If there were solar panels, or solar air heaters or solar water heaters or green spaces on roofs across our country, we could be producing clean power, increasing individual independence and improving our air quality, water quality and environment. That’s why I was really intrigued when I saw this article on TreeHugger.con about Toronto’s green roof movement.

Have you heard of the Green Roof Movement?

The Green Roof Movement related to the transformation of roofs from wastelands to green spaces. The concept is to replace some of the green space taken up by urbanization and to offer several benefits to people, the environment and even to civil engineering challenges at the same time.

There are two basic types of green roofs – intensive and extensive. Intensive green roofs incorporate larger plants, shrubs and trees and are typically considered roof gardens. They require a great deal of maintenance and forethought because of the necessary depth of earth and the root structure management. They are usually on flat roofs as well. Extensive roof gardens employ grasses, drought tolerant species, herbs and other lighter weight plant materials. Extensive green roofs require less plantable earth, can be employed on a wider variety of roofs and tend to require far less maintenance.

The benefits of green roofs are more understood and supported in Europe, for example Germany has employed green roofs on about 10% of their buildings. Most people think a green roof will actually cause damage to their property but in truth there are several benefits to the building, to people and to our water infrastructure.

In fact, when employed properly, green roof technology can actually reduce heating bills and energy consumption, improve air quality by reintroducing green space and improve storm water management. Essentially, green roofs can absorb rainwater and put it to use, rather than merely creating heavy run-off that can cause flooding, erosion and inadvertently flush raw sewage into water supplies.

These are only a few of the benefits but because so little is known and there is so little known about green roof technologies, America is certainly slow to adapt.

I can’t wait to start implementing green technology on my roof – and you can bet that if I even built a new home, these technologies would be heavily considered in the construction.

To learn more about green roofs - check out the The Green Roof Research Program at MSU

Make Magazine

You know how we love our DIY folks here at AltE! Soon we’ll be reaching a whole new audience because you’ll be seeing us in the May issues of Make Magazine! In fact, AltE will be featured on the back cover of their DIY Renewable Energy issue!!

We are very excited to start our relationship with Make Magazine because we know they are as passionate about innovation and discovery as we are. We’re also considering attending the Make Magazine Maker Faire so we can show off some of the cool stuff we’ve been doing in the AltE Labs!

Either way, you’ll be seeing more of us here in the blog, via video tips and in places like Make Magazine - grab it on newstands or subscribe today!

If you’re going to grow vegetables from seed anywhere that you have a freezing season, you’ll probably need a small setup with lighting for growth. If you have a sunny south facing window, you may be all set, but many people still prefer to set up a grow light for consistent growth.

Here’s a quick guide to your grow light options:

Spot Grow Bulb

Spot Grow Bulbs – Incandescent Grow Lights
Spot grow bulbs are excellent for spotlighting specific plants - like tropical plants, small groups of plants and they can be effective for starting your seeds. This means that you may want a general light source, like a fluorescent system and then use the spot grow bulbs to supplement.

Spot Grow Bulbs can be used in most standard incandescent fixtures but ideally, you’ll want a fixture that can be clipped to a specific location or hung directly where you need it. They should not be too close to your plants because they run hotter and can cause damage.

Compact Fluorescent Grow Light

Fluorescent Grow Lights
Fluorescent grow lights are well regarded for offering low heat, indoor plant growth light. You can actually get these in multiple fixtures whether hanging or even built into a plant cart. There are also compact fluorescent grow lights for maximum light and minimal energy consumption.

High output fluorescent grow lights are also well regarded and put out the most light of any fluorescent bulb for growing. You can use these for cutting propagation, seeds and seedlings, and any planting that is less than three feet tall. One of the largest benefits of using fluorescent grow lights is their low heat. They can be as close as four inches away from plants without damaging them in any way.

Metal Halide Bulb

High Intensity (HID) Grow Lights
High intensity plant grow lights are very bright and strong and can actually be used to grow small herb gardens and fruiting vegetables like tomatoes indoors. High intensity lights usually come in metal halide(MH) type which is great for natural appearance and growth and sodium (HPS) which is excellent for the fruiting and flowering cycle. In fact, metal halide grow lights are the closest to natural sunlight and they produce plants that look the most like those grown in the outdoors.

I, for one, have fluorescent tube lighting fixtures over my greenhouse trays. But I’m tempted to test the energy consumption of a metal halide system to experiment with some leafy green vegetables and fresh herbs all winter long!

In this little tutorial, we learn all about vermicomposting - which is basically creating your very own, entirely self contained worm farm! You can keep this in your kitchen, or in your basement but its a great way to make more worms (which is great for your garden) and create compost (which is great for your garden) and reduce your trash (which is great for the earth!).

Also, these guys are just really funny - so enjoy the video and let me know what you think!

Spring in the Garden

I’ve been itching to start. I’ve been planning the garden for so long – plotting the space, learning what I’ll need to do and scheduling out the work so it can all get accomplished. And now the time is almost upon us! I’ve cleared the leaves and the pine needles and I’ve gotten organized and now we’re actually doing it – we’re growing vegetables from seeds!

I have to admit, this is my first time actually growing from seeds. Last year I decided to try vegetable gardening and I learned a lot. This year I decided to take it to a different level.

My first step was picking up How to Grow More Vegetables and Fruits (and Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains and Other Crops) Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine. Yes, it’s the longest book title ever, but its full of great information.

