00:00:17.283 --> 00:00:19.652
Blue Rock
Station is a lot of things.

00:00:20.053 --> 00:00:20.887
We say it’s

00:00:20.887 --> 00:00:23.189
a sustainable
living center, but it's really

00:00:23.189 --> 00:00:27.093
just a giant experiment
in trying things the way

00:00:27.093 --> 00:00:28.628
we want the world to be.

00:00:28.628 --> 00:00:29.362
Hey!

00:00:30.096 --> 00:00:32.832
It's really about building
a community of people.

00:00:32.899 --> 00:00:35.201
And most of the time
it's temporary.

00:00:35.201 --> 00:00:37.337
They're only going to be here
for a short time.

00:00:38.438 --> 00:00:41.041
Most of our students
stay 8 to 10 weeks.

00:00:41.508 --> 00:00:45.111
The people who come here and
live with us or stay with us,

00:00:45.111 --> 00:00:47.380
they come for a class
and they want to stay here.

00:00:48.248 --> 00:00:51.584
So that's where it all begins,
how we can work together

00:00:51.584 --> 00:00:54.687
and play together
and solve problems together.

00:00:54.687 --> 00:00:55.622
Oh!

00:00:56.256 --> 00:00:58.191
What a good girl.

00:00:58.191 --> 00:00:59.259
That's the heart of it.

00:00:59.325 --> 00:01:02.295
And then the other part of it
is just the hard work

00:01:02.295 --> 00:01:05.799
of creating buildings
and the designing,

00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:09.836
the coming together, the reuse,
the repurposing of things.

00:01:10.403 --> 00:01:13.907
It started with
a Google search, and I just put in

00:01:14.507 --> 00:01:17.010
“natural building internships,”

00:01:17.010 --> 00:01:18.044
and that's when I found

00:01:18.044 --> 00:01:19.879
Blue Rock Station.

00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:20.980
I got a call from Annie

00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:22.816
and Jay and said,
We'd like you to come out

00:01:22.816 --> 00:01:26.719
and be the contractor
for the tiny house.

00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.756
I'm here to invest
in young people.

00:01:30.356 --> 00:01:32.859
I decided to take the energy
I had

00:01:32.859 --> 00:01:36.229
and the resources I had
and invest in young people.

00:01:38.665 --> 00:01:39.365
Look at that.

00:01:39.365 --> 00:01:40.567
It's lovely, isn't it?

00:01:40.567 --> 00:01:41.434
Yeah.

00:01:45.205 --> 00:01:46.139
Here she comes.

00:01:46.139 --> 00:01:46.940
It's her idea.

00:01:46.940 --> 00:01:48.374
So, see, that's the point.

00:01:48.374 --> 00:01:51.811
This is the point of all people
and animals is making it

00:01:51.811 --> 00:01:53.880
their idea,
not manipulating them.

00:01:54.747 --> 00:01:56.382
I have a lot of knowledge.

00:01:56.382 --> 00:01:59.586
I have resources here
where people can stay and learn

00:01:59.586 --> 00:02:02.422
and I can offer opportunity
for failure.

00:02:02.755 --> 00:02:05.225
Because I always say,
Hey, if you haven’t failed yet

00:02:05.625 --> 00:02:07.160
you haven't worked hard enough.

00:02:07.160 --> 00:02:09.195
Because we make space for that
and space

00:02:09.195 --> 00:02:10.463
at the table for everybody.

00:02:10.463 --> 00:02:13.433
He said Miss Mousey,
will you marry me?

00:02:13.700 --> 00:02:14.767
Uh huh?

00:02:14.767 --> 00:02:17.604
Hmm, Hmm, Hmm.

00:02:18.037 --> 00:02:20.540
Miss Mousey
blushed and hung her head.

00:02:20.540 --> 00:02:21.708
Uh huh.

00:02:21.741 --> 00:02:23.009
Uh huh.

00:02:23.009 --> 00:02:25.011
Miss Mousey
blushed and hung her head...

00:02:25.145 --> 00:02:27.580
And so when Destiny came here,

00:02:27.914 --> 00:02:31.818
she had a lot of anxiety
and a lot of distress.

00:02:31.818 --> 00:02:33.052
We just said, Hey,

00:02:33.052 --> 00:02:34.454
we want people to come here

00:02:34.454 --> 00:02:37.056
and leave with a sense
of their own confidence,

00:02:37.524 --> 00:02:38.758
because that's what it takes

00:02:38.758 --> 00:02:41.361
to have a happy life
in this culture.

00:02:42.162 --> 00:02:47.000
My job is to do the insulation
all the way down

00:02:47.000 --> 00:02:50.236
to the finishing touches
of the tiny house.

00:02:50.803 --> 00:02:53.006
The goal of the tiny house is,

00:02:54.007 --> 00:02:56.009
it’s a $5,000 budget house

00:02:56.609 --> 00:02:59.412
and we would like it
to be an amalgam of natural

00:02:59.412 --> 00:03:01.981
building and traditional
building techniques.

00:03:02.582 --> 00:03:05.451
And then, of course, it's
going to be run off of solar.

00:03:06.152 --> 00:03:08.788
We are taking salvaged

00:03:08.821 --> 00:03:11.724
materials, donated materials,

00:03:11.958 --> 00:03:15.662
low cost materials,
or just repurposing some things.

00:03:16.629 --> 00:03:18.798
Oh, I guess I thought
it had some little wood holes,

00:03:18.798 --> 00:03:20.867
but the, the wood mites
didn't like it.

00:03:20.867 --> 00:03:24.103
Some really beautiful
almost 200 year old barn wood

00:03:24.103 --> 00:03:27.273
and a lot of the tin
that you see on the tiny house.

00:03:27.273 --> 00:03:30.376
We have beautiful blue slate
here on the land.

00:03:31.711 --> 00:03:32.645
The biggest rule of

00:03:32.645 --> 00:03:35.215
sustainability
is to work with what you have.

00:03:35.648 --> 00:03:39.152
And these are the materials
that luckily we do have here

00:03:39.152 --> 00:03:40.620
on site.

00:03:40.620 --> 00:03:43.289
It's about recycle,
restore, reuse, but

00:03:43.289 --> 00:03:47.126
also open up your community
and put the call out there.

00:03:49.429 --> 00:03:51.264
Okay, here's the earmuffs.

