Palo Alto Business Goes Green...Literally!

Carroll Harrington, Palo Alto Business Goes Green/Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, 8/5/12

Welcome to guest blogger Nicole Tusa, Operations Manager of Palo Alto & Dahl Plumbing Heating & Air, Inc. Here is an outstanding example of what this Palo Alto business has done to decrease their carbon footprint. Watch for more valuable tips from Palo Alto Business Goes Green/Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce

To begin, we reached out to Palo Alto Utilities to learn about proper lighting and discovered that they have a rebate program for small businesses. They then provided an assessment of our lighting and made recommendations for upgrades. Needless to say, we were pleased to learn that the rebate not only covered 97% of the total cost to upgrade our lighting, but also would reduce our emissions of CO2 (carbon dioxide) by 849.09 lb per year. 

Secondly, as a service company we began to notice not only how much we were paying in garbage, but more importantly, how much of what we were throwing away was recyclable. We opted to trade in our garbage dumpster for a large 3/4 yard recycling dumpster through GreenWaste, which was free! We are now filling up our recyclables and getting them picked up three times a week by GreenWaste at no charge to us! Please refer to the pictures to see the dumpsters completely empty and then recyclables packed to the brim! I am proud to say that all of our staff has made a conscious change in their behavior, which has truly impacted the way we operate.—whether it be making sure materials get separated and disposed of properly, turning off the lights or pulling off metals, capacitors and other components from equipment to be recycled. 

The third major change that we have made is with our HVAC system. We decided to install a ductless mini-split system with two air handlers (zones) allowing cooling and heating options for each office. We chose this system because: 1) There is no chance for air to leak out through stretches of ductwork in the building, which allows the system to use 30–40% less energy than electric forced air systems. 2) Since each one of the air handlers (zones) has its own thermostat. We are able to control the climate when we actually need it in that space. Both of these reasons have resulted to saving energy and money.  

All of these changes, though fairly simple have contributed to lowering our carbon footprint and providing a better working environment. We have succeeded in making a difference in the way we think, which in turn has promoted positive change. I hope all of this information will be helpful for other Palo Alto businesses and homeowners that are looking for ways to change. From our experience, it has to start somewhere and that somewhere...is with yourself.

Nicole Tusa, Operations Manager 

Palo Alto & Dahl Plumbing Heating and Air

Phone: 650.856.3400

Fax: 650.856.3405

Nicole@PaloAltoPlumbing.net

PaloAltoPlumbing.net