I decided to take a stab at the plan they had laid out for their mini garden which is about 100 square feet. I looked at the vegetables they chose, and did make a couple of substitutions but otherwise kept the main vegetable choices intact.

Once my list was complete, I headed over to Johnny’s Organic Seeds and placed my order. Given the popularity of seeds this year (did you hear seed sales are up 19%??) I’m so glad I ordered in January! Of course, this means the box from Johnny’s has been sitting and taunting me and this week, we were finally able to rip in!

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, I looked in my handy, dandy book and I created a spreadsheet that calculated when I would need to plant my seeds to give them enough time to mature before they go in the actual garden, after the last frost. This helped me to establish that I needed to start my planting the weekend of March 29th – give or take.

Greenhouse Tray

Then, I got some great advice from a friend who is a veteran gardener. She suggested the greenhouse trays that come with the little peat/dirt discs and the lid.

The trays can be reused every year and once your little babies have grown enough that can be simply transferred in the little gauze enclosed dirt discs which expand when they’re watered.

There are many reasons why this tray system worked so well for me.

1. Relatively inexpensive at $10 and they can be reused year after year. You just buy replacement discs!
2. I can fit 72 seedlings in these trays which is extremely space efficient.
3. My husband and my daughter were both able to participate because of the simplicity and efficiency of the system!

In fact, I’ve been working so much I haven’t had time to plant my seeds – so yesterday my husband and daughter actually took over the seed project themselves!

• First, my daughter carefully arranged all of the discs in the tray and then my husband added the water. My daughter then patiently sat and watched as the discs magically grew!
• Next, my husband took a chop stick and he and my daughter carefully made holes in each little gauze encased dirt packet.
• Then, the correct numbers of seeds were sewn into each bundle and the peat/dirt mixture was used to cover them up.
• They pressed the lid into place and then put the seeds safely into a warm, dark space for three days for germination.

In another three weeks or so, we’ll be starting the next batch! I think we’ll be doing three trays altogether and then we’ll be able to rotate the first seedlings out of the tray and into the garden and we’ll begin germinating again!

And to finish off - a great video on the lifecycle of the seed!

The Seed from Johnny Kelly on Vimeo.

You can read all about it at the Earth Hour website here: www.earthhour.org

It’s a worldwide, voluntary rolling local blackout!

Is your house, neighborhood, township, city, region, county, state signed up? Make some calls and send some emails; this is a good way to spread the word about energy consumption!

~Ben
altE U.

My latest natural gas bill also came in and, though it wasn’t as low as I’d anticipated in my last blog entry, it does show a substantial reduction over the previous tenant’s usage. The actual meter reading showed about 86 CCF of gas used in January and February combined (72 {estimated} and 14 CCF, respectively).

The usage history for this apartment for February (the month for which I have the longest record, 3 years), shows a much steeper decline than what I suspect actually occurred. In 2007, the previous tenant was billed for 111 therms (CCF) for February; in 2008, the figure was 34 therms. I suspect that the apartment was unoccupied for a substantial part of the month (or it was unusually warm in Columbus!). If we assume my own consumption was about the same for both January and February this year, then I used about 43 therms in February (though I think it was somewhat lower than January’s usage).

As it is, the graph, going from 111 to 34 to 14, could be a poster child for conservation and efficiency! But 111 down to about 40 is still a 64% decrease– that’s nothing to sneeze at, and I haven’t even done all that I could do to minimize consumption and maximize efficiency.

~Ben
altE

Not sure what changed, but perhaps more running time on the furnace blower, given the cold winter temps.

As for the gas bill, I just missed an opportunity to save money in the short term. The gas meters here are read only every other month. In the “off” months, the bill is estimated, based on past usage at your address. Columbia Gas allows its customers to enter a meter reading during the estimated months. I just missed the deadline this time around. And they’ve billed me based on the much higher consumption rate of the previous tenant. So I’ll be paying a fat gas bill this time around; the good news is that the next bill will be much lower because they’ve essentially billed me for gas use in advance. Would have been a bit better for my cash flow had I been more on the ball!

~Ben
altE

During the cold and snow season for many of us, our thoughts and projects turn to indoors and warmer past-times. Outdoor work is simply not practical or possible. But for those who wish to plan ahead, this time of year is a great opportunity to plan and purchase products for the alternative energy projects you may be considering for 2009.

Right now is our slow season which enables us to offer something that is in shorter supply as folk’s ramp up projects in the warmer months. That ’something’ happens to be time. Time in the supply chain is at a premium in the spring and summer as customers, suppliers, manufacturers, and even truck and freight companies are inundated with orders from all points on the compass.

This week I have noticed that our distribution warehouses are shipping orders with items not from our own stock the same day we place the order with them. And these are not  the so-called ‘rush’ or urgent orders which can often carry a cost-premium during the busier times of the year.

Purchasing goods at this time of year allows our customers and us breathe a bit easier with standard (and lower cost) shipping on most orders. Inventory levels at AltE are strong for many of our items and our supplier network is also showing robust fill rates on most orders.

One other advantage of purchasing your alternative energy products right now are the deals being offered throughout the supply chain. Certain commodities are being featured for sales and package deals as winter inventories are strong in some product categories. For instance, a wind turbine can fetch you a free inverter.

The alternative power sector tends to be seasonal and cyclical like many industries. If a 2009 alternative energy project is part of your New Year resolution, now may be the smart time to begin procuring your materials.