00:03:56.336 --> 00:03:57.270
I have

00:03:57.470 --> 00:04:00.740
started gathering materials
to finish the tiny house

00:04:01.074 --> 00:04:05.411
by just going up to people
who I knew had dilapidated barns

00:04:05.411 --> 00:04:08.915
or whatever and saying, hey,
I'll take that apart for you,

00:04:08.915 --> 00:04:11.951
but I'm going to keep
what comes out of it.

00:04:12.485 --> 00:04:15.588
People are very happy to have
you come out and do the work.

00:04:18.057 --> 00:04:20.093
These are one of a kind designs.

00:04:20.093 --> 00:04:24.097
These are one of a kind
materials, because I didn't

00:04:24.230 --> 00:04:27.600
just pull them out of a magazine
or a store.

00:04:28.001 --> 00:04:29.068
There it comes.

00:04:29.068 --> 00:04:32.238
Did it? Yeah.

00:04:32.238 --> 00:04:32.705
Look at that.

00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:35.775
That’s a nice cabinet door
now. It is.

00:04:35.775 --> 00:04:36.709
They have character.

00:04:36.709 --> 00:04:37.543
They have life.

00:04:37.543 --> 00:04:39.379
They have memories

00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:43.216
and feelings stored inside
of every fiber of that wood.

00:04:43.216 --> 00:04:45.351
And you feel that.

00:04:45.752 --> 00:04:48.121
This is an example
of the circular economy.

00:04:48.154 --> 00:04:51.624
We're almost taking out the need
for the supply chain.

00:04:51.858 --> 00:04:52.925
And then you can learn a lot

00:04:52.925 --> 00:04:55.461
from just deconstructing
something.

00:04:55.461 --> 00:04:56.629
Once you can

00:04:56.629 --> 00:04:59.832
re-evaluate materials
and look at things differently,

00:05:00.400 --> 00:05:03.703
that’s when that supply chain
and that circular

00:05:03.703 --> 00:05:06.239
cycle really starts to work.

00:05:08.141 --> 00:05:10.209
Minimalism

00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:12.211
is definitely
a lifestyle choice.

00:05:12.412 --> 00:05:16.282
When you go into tiny homes,
and smaller spaces,

00:05:16.282 --> 00:05:19.285
you can't take an entire house
with you.

00:05:20.119 --> 00:05:22.588
I like to think of minimalism,
almost

00:05:22.588 --> 00:05:27.226
if you had a stopwatch on you
and you have 10 minutes

00:05:27.226 --> 00:05:30.296
to grab everything
out of your current house

00:05:30.697 --> 00:05:34.167
that you're going to need
for the next three months

00:05:35.201 --> 00:05:38.671
and then we're going to burn
your house to the ground.

00:05:38.671 --> 00:05:39.972
GO!

00:05:41.407 --> 00:05:43.743
And you start to realize
very quickly,

00:05:43.743 --> 00:05:45.912
this isn’t important,
this isn’t important.

00:05:47.347 --> 00:05:49.682
It all comes
from this foundation of

00:05:49.682 --> 00:05:51.784
I don't want to use more than I
need.

00:05:51.784 --> 00:05:55.355
No matter what we're doing here,
it still comes back to

00:05:55.421 --> 00:06:01.294
I want to live sustainably
and have resiliency in my life.

00:06:01.294 --> 00:06:04.964
Living sustainably takes guts,
takes courage.

00:06:04.964 --> 00:06:08.835
It takes leadership.

00:06:12.205 --> 00:06:13.840
The point of being resilient.

00:06:13.840 --> 00:06:17.777
And living sustainably
is rooted in relationships

00:06:17.777 --> 00:06:21.114
and in that confidence building
which creates leaders.

00:06:21.781 --> 00:06:24.150
That's what we hope for,
is that they're going to leave

00:06:24.150 --> 00:06:26.586
here and lead something.

00:06:30.590 --> 00:06:32.091
Dame Good Construction

00:06:32.091 --> 00:06:34.327
is the name of my company

00:06:34.327 --> 00:06:37.163
and right now we're focusing
on deconstruction.

00:06:37.530 --> 00:06:41.901
That way I can start
building up these materials

00:06:41.901 --> 00:06:45.671
and storing them and reusing
them later on in future designs.

00:06:46.005 --> 00:06:49.609
Our mission statement
is that we provide high quality

00:06:49.609 --> 00:06:52.879
deconstruction
and reconstruction for women,

00:06:52.879 --> 00:06:53.746
by women.

00:06:54.514 --> 00:06:58.451
You know, 9% of all
construction is done by women.

00:06:58.451 --> 00:07:00.920
Yeah that will be really nice.

00:07:01.587 --> 00:07:03.556
We're out here
and we're doing the work.

00:07:03.556 --> 00:07:05.725
You know,
we're not cupcakes about it.

00:07:05.725 --> 00:07:06.859
We're definitely out here
working

00:07:06.859 --> 00:07:08.961
just as hard,
if not harder than the boys.

00:07:09.328 --> 00:07:11.364
And we do it differently.

00:07:11.931 --> 00:07:12.899
We work smarter.

00:07:12.899 --> 00:07:14.400
We don't have to work as hard,

00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:16.702
physically
as hard as the men do.

00:07:16.702 --> 00:07:19.071
But then the job
still gets done.

00:07:19.071 --> 00:07:20.306
I do really like that actually.

00:07:21.407 --> 00:07:21.941
I believe

00:07:22.408 --> 00:07:25.645
with the future of tiny houses,
small spaces,

00:07:26.012 --> 00:07:29.081
from 2021 to 2025, we're looking

00:07:29.081 --> 00:07:32.952
at a $3.3 billion growth
within that industry.

00:07:32.952 --> 00:07:35.655
It's going to grow
by like 4% every year.

00:07:36.055 --> 00:07:38.658
I think
my first initial client base

00:07:38.658 --> 00:07:42.895
will be younger
people who want smaller spaces,

00:07:43.162 --> 00:07:48.100
but also a big market
is going to be actually larger

00:07:48.100 --> 00:07:51.838
farms who need to accommodate
housing for seasonal workers.

00:07:52.071 --> 00:07:56.843
People are looking also to bring
their family onto their land

00:07:56.876 --> 00:08:00.680
or maybe to expand the ways
that they can make money

00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:04.250
on their land
through hipcamps and Airbnbs

00:08:04.250 --> 00:08:07.253
and tiny houses are a great way
to do that.

