The Next "Green Project"

Over the past several years we have taken many steps to go "green" and reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency of our home. With the exception of lights inside appliances, all lighting in the house is either compact fluorescent (CFL) or light emitting diode (LED). That was the first item to reduce electrical use and lessen the heat output from lighting in the summer.

Then we installed 7.5kW of grid-tied solar electric generation, and most months we generate several hundred kilowatt hours (kWh) of surplus electricity which goes back to the utility and is used by other customers. The typical electric bill is less than $10 and consists of administrative charges and taxes only.

Last summer we installed additional rain gutters and added 1,250 gallons of rainwater storage for use in irrigation and filling of the ponds and birdbaths. An inch of rain is about all it takes to fill everything up to capacity. In a pinch, the water can be filtered and used for drinking. The yard has been relandscaped to use native plants and function with little to no additional water (xeriscaped). Even the drip irrigation has been shut off for the last year.

We removed all the old blown in cellulose insulation from the attic last year. In its place we installed new sprayed on, semi-rigid insulation on the inside of the roof. The new insulation is about 9 inches deep and all openings to the attic have been sealed and foamed over. The foam starts at the top of the walls inside the attic and covers everything overhead. Gone are the little drafts we used to feel, and an infrared thermal scan shows no more hot or cold spots. The house stays at a pretty even temperature and even the garage is comfortable year round. The garage never had insulation overhead before, and could go to the high 90s in the summer and down to the 40s in winter. After insulation was added summer peaks at around 80 and winter went down to about 68. The attic used to go into the 120s and now stays below 86.

The improvement after re-insulating has been especially noticeable in the decreased costs for heating and cooling. In mid-summer we were able to lower the thermostat and still generate a surplus each day. Natural gas usage was down this winter even though our winter was far colder than usual. So now we move to the next step.

Geothermal Heating/Cooling

This will be the major project for this year. Our existing heating, cooling and water heating will be eliminated and replaced with a unified geothermal solution. This eliminates two furnaces, two air conditioning systems, two evaporative coolers and a gas fired water heater. The projected energy savings is about 70% of what we used before. And like the solar project, there are significant incentives to make the change. Based on the projected savings, our electric utility (APS) will offer a rebate of 50% of the project cost. The federal government has a 30% tax credit for the energy efficient project. There's really no good reason not to do it.

So watch the blog for updates. The project kicks off on Monday, May 9 when they begin drilling the 3 wells for the heat exchanger.

Want to know more about geothermal and how it works? Click here.

Our new honey, Bee!

After the loss of two of our senior Greyhounds the house seemed so empty. Both Figgy and Macho were such a presence and provided so much love and company. The seniors are so wonderful that we decided we should add another one back into our pack. After all, five dogs just isn't the same as a "six-pack"!

So after careful consideration and a pre-interview down in Scottsdale a couple of weeks earlier, we decided that Bee should move into the Hound Hacienda. She is a delight, a 3 year old in a 9 year old's body. She is very playful, and can entertain herself with no problem...she takes toys and throws them in the air, races around the room and after almost three weeks, finally jumps on the bed.

It took awhile to convince her that it was OK to be on the couch and the bed. We encouraged her to come up, and lifted her into place. I guess she got the message, because now she comes right up on her own. She has slept next to us several nights and is a good bed-mate; she doesn't kick, stretch, or otherwise disturb the people next to her.

We hope she enjoys many happy years here, and we thank Leah for letting her go and allowing her to live with us. She was her foster for almost a year and could have stayed forever. Today is the annual Greyhound Picnic and she will go with Bella to see everyone and visit with Leah and Jim for the afternoon.

R.I.P. Macho

We're barely got through losing Figgy in January, and now Macho is gone. He was the gentlest spirit, always happy and a constant companion. At 13.5 years old, he was slowing down, but still pretty active...usually the first to the gate to go out to the dogpark and play. Up at 5am to keep Deb company on conference calls. The end was pretty quick, good in the morning, failing in the evening. We think he had a stroke that left his legs paralyzed and his spirit broken. You could see in his eyes that he was ready, so we helped him across the bridge. He was such a presence, and he is greatly missed, the house is so quiet without him, though we still have 5 dogs. We adopted Macho in August 2009, shortly after we lost Tillie at almost 13 years. He was another senior hound in need of a loving home for his "sunset years". It was good for him and good for us.

Godspeed Macho, we miss you.







Macho Man 10/31/97 - 3/11/11

R.I.P. Figgy

Figgy crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on January 21, 2011 after a brief battle with cancer. She gave it a good effort but in the end the mass in her chest won the battle and we lost our big white girl. We adopted her back in March of 2006, when she was seven years old. She always acted like a young dog, right up until the last two weeks.

We have nothing but great memories of the Fig, she was a class act all the way. Never quarreled with another dog and no one bothered her. We'll all miss her.







2/17/99 - 1/21/11

Stormy weather

We've had a bit of a storm the past few days. Part of the recent landscape project was to improve drainage and water control. It seems to be working. Below is the culvert in front of the house. The water no longer comes down the driveway, instead it channels past the house and into the open land.




Out in the solar field you can see a bit of the hail that fell. We had hailstones about the size of quarters. Fortunately no damage to the panels, though production was quite low on the clouded days.



When the weather improves again, I will take some photos of the completed project, including the outdoor fireplace, cantina bar, rainwater collection systems and general landscaping. We've had 4.13 inches of rain in the last 4 days. I hope we're nearly done. The rainwater collection filled to capacity (950 gallons) in the first hour and a half of the storm!

Sneak Preview of the Summer Project

OK, I know I have been mostly absent for awhile. It's been a busy summer. The landscape project is nearly complete. The insulation project is done. Here are two pix showing a little of the landscape stuff. Our cool (hot?) new outdoor fireplace is getting use, even now. A quick fire and a cup of coffee in the early morning is really nice...mostly for the campfire smell, not the heat!



Here's part of the dry creek we built to channel rainwater as well as add interest to the yard. You can see the big bird-bath in the photo.

I'll try to get back soon with more photos and details...

OK, so I am really behind!

We love the Pearl!




Way back in February (remember February?) we adopted Pearl. It's June for heaven's sake and I haven't said a word about her. One word, wonderful!

She's is a dream dog, though only 3 years old (as of April), she is calm and fits in with our older pack. We were worried about adding a youngster, but that was unfounded. She's a great companion and loves to be wherever we are, no matter if it's on the couch, in the yard or out somewhere. She loves to be snuggled and scoots closer if you move away. She's good with other dogs, even small ones. She's a fast learner and hasn't been any trouble at all.

Check out her page on my website