shelf underneath. We thought it
would be handy for our readers to put their leg on and wash/shave while in the
shower. Or to sit on while you trim your nails. It can also be used as an
outside table. You noticed we put a small vase with flowers on it. It is easy to
assemble and has rubber feet on the bottom so it doesn't slide while in the
shower. You'll want to spend more time in the shower:)
The tomato plants and cucumber plants are doing well in our
organic garden. 3_12
Our Town Sarasota kicks off Sarasota Green House Project read on......
OurTown Sarasota spearheads
project to make a home more energy efficient and hurricane proof. The
Sarasota Green House Project begins to take shape with: MySafeFlorida
Home Survey, FPL Energy Survey, replacement of 17 windows with hurricane
impact and energy efficient windows, heat pump, programmable thermostat, air
duct remediation, extra insulation, 3 foot overhangs, low volume toilets and
showers, rain barrels, polyfoam hurricane tile, seven ceiling fans, low energy light
CFS bulbs,
energy efficient major appliances, tree canopies, creek irrigation. Watch as
this 1973 Sarasota Florida cypress front house transforms. Future projects
include low energy pool pump, salt chlorinator, efficient pool filter and vacuum
and solar pool heating, solar water and a solar electric grid.
This is a shot of the main window in the front of the Sarasota Green House
before a change out of energy efficient impact windows .
The Sarasota Green House Project, energy-impact window replacement
portion,
kicked
off , with the delivery of new windows before daybreak, 9-17-08. Follow
this page as we chronicle the installation of these windows by Absolute
Windows and Shutters, Inc. We give Absolute Windows high marks for one of
the most professional jobs we have ever seen. We interviewed around six
window installation companies and most we wouldn't do business with.
The Sarasota Green House Project new energy efficient windows are proving their weight in gold. It was 41 degrees outside Monday morning yet the house stayed at 71 degrees with no heat on. That made for a 30 degree heat retention in our book. The Sarasota Green House Project is sponsored by OurTown Sarasota.com.
A dining room bay window with paper thin glass is replaced with a energy
efficient high impact window as part of the OurTown Sarasota Green House
Project. New energy efficient windows can reportedly reduce your energy bill
by up to 30%.
New energy impact windows are installed in OurTown Sarasota's Green
House this week. Energy impact windows will save this homeowner around
$400 per year in insurance savings and at least another $600 in energy
costs. 9-19-08
Watch as OurTown Sarasota evaluates solar grids for their
Sarasota Green House Project.
Local residents turn more to zero scaping with no grass to water.
This home's landscape also provides shade with numerous trees.
More local homeowners are
going with less lawn to water and more plants. It makes sense but some homeowner
associations ban taking out lawns.
Lake Okeechobee still almost 4 feet below normal levels. In 2007, during a drought, state water and wildlife managers removed thousands of truckloads of toxic mud from the lake's floor, in an effort to return to the lake's natural sandy base and create clearer water and better habitat for wildlife. The mud contained elevated levels of arsenic and other pesticides. According to tests from the South Florida Water Management District, arsenic levels on the northern part of the lake bed were as much as four times the limit for residential land. Independent tests found the mud to be too polluted for use on agricultural or commercial lands, and therefore difficult to even dispose on land.
Casa de las Olas,
a 5 suite
boutique
villa, and a haven on the Gulf of Mexico. Environmentally sustainable.
Next to the Mayan ruins and Sian Kaan biosphere
Tulum, Mexico www.CasaDeLasOlas.com
Review: The MiseMet Solar phone
charger also know as the r.pod. It will charge your cell phone, Ipad,
Kindle, tablet or camera. We first looked at solar phone chargers when the
bad August storm was about to hit Sarasota. By then all the good solar
chargers were out of stock.
The battery arrived mostly charged. We let it run down and then charged
it in the sun. It seemed to only take a few hours for it to fully charge
up again. You can also charge the battery pack vis USB to an electrical
outlet. The battery pack will charge a smart phone twice before needing to
be charged again. Since Ipads use more power it will half charge an Ipad.
The yellow battery pack has a high
powered flashlight to light the darkest rooms and will last hours. It also
has an flashlight SOS function and a rubber dome to dim the light if you
want low light.
The charger can be taken on sporting events, camping, traveling and
anywhere you go. The battery pack has a handy clip you can clip to your
belt or backpack. Why have a dead phone when you can have a charger that
will charge it anytime. It's a great unit, well made, sturdy and
efficient. With three different colors available, green, yellow or red.
Ask those who were without power for two or more weeks in Hurricane Sandy if they would have appreciated having one of these. Why wait till the storm, get one now and use it all year long! Available on Amazon type in Misemet and their different units and colors will come up. http://www.misemet.com/
We are going to show you how a bad marcite job turns into a lifetime pool finish at the Sarasota Green House Project.
S
arasota Green House Project remodeled pool. Stay tuned while we tell you why you are throwing your money away if you don't Pebble Tec your pool and instead marcite it. Our remodeler was Aqua Tech Pools www.aquatechpoolsgc.com a local Venice company. The reflection in the pool is the clouds above.
This pool had been remarcited at least 3 times. So we looked for a lifetime solution. The answer, the only lifetime pool finish Pebble Tec which had been invented in Australia 20 years ago. An Arizona firm caught onto it and began licensing and training pool builders to install it using the highest standards. While marcite can be inconsistent and break down the Pebble Tec process uses around 75% pebbles which are virtually indestructible. The process also allows you to have different color finishes.
All we can tell you is the finish is gorgeous and the pool builder Aqua Tech does an excellent prep and finish job! Tell them OurTown Sarasota sent you.
We take the palm frowns and cut the palm off. When it dries it becomes the perfect garden stake for our Sarasota Green House Project.
This homeowner cuts down on the electric bill by hanging their wash out to dry.
Isn't that what the sun is for?
It's not too early to start some vegetable or flower seeds indoors. Our next organic garden is well on it's way:)
The Sarasota Green House set up their rain barrels in November 2009. The Sarasota Green House was set up by OurTown Sarasota with local area sponsors. The rain roof runoff will collect thousands of gallons if you have enough rain barrels or cisterns. 11/09
* Only 3.6% of Florida's energy comes from renewable energy. A new net metering program in Florida lets homeowners sell their extra solar power back to FPL. Germany is far ahead of the U.S. in solar, they installed 1,100 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels in 2007. Meantime, a daily output of 205 megawatts of solar photovoltaic panels were installed in the U.S. in the same year.
Our Sarasota Green House gardener tried these "Earth Boxes" to grow veggies. Zuchs on the left, then string beans, followed by tomatoes. We have never seen plants take off so fast and grow so large in Sarasota before.
We desperately need some rain in Sarasota. A mere quarter inch last week didn't cut the cake. Veggie gardens like the one above will whither on the vine if more rain isn't imminent. Rain chance through Sunday is 30 to 40%.
Our Sarasota Green House lawn prior to us putting locally made Florikan
on it. We'll watch it green up over the next four weeks. Florikan makes a
Summer Safe fertilizer that releases no nitrogen into the environment. The
county requires no nitrogen during summer feeding. Tell us how you are
making sure your lawn person uses nitrogen free over the summer.