00:08:08.054 --> 00:08:10.957
Tiny houses and small spaces
are for everybody and

00:08:11.090 --> 00:08:14.927
especially I think for my
generation, because a lot of us

00:08:14.927 --> 00:08:16.996
feel as though
the mortgage system, it's

00:08:16.996 --> 00:08:21.801
not obtainable for us, nor do we
want a big mortgage payment.

00:08:22.802 --> 00:08:23.769
We value

00:08:23.769 --> 00:08:28.374
adventure way more than we value
the status of the size

00:08:28.374 --> 00:08:31.577
of the house
with the four car garage.

00:08:37.450 --> 00:08:42.021
But I have to do this because
I want a different world.

00:08:42.021 --> 00:08:46.526
And in that world, people
like me invest in young people.

00:08:46.893 --> 00:08:49.929
People mentor,
people use their resources.

00:08:50.997 --> 00:08:53.199
I want to live in a world
where young people

00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.301
give something back and do it

00:08:55.301 --> 00:08:58.938
freely and feel confident
that they have skills

00:08:59.205 --> 00:09:02.508
that they need to be resilient
and live sustainably.

00:09:04.277 --> 00:09:05.511
That's the world
I want to live in.

00:09:05.511 --> 00:09:08.548
So I have to do this
and I will do this until

00:09:08.548 --> 00:09:10.416
I can’t do it anymore.

00:09:10.416 --> 00:09:11.350
To the town.

00:09:11.350 --> 00:09:13.486
Uh Huh? Uh Huh.

00:09:14.053 --> 00:09:17.323
Next day Uncle Rat
went to the town, to buy

00:09:17.323 --> 00:09:20.059
his niece
a wedding gown. Uh Huh.

00:09:20.059 --> 00:09:23.863
Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

00:10:06.651 --> 00:10:08.987
I believe sustainability

00:10:08.987 --> 00:10:11.857
is part of our DNA.

00:10:12.090 --> 00:10:13.692
Our mission statement

00:10:13.692 --> 00:10:15.227
and I’m going to
say this in Chinese

00:10:15.527 --> 00:10:18.263
(speaking Chinese dialect)

00:10:18.730 --> 00:10:20.799
And it literally translates to

00:10:20.799 --> 00:10:22.367
protect the environment,

00:10:22.367 --> 00:10:24.236
conserve energy

00:10:24.236 --> 00:10:25.771
and love thy earth.

00:10:26.972 --> 00:10:28.473
Delta Electronics was founded

00:10:28.473 --> 00:10:31.710
in 1971 by Bruce Chen.

00:10:31.710 --> 00:10:35.547
When he started Delta,
we were just a components

00:10:35.580 --> 00:10:37.082
manufacturer.

00:10:37.082 --> 00:10:39.851
Going into the eighties, Taiwan

00:10:39.851 --> 00:10:42.888
went through
an industrial revolution,

00:10:42.888 --> 00:10:47.859
and so electricity
use ramped up very rapidly.

00:10:48.293 --> 00:10:52.998
And people are starting to feel
the toll of that.

00:10:53.465 --> 00:10:56.268
They had mandatory
blackouts scheduled.

00:10:56.268 --> 00:10:58.437
So he started thinking,

00:10:58.437 --> 00:11:00.939
there's something
that we have to do about that.

00:11:00.939 --> 00:11:04.409
So he said,
why not build products

00:11:04.409 --> 00:11:06.244
that are more energy efficient?

00:11:06.244 --> 00:11:09.214
So he started developing
what is called

00:11:09.214 --> 00:11:10.849
switching power supplies.

00:11:10.849 --> 00:11:13.685
He read that buildings consumes

00:11:13.685 --> 00:11:16.788
about 40% of the total energy

00:11:17.222 --> 00:11:21.026
used by
any institution or household.

00:11:21.993 --> 00:11:22.761
He visited

00:11:22.761 --> 00:11:25.430
the Rocky
Mountain Institute in Colorado.

00:11:25.864 --> 00:11:29.301
There are buildings out there
that are so-called zero

00:11:29.301 --> 00:11:30.569
net energy,

00:11:30.569 --> 00:11:33.538
that are green buildings
that are friendly to the earth.

00:11:33.538 --> 00:11:36.174
So started in 2006.

00:11:36.842 --> 00:11:40.445
He made it a corporate mandate
that every building that Delta

00:11:40.445 --> 00:11:44.216
Electronics builds or donates
to be a green building.

00:11:47.018 --> 00:11:50.522
In 2010, we kind of outgrew
our current building.

00:11:51.123 --> 00:11:54.326
So I was asked to start looking

00:11:54.326 --> 00:11:58.330
for a piece of property
to accommodate our growth.

00:11:58.730 --> 00:12:01.600
It was not mandated by anyone

00:12:02.334 --> 00:12:04.803
to build
this LEED platinum building, but

00:12:04.803 --> 00:12:08.807
it was really the passion
of Delta Electronics to be able

00:12:08.807 --> 00:12:12.944
to minimize our footprint,
our impact on the world.

00:12:14.112 --> 00:12:16.047
We want to
do it as much as we can.

00:12:16.047 --> 00:12:18.383
And I think
that's something that society really has to do.

00:12:18.383 --> 00:12:21.052
Forget about the mandates,
man. Just do it.

00:12:21.052 --> 00:12:24.055
Everybody is an integral
part of this solution.

00:12:26.458 --> 00:12:28.927
We're
using Delta's own components.

00:12:29.794 --> 00:12:32.030
We have our own
LED streetlights.

00:12:32.030 --> 00:12:36.501
We have 20 EV chargers
that our employees get to use

00:12:36.501 --> 00:12:38.136
every day.

00:12:38.136 --> 00:12:41.473
We have
solar panels on the roof, a 616

00:12:41.473 --> 00:12:42.541
kilowatt system

00:12:42.541 --> 00:12:45.577
that powers about 70%
of our facility year round.

00:12:45.944 --> 00:12:49.514
We have a 500 kilowatt
bifacial system that will

00:12:49.514 --> 00:12:51.816
bring us over net zero.

00:12:51.816 --> 00:12:53.618
Geothermal energy
is actually used

00:12:53.618 --> 00:12:55.420
for both heating and cooling.

00:12:55.420 --> 00:12:57.923
Surface temperatures
vary a lot when you think

00:12:57.923 --> 00:13:00.959
about the impact of the sun,
but when you get underground,

00:13:00.959 --> 00:13:02.894
ground temperatures
are a lot more stable.

00:13:02.894 --> 00:13:04.863
Temperatures
are about 60 degrees

00:13:04.863 --> 00:13:08.600
and we have 25 miles
of piping underground at 15

00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:10.001
and 30 feet depths.

