Happy Thanksgiving! Here’s wishing you, your family and friends the warmest of holidays and of course delicious food. Just in case the you need a legitimate excuse to get out of an uncomfortable conversation over the holidays we’ve compiled a list of some of our employee’s favorite green products (everything from building materials to green cleaning products) for you to peruse. Who knows, there may be the perfect gift for Aunt Hilda, or even a treat for yourself. Happy Turkey Day!
David Dixon: Chevy Volt. “I finally bought a vehicle that I can plug into my house and charge from the solar power that I am generating. While I still have to use gas occasionally on long trips, I am currently averaging 77 mpg!”
Johanna Kraus-Darden: PowerAdd Solar Powered Charger. “As an avid hiker, the ability to take photos of the beautiful things I come across ‘off the grid’ is worth ensuring the batteries are charged; particularly if the device can forecast the weather and send out a SOS. The evolving technology of solar is allowing the use of cell phones (usb devices) in places my wall charger could only dream of. Now just ‘power on’ the sun in the middle of the woods like it’s 2015.”
Jay Thomas: – Reusable Produce Bags. “Everyone has a reusable shopping bag, but consider the number of plastic bags thrown away by bagging produce. This is a simple way to eliminate waste and add another feather to your green cap.”
Dave Braverman: GeoSpring Hybrid-Electric Hot Water Heater. “I’ve had this hot water heater for about a year now and I love it. It uses about 30% less energy than a conventional electric hot water heater and it produces air conditioned air into my laundry room as a byproduct! Great user interface and lots of control over modes, setpoint and vacation timer.”
Jason Duvall: ZIP Stretch Tape. “Zip is an extremely versatile and durable tape with crazy strong adhesive properties. It can be used for flashing, window pans, sealing penetrations, and more. As standards for building tight building envelopes increase innovative products like this will help that trend continue.”
Kalden Swinson: LED Light Bulbs. “They are a perfect start for electrical load reduction of a house and most homeowners can start with lightbulbs to reduce their usage.”
Ryan Doty: My NATiVE Klean Kanteen Water Bottle. “There are too many amazing green products to just pick one favorite, but for the sake of keeping it simple (albeit impactful), I’d have to say using a nice reusable water bottle. I just say no to plastic bottles, plastic bags, and do my best to buy things with no packaging. I recycle everything, and never use styrofoam – my leftovers go home in tin foil that can be reused over and over.”
Amy Olsen: Wool Dryer Balls. “Picking one favorite green things is hard, we have solar to power our house, and have many energy saving, environmentally friendly and efficient features in our lives so I decided to keep it simple. I love these new dryer balls, my family’s clothes are naturally softened and they REALLY do cut down on the drying
time!”
David Dixon: Community Solar. “Although not necessarily a product, community solar is a way for many to be more green. Many people in central Texas can not host a solar array on their roofs either because they are renters, have shaded roofs, or do not have the financial means. We are finally seeing some of the local utilities beginning to build publically sited solar arrays that will allow some of their customers to purchase energy from. There should be a lot more detail coming out of utilities like PEC and Austin Energy in 2016.”
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