00:13:10.001 --> 00:13:11.803
And that's
where we absorb the heat

00:13:11.803 --> 00:13:13.738
and we use that
for our facility.

00:13:13.738 --> 00:13:17.509
We have in our central plant
running the pumps

00:13:18.009 --> 00:13:18.977
that are regulating

00:13:18.977 --> 00:13:22.013
the water from underground
and also in our radiant floor

00:13:22.013 --> 00:13:25.016
and ceiling are Delta's own
VFDs.

00:13:25.750 --> 00:13:28.520
VFD stands
for variable frequency drives.

00:13:28.853 --> 00:13:32.424
Those drives control
the speed that the water needs

00:13:32.424 --> 00:13:34.092
to be pumped through the system.

00:13:34.092 --> 00:13:36.595
Therefore, it's
more energy efficient.

00:13:36.595 --> 00:13:38.196
You look around
and you see floor to ceiling

00:13:38.196 --> 00:13:39.664
windows all around

00:13:39.664 --> 00:13:41.399
and that just lets
in the natural light,

00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:42.834
which is a lot more comfortable.

00:13:42.834 --> 00:13:45.003
It's a more
productive work environment.

00:13:46.004 --> 00:13:49.541
On days that are really
mild and beautiful outside,

00:13:49.541 --> 00:13:53.445
we can even open those windows
to let fresh air come in.

00:13:54.145 --> 00:13:58.717
We also have these regen drives
that go into our elevators

00:13:58.717 --> 00:14:02.320
that recuperates the energy
while it brakes.

00:14:02.654 --> 00:14:03.822
So when you brake,

00:14:03.822 --> 00:14:06.825
the energy converts
back to the building energy.

00:14:06.825 --> 00:14:09.027
We're not just
using one technology.

00:14:09.027 --> 00:14:13.965
And so being able to use
all of these technologies

00:14:13.965 --> 00:14:17.369
together is what makes Delta's
facility unique.

00:14:19.871 --> 00:14:22.274
As part of my duties,

00:14:22.274 --> 00:14:25.143
we do many,
many tours for schools.

00:14:25.510 --> 00:14:28.113
We go give them a showroom tour
and we show them all

00:14:28.113 --> 00:14:30.215
the different ways
that there are to save energy.

00:14:30.215 --> 00:14:31.549
We have electric vehicles,

00:14:31.549 --> 00:14:33.918
we have fans,
we have power components.

00:14:33.918 --> 00:14:37.322
All these things
that really help a facility

00:14:37.322 --> 00:14:41.626
operate at a high level and
at an energy efficient level.

00:14:41.626 --> 00:14:45.063
And so giving them a taste
of every single facet

00:14:45.063 --> 00:14:48.333
in our facility goes
to show how important it is

00:14:48.333 --> 00:14:50.769
at an early age
to learn about these things,

00:14:50.769 --> 00:14:52.437
because once they learn it,

00:14:52.437 --> 00:14:53.738
they're retaining
that information

00:14:53.738 --> 00:14:56.041
and they're using
that in the future.

00:14:56.041 --> 00:14:58.910
We're
hoping that the kids out there

00:14:59.311 --> 00:15:03.214
who are really into
building things and engineering

00:15:03.214 --> 00:15:07.686
things can think about
what they can do better.

00:15:08.219 --> 00:15:09.954
I really do
believe in a better tomorrow.

00:15:09.954 --> 00:15:13.091
I think starting with the kids,
I think that's very impactful.

00:15:13.858 --> 00:15:15.760
As an engineer,
we're solving problems

00:15:15.760 --> 00:15:17.228
and that's always given me hope.

00:15:17.228 --> 00:15:18.930
I'm going to give humanity
a chance.

00:15:18.930 --> 00:15:21.066
You know I believe in humanity

00:15:21.066 --> 00:15:22.801
and that they will
figure things out.

00:15:22.801 --> 00:15:24.903
And I'm going to be
a part of that solution.

00:15:24.903 --> 00:15:27.272
I want to use these technologies

00:15:27.272 --> 00:15:30.308
and figure out how to help
the environment around me.

00:15:31.142 --> 00:15:34.713
And we can have a society
that uses benefits of both

00:15:34.713 --> 00:15:36.448
technology and nature.

00:16:28.857 --> 00:16:30.625
Hi, my name is John Sarter.

00:16:30.625 --> 00:16:33.695
I'm the concept developer
and builder of Sol Lux Alpha.

00:16:34.295 --> 00:16:37.766
Sol Lux Alpha
is the first netpositive energy

00:16:37.766 --> 00:16:39.834
nano grid condominium building

00:16:39.834 --> 00:16:42.337
brought to the
US real estate market.

00:16:42.337 --> 00:16:45.907
Basically it's a fossil
fuel free, all electric building

00:16:46.174 --> 00:16:48.276
that is generating more energy
than it uses.

00:16:48.276 --> 00:16:50.311
Well, I chose to live

00:16:50.311 --> 00:16:51.079
in a place like this

00:16:51.079 --> 00:16:52.147
because I've actually

00:16:52.147 --> 00:16:56.017
been very passionate
about the environment and,

00:16:56.017 --> 00:16:58.186
you know, my impact
on the environment.

00:16:58.186 --> 00:17:01.389
For me, it was my small way
of making a difference.

00:17:01.389 --> 00:17:03.191
So I've always
I have had a passion about,

00:17:03.191 --> 00:17:05.226
you know, improving the world
some way.

00:17:05.427 --> 00:17:08.463
And I think
we all have to start thinking,

00:17:08.463 --> 00:17:09.764
how can we make a difference?

00:17:09.764 --> 00:17:12.033
We're here at Sol Lux
Alpha on the roof deck,

00:17:12.033 --> 00:17:13.735
which is the outdoor space
for the building.

00:17:13.735 --> 00:17:16.805
We actually traded the backyard
for a full lot coverage

00:17:16.805 --> 00:17:17.806
building to be able

00:17:17.806 --> 00:17:19.407
to put this outdoor
space up here on the roof

00:17:19.407 --> 00:17:21.042
where you can have
a beautiful view.

00:17:21.042 --> 00:17:23.478
And we have
this raised PV trellis above us.

00:17:24.245 --> 00:17:27.015
That's
what they call BIPV for building

00:17:27.015 --> 00:17:29.284
integrated photovoltaics.

00:17:29.284 --> 00:17:30.785
It's an architectural grade
panel

00:17:30.785 --> 00:17:32.320
that let sunlight filter through

00:17:32.320 --> 00:17:34.155
so you get nice
filtered sunlight.

00:17:34.155 --> 00:17:35.890
And these are also
bifacial panels.

00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:38.660
So they're producing energy
not only on the top cells,

00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.663
but on cells that are on
the bottom, collecting reflected

00:17:41.663 --> 00:17:43.531
light and ambient
light from the neighborhood.

00:17:43.531 --> 00:17:45.900
And this also acts as a water
catchment system.

00:17:46.234 --> 00:17:47.769
So this is essentially
a fully connected

00:17:47.769 --> 00:17:49.370
array that catches water.

00:17:49.370 --> 00:17:51.239
There's
a gutter and downspouts on it.

00:17:51.239 --> 00:17:53.908
That are designed to go to water
catchment tanks that are

00:17:53.908 --> 00:17:55.810
integrated into planters.

00:17:57.278 --> 00:17:58.713
These are the solar inverters.

00:17:58.713 --> 00:18:00.115
We have five of them.

00:18:00.115 --> 00:18:01.549
So there's a separate
energy system

00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:02.984
for each unit in the building.

00:18:02.984 --> 00:18:04.085
The benefit of doing this

00:18:04.085 --> 00:18:06.754
is you get extra resilience
by having multiple systems,

00:18:06.754 --> 00:18:08.556
so there's no single
point of failure.

00:18:08.556 --> 00:18:11.726
The solar inverter takes the DC
power from the solar panels

00:18:11.726 --> 00:18:14.095
and converts to AC power for use
in the units.

00:18:14.095 --> 00:18:16.164
The low hanging fruit
is to make your building

00:18:16.164 --> 00:18:17.165
as efficient as you can.

00:18:17.165 --> 00:18:18.800
We add
the most efficient systems

00:18:18.800 --> 00:18:21.202
that we can within the building
the heating, the cooling,

00:18:21.669 --> 00:18:25.273
the energy recovery ventilation,
the recirculation on the heat

00:18:25.273 --> 00:18:27.775
pump water heater and heat
pump dryer..

00:18:27.775 --> 00:18:29.177
So all of these heat pump
systems

00:18:29.177 --> 00:18:31.779
are much more efficient
than their older counterparts.

00:18:32.213 --> 00:18:34.015
So when you add
all these systems together,

00:18:34.015 --> 00:18:36.384
you're
really lowering your energy use.

00:18:36.384 --> 00:18:38.586
So this is a dryer,
but it's a heat pump dryer

00:18:38.586 --> 00:18:40.989
and it basically reverse air
conditions, your clothes dry.

00:18:41.256 --> 00:18:43.791
And first, the high speed washer
gets most of the water out.

00:18:44.225 --> 00:18:45.693
And it's less
work for the dryer to do.

00:18:48.296 --> 00:18:49.164
So heat pump dryer

00:18:49.164 --> 00:18:50.698
technology
has been around in Europe

00:18:50.698 --> 00:18:53.168
for quite some time and is now
being brought into the US.

00:18:53.168 --> 00:18:55.170
And this is actually
a Whirlpool dryer,

00:18:55.170 --> 00:18:57.372
a large American sized
seven cubic foot,

00:18:57.405 --> 00:18:59.040
plenty of room
for all your stuff.

00:18:59.040 --> 00:19:02.010
It's about twice as efficient
as a regular electric dryer.

00:19:04.512 --> 00:19:05.513
This right over here

00:19:05.513 --> 00:19:08.683
is a Bosch induction
electric cooktop.

00:19:09.184 --> 00:19:10.952
And essentially it uses

00:19:10.952 --> 00:19:14.722
magnetic electricity to heat
only the pan, not the surface.

00:19:14.722 --> 00:19:16.057
So you can take a pan off
of this

00:19:16.057 --> 00:19:18.226
that you've been cooking
on, put your hand on the surface

00:19:18.226 --> 00:19:19.594
and you won't burn yourself.

00:19:19.594 --> 00:19:21.095
If you look
at the overall efficiency of it

00:19:21.095 --> 00:19:21.930
compared to gas, it's

00:19:21.930 --> 00:19:24.065
actually much more efficient
on an energy basis.

00:19:24.265 --> 00:19:26.167
By virtue of it's
only heating the pan,

00:19:26.167 --> 00:19:28.336
there's no wasted heat
going into the atmosphere

00:19:28.336 --> 00:19:28.903
around the pan.

00:19:28.903 --> 00:19:31.673
When you burn gas in a home,
you're producing toxins.

00:19:31.940 --> 00:19:33.374
So this is completely gas free.

00:19:34.842 --> 00:19:37.178
So this building is
passive house certified and part

00:19:37.178 --> 00:19:39.914
of being passive certified
is being very airtight.

00:19:40.215 --> 00:19:40.782
So the windows

00:19:40.782 --> 00:19:43.885
and doors are actually European
and this is called a lift glide

00:19:43.885 --> 00:19:44.652
sliding door.

00:19:44.652 --> 00:19:47.121
So this sliding door has
a multi-point locking system,

00:19:47.121 --> 00:19:49.390
a series of these bolts
that the door actually grabs

00:19:49.390 --> 00:19:52.994
onto and pulls it in
tight and seals it up airtight.

00:19:52.994 --> 00:19:54.996
When I turn this lever,

00:19:54.996 --> 00:19:57.098
if you look up on top,
the margin closes.

00:19:57.098 --> 00:19:59.234
It actually lifts
the door up off of the seals

00:19:59.601 --> 00:20:02.103
and releases it from
this multi-point locking system.

00:20:02.937 --> 00:20:04.172
This is an 800 pound door

00:20:04.172 --> 00:20:05.707
that you're just sliding
with your fingers.

00:20:05.707 --> 00:20:07.408
Very nice
bearings and operation.

00:20:07.408 --> 00:20:10.778
And in reverse
when I turn this lever, it

00:20:10.778 --> 00:20:13.348
cinches down and closes the door
very airtight.

00:20:13.881 --> 00:20:17.085
So this is a tilt turn window
and it's also has a multipoint

00:20:17.085 --> 00:20:20.221
locking system that you can see
these different areas.

00:20:20.221 --> 00:20:22.690
When I close this window
and latch it down

00:20:22.690 --> 00:20:24.792
and it sucks the window
in tight against

00:20:24.792 --> 00:20:26.928
seals on all four sides
to make it very airtight.

00:20:26.928 --> 00:20:28.496
In addition to being airtight,

00:20:28.496 --> 00:20:30.431
you actually have
to pay attention to the

00:20:30.431 --> 00:20:32.734
what they call thermal
bridging in the walls.

00:20:32.734 --> 00:20:33.835
And a thermal bridge

00:20:33.835 --> 00:20:34.802
is basically something

00:20:34.802 --> 00:20:37.672
that conducts heat and cold
from the outside to the inside.

00:20:38.006 --> 00:20:39.807
So you take measures
when you design the wall

00:20:39.807 --> 00:20:41.409
assembly
to keep that from occurring.

00:20:41.409 --> 00:20:42.977
And that's part
of what makes a passive house

00:20:42.977 --> 00:20:44.045
so efficient,

00:20:44.045 --> 00:20:47.081
80 to 90% more efficient
for heating and cooling

00:20:47.081 --> 00:20:48.182
than a conventional building.

00:20:49.751 --> 00:20:51.386
This house is completely sealed,

00:20:51.386 --> 00:20:54.322
which is important
for retaining the energy,

00:20:54.322 --> 00:20:57.725
so it doesn't lose energy
through the walls

00:20:57.725 --> 00:20:59.794
or through the windows
or through any gaps.

00:21:00.094 --> 00:21:03.298
So it's very tightly sealed,
which retains energy,

00:21:03.564 --> 00:21:06.167
but also makes it very quiet.

00:21:06.768 --> 00:21:09.270
We had a terrible fire season
here last year.

00:21:09.270 --> 00:21:10.138
That air,

00:21:10.138 --> 00:21:11.105
even in San Francisco

00:21:11.105 --> 00:21:14.475
from the northern California
fires was highly toxic.

00:21:14.475 --> 00:21:17.345
And in these units, the air
quality stayed very, very pure.

00:21:17.345 --> 00:21:20.748
The air was so bad
in San Francisco

00:21:20.748 --> 00:21:23.384
that you were advised
not to go outside.

00:21:24.185 --> 00:21:27.221
So I had a Bolton air
pollution detector.

00:21:27.655 --> 00:21:30.925
And inside here it was
the air was great.

00:21:31.426 --> 00:21:34.228
So when I went outside,
it was like smoking

00:21:34.228 --> 00:21:35.496
a pack of cigarettes.

00:21:35.496 --> 00:21:37.365
And inside
it was completely clean.

00:21:37.365 --> 00:21:40.368
We don't have to worry
about the quality of the air.

00:21:41.302 --> 00:21:43.604
It has this secondary air
filtration system.

00:21:43.938 --> 00:21:46.274
So our air is very pure inside
here.

00:21:46.274 --> 00:21:48.643
It's cleaner than outside.

00:21:48.643 --> 00:21:51.346
In this closet is the energy
recovery ventilation system.

00:21:51.913 --> 00:21:55.083
And essentially
it is the lungs of your home.

00:21:56.517 --> 00:21:57.685
This unit

00:21:57.685 --> 00:22:00.722
continually brings fresh air
in and exhausts the indoor

00:22:00.722 --> 00:22:03.458
air that might be stale
or have VOCs or cooking

00:22:03.991 --> 00:22:05.293
fumes, that type of thing.

00:22:05.293 --> 00:22:07.562
Inside the ERV,
there's a heat exchange element

00:22:07.562 --> 00:22:10.264
so that the air that you're
exhausting is giving its heat,

00:22:10.264 --> 00:22:12.700
or its cool energy
to the incoming air.

00:22:12.700 --> 00:22:14.502
So you're constantly exhausting
the indoor

00:22:14.502 --> 00:22:16.304
stale air,
bringing in fresh air,

00:22:16.304 --> 00:22:18.606
but not exhausting your heat
or your cool.

00:22:18.606 --> 00:22:20.274
Up above me is the manifolds

00:22:20.274 --> 00:22:22.910
for the exhaust system,
for the exhaust and the intake.

00:22:23.411 --> 00:22:26.080
And those pipes
basically are drawing from the

00:22:26.080 --> 00:22:28.182
dirty areas of the home,
the bathrooms,

00:22:28.182 --> 00:22:29.717
the kitchen and the laundry.

00:22:29.717 --> 00:22:32.186
And they're bringing fresh air
into the bedrooms

00:22:32.186 --> 00:22:33.421
and to the living
areas of the home.

00:22:33.621 --> 00:22:36.391
And this unit also triple
filters the air that's coming in

00:22:36.391 --> 00:22:38.459
so you get a very healthy indoor
air environment.

00:22:38.459 --> 00:22:40.628
This is where the filters go.

00:22:40.628 --> 00:22:42.764
And if you need to change it
or clean it,

00:22:42.764 --> 00:22:46.067
you just basically open that up,
pull the filter out,

00:22:46.701 --> 00:22:47.568
get a new one.

00:22:49.704 --> 00:22:51.372
This closet
is for the water heater.

00:22:51.372 --> 00:22:52.974
In this closet is just the tank

00:22:52.974 --> 00:22:55.443
for the water heater
and the recirculation pump.

00:22:55.810 --> 00:22:57.979
And the recirculation
pump up above

00:22:57.979 --> 00:23:00.281
puts the water to the tap
before you actually need it.

00:23:00.281 --> 00:23:01.115
The hot water.

00:23:01.115 --> 00:23:04.051
So you're not wasting water
when you turn on the tap.

00:23:04.051 --> 00:23:05.887
This is a heat
pump water heater, as I said.

00:23:05.887 --> 00:23:07.155
And the heat pump condenser

00:23:07.155 --> 00:23:08.823
is actually
not on top of the unit

00:23:08.823 --> 00:23:10.958
as it is in a lot of heat pump
water heaters.

00:23:10.958 --> 00:23:12.460
It's actually outside.

00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:14.695
So any any cold air
that it produces

00:23:14.695 --> 00:23:16.264
while it's heating your water
and any noise

00:23:16.264 --> 00:23:18.699
it makes is outside
instead of inside,

00:23:18.699 --> 00:23:20.802
makes it more efficient
that way.

00:23:20.802 --> 00:23:22.470
A lot of people
turn on their taps

00:23:22.470 --> 00:23:23.838
and wait for the hot water
to get there,

00:23:23.838 --> 00:23:25.339
wasting water the whole time.

00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:27.008
But the recirculation pump
actually

00:23:27.008 --> 00:23:30.044
gets the water to the tap
before you need the hot water.

00:23:30.044 --> 00:23:33.981
Therefore, you're saving water
and energy at the same time.

00:23:33.981 --> 00:23:35.983
On the ceiling
you'll notice that there's smoke

00:23:35.983 --> 00:23:39.353
and carbon monoxide detectors
and also a vacancy sensor.

00:23:39.353 --> 00:23:41.889
What the vacancy sensor does
is that when you leave the room,

00:23:41.889 --> 00:23:44.258
not only the lights go out,
but all the plugs go out

00:23:44.258 --> 00:23:46.260
except for one hot
plug that we leave.

00:23:46.260 --> 00:23:48.029
So if you want to leave
something charging,

00:23:48.029 --> 00:23:50.465
essentially when you have
a very low energy use home,

00:23:51.132 --> 00:23:53.634
the vampire loads,
they call them that are kind of

00:23:53.634 --> 00:23:55.536
sucked out of any devices
you leave plugged in

00:23:55.536 --> 00:23:57.138
and start to become a larger
part of the load.

00:23:57.138 --> 00:23:59.173
So that eliminates
the vampire loads.

00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:01.576
In a very
automatic, seamless way.

00:24:02.610 --> 00:24:03.878
You know, we are we are

00:24:03.878 --> 00:24:06.581
conserving and saving energy
without even thinking about it.

00:24:07.982 --> 00:24:10.451
This building is expensive
by virtue of the finishes

00:24:10.451 --> 00:24:10.985
that we used

00:24:10.985 --> 00:24:12.720
and being in San Francisco
because the land

00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:14.889
and the construction
costs are so high.

00:24:14.889 --> 00:24:18.893
But the cost of this apartment
per square foot is no different

00:24:18.893 --> 00:24:21.529
than another apartment
in the neighborhood.

00:24:21.529 --> 00:24:24.165
We didn't pay more
for this technology.

00:24:24.432 --> 00:24:28.669
This is actually the same price
as a similar apartment.

00:24:28.669 --> 00:24:30.972
This technology is not
that expensive.

00:24:30.972 --> 00:24:32.139
It's not unattainable.

00:24:32.139 --> 00:24:34.442
And actually it's less expensive
to build an all electric

00:24:34.442 --> 00:24:36.410
building
than a building with gas in it

00:24:36.410 --> 00:24:39.080
because you're eliminating
an entire system. Gas.

00:24:39.714 --> 00:24:40.882
So you don't have to pipe it.

00:24:40.882 --> 00:24:42.717
You don't have to bring it in
from the utility.

00:24:42.717 --> 00:24:44.785
You don't have to pay
that interconnection charge.

00:24:44.785 --> 00:24:45.653
And you end up with a much

00:24:45.653 --> 00:24:47.989
healthier indoor environment
as a result as well.

00:24:48.689 --> 00:24:50.358
It's much safer to build
without gas.

00:24:50.358 --> 00:24:53.194
We have earthquakes, gas lines
rupture and fires occur.

00:24:53.194 --> 00:24:55.029
They tell you,
the first thing you need to do

00:24:55.029 --> 00:24:56.964
if there's an earthquake
is shut off your gas.

00:24:56.964 --> 00:24:59.100
So if you don't have gas, you
don't have to worry about that.

00:24:59.667 --> 00:25:01.602
So your electric building
is much safer

00:25:01.602 --> 00:25:03.371
and the passive house technology

00:25:03.371 --> 00:25:06.507
is not difficult to achieve,
especially on a larger building.

00:25:06.507 --> 00:25:09.010
The larger the building,
the easier it is to do this.

00:25:09.010 --> 00:25:10.011
In this building,

00:25:10.011 --> 00:25:12.280
we didn't have to do anything
special in the wall assemblies

00:25:12.280 --> 00:25:15.683
other than use blown in insulation
to get a better insulation fill.

00:25:16.484 --> 00:25:19.620
Once we have a number of these
buildings in a community

00:25:19.620 --> 00:25:21.489
that are generating
not only their own power,

00:25:21.489 --> 00:25:24.225
but excess energy and community
solar systems as well,

00:25:24.692 --> 00:25:26.694
that eliminates
the need for gas peaker plants.

00:25:26.928 --> 00:25:29.130
And there's a couple
of instances here in California

00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:30.698
where
gas peaker plants have been

00:25:31.966 --> 00:25:33.267
determined not to be cost

00:25:33.267 --> 00:25:35.369
effective compared to solar
plus storage.

00:25:37.538 --> 00:25:40.341
We're down in the garage
and this is the battery closet

00:25:40.341 --> 00:25:42.510
and these are the Tesla
Powerwalls.

00:25:42.510 --> 00:25:43.945
There's three of these per unit,

00:25:43.945 --> 00:25:45.713
which creates
a triple redundancy.

00:25:45.713 --> 00:25:47.148
So if one of the batteries
goes out,

00:25:47.148 --> 00:25:48.616
there's still two
that are operating.

00:25:48.616 --> 00:25:51.218
So that creates layers
of resilience for your building.

00:25:51.752 --> 00:25:53.154
And three of these Powerwalls

00:25:53.154 --> 00:25:54.689
provides enough power to backup

00:25:54.689 --> 00:25:56.724
and to power
everything in the unit.

00:25:56.724 --> 00:25:59.827
So essentially, this building
could run off grid indefinitely.

00:26:00.962 --> 00:26:03.731
So the solar on the roof
first powers the units,

00:26:04.065 --> 00:26:06.267
then it comes down
and is stored in the batteries,

00:26:06.267 --> 00:26:07.335
and then when it's full, it

00:26:07.335 --> 00:26:08.803
exports to the grid
and you can bring

00:26:08.803 --> 00:26:11.439
that power back later
for EV charging.

00:26:11.439 --> 00:26:13.641
But if there's no sun
for a period of time,

00:26:13.641 --> 00:26:14.842
if you cut your energy use,

00:26:14.842 --> 00:26:17.211
you can just keep the systems
of the building functioning

00:26:17.745 --> 00:26:19.580
because even when it's cloudy
and raining out,

00:26:19.580 --> 00:26:21.449
you're still generating
some solar power.

00:26:21.449 --> 00:26:23.351
We're in the second battery
closet.

00:26:23.351 --> 00:26:24.452
The Tesla Powerwalls

00:26:24.452 --> 00:26:28.289
can only export single phase
120 or 240 power.

00:26:28.289 --> 00:26:30.091
And we need a more robust
three phase

00:26:30.091 --> 00:26:32.059
power for our elevator
common area.

00:26:32.059 --> 00:26:33.561
So we use these Sony

00:26:33.561 --> 00:26:36.897
Blue Ion batteries manufactured
by Blue Planet Energy in Hawaii

00:26:37.331 --> 00:26:39.567
to combine
these two towers of power

00:26:39.900 --> 00:26:41.268
and run them
through three inverters

00:26:41.268 --> 00:26:43.270
to create the three phase power
to run the elevator.

00:26:43.504 --> 00:26:47.541
When we have friends over,
they are very curious about how

00:26:47.541 --> 00:26:52.079
how this all works and I usually
take them up and show them the

00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:55.549
the solar panels and I
show them the batteries and I

00:26:55.549 --> 00:26:59.286
usually I show them the app
on my phone and it's amazing.

00:27:00.321 --> 00:27:01.222
This is

00:27:01.222 --> 00:27:04.725
the Tesla app
and this is basically showing

00:27:04.725 --> 00:27:08.396
how I can monitor
and control the energy flow.

00:27:08.396 --> 00:27:10.398
So right now
I have the energy coming in

00:27:10.398 --> 00:27:14.168
from the solar panels and it's
going into the house here

00:27:14.168 --> 00:27:16.303
and then it's
going into the battery.

00:27:16.303 --> 00:27:19.840
So when you can make
the technology easy to use,

00:27:20.274 --> 00:27:22.543
that makes it more accessible
to everybody.

00:27:22.543 --> 00:27:23.844
All our friends are like,
Well, why?

00:27:23.844 --> 00:27:25.146
Why can't we do this?

00:27:25.146 --> 00:27:26.981
Or maybe I should
think about this.

00:27:26.981 --> 00:27:29.383
So it is influencing people.

00:27:30.584 --> 00:27:33.587
The other part of the economic
equation is the energy cost.

00:27:33.587 --> 00:27:37.158
Right now, a unit
like this would cost around $200

00:27:37.158 --> 00:27:39.894
a month to power it
from your utility.

00:27:40.261 --> 00:27:41.595
So by generating
your own energy,

00:27:41.595 --> 00:27:44.131
you're saving about $2,400
a year in energy costs.

00:27:44.498 --> 00:27:48.202
We are using no power
off the traditional grid.

00:27:48.202 --> 00:27:50.204
All of our power
comes from the sun.

00:27:50.204 --> 00:27:50.604
In fact,

00:27:50.604 --> 00:27:52.006
we have excess energy

00:27:52.006 --> 00:27:54.909
that we are giving back
to the utility company.

00:27:55.276 --> 00:27:58.345
Not having to be reliant on the

00:27:58.345 --> 00:28:02.583
on the energy companies
for our energy is very

00:28:03.751 --> 00:28:06.620
comforting and
and makes us feel quite secure.

00:28:06.821 --> 00:28:10.091
One of the small marvels
of having your own power

00:28:10.491 --> 00:28:12.760
is if there is a power failure
in the community.

00:28:13.127 --> 00:28:14.528
We still have power.

00:28:14.528 --> 00:28:19.166
And that's just also feeling
of safety and guarantee

00:28:19.166 --> 00:28:21.068
that we still have energy
no matter what.

00:28:21.068 --> 00:28:21.902
And it has happened.

00:28:21.902 --> 00:28:22.570
We've actually

00:28:22.570 --> 00:28:25.940
had a couple of power outages
and we've had no disruption

00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:26.574
of power.

00:28:27.208 --> 00:28:30.745
So let's look at it from a fuel
transportation cost standpoint.

00:28:31.145 --> 00:28:33.981
There's enough excess energy
being generated here to drive

00:28:33.981 --> 00:28:36.817
an EV for each owner
about 15,000 miles a year.

00:28:37.918 --> 00:28:40.087
Now you can take that energy
and just get a rebate

00:28:40.087 --> 00:28:43.324
from the utility,
be five or $600 a year.

00:28:43.324 --> 00:28:44.425
We actually

00:28:44.425 --> 00:28:47.428
have an electric car,
so we'll have no energy bills.

00:28:47.428 --> 00:28:50.965
Basically, it will be the cost
of cost of energy will be gone.

00:28:54.135 --> 00:28:55.603
So an exciting new technology

00:28:55.603 --> 00:28:58.072
that's coming
forward is called V to B,

00:28:58.072 --> 00:28:59.874
and that stands
for vehicle to building.

00:28:59.874 --> 00:29:02.209
So that means the energy
in your electric vehicle

00:29:02.443 --> 00:29:03.110
can actually be

00:29:03.110 --> 00:29:05.646
powering your unit,
going back into your building

00:29:06.147 --> 00:29:06.914
and then actually

00:29:06.914 --> 00:29:10.217
through your building
and out to the grid as well.

00:29:10.217 --> 00:29:13.721
If we're not reliant
for energy from overseas,

00:29:14.288 --> 00:29:16.991
then it means that we can be
more self-reliant

00:29:16.991 --> 00:29:19.960
as a country
and as a community or a state.

00:29:20.394 --> 00:29:24.398
And all of that also is good
for the environment.

00:29:24.765 --> 00:29:28.335
Why are we having to pull oil
from thousands of miles away

00:29:28.335 --> 00:29:29.970
and bring it
to the United States

00:29:29.970 --> 00:29:32.439
when we can get our energy
right here?

00:29:32.439 --> 00:29:33.207
As soon as

00:29:33.207 --> 00:29:36.410
I started to think about
how can I have less impact

00:29:36.410 --> 00:29:38.679
on the planet.
Then we moved into here?

00:29:39.213 --> 00:29:42.850
Now I start to think about
other aspects of my life, about

00:29:42.850 --> 00:29:46.987
how can I be more responsible,
and more caring to the planet.

00:29:46.987 --> 00:29:49.390
I think it starts to make
you think about

00:29:49.390 --> 00:29:52.026
all the other aspects
of your life and about

00:29:53.260 --> 00:29:55.229
how you
can live more responsibly.

00:29:55.229 --> 00:29:57.198
And then esthetics really do
matter.

00:29:57.198 --> 00:29:59.633
The solar panels on this roof
are really beautiful.

00:29:59.633 --> 00:30:02.469
Those things together
will make it become ubiquitous.

00:30:02.837 --> 00:30:04.438
If we can start to think

00:30:04.438 --> 00:30:08.309
and act more locally
when it comes to our power,

00:30:08.309 --> 00:30:10.311
our products
we buy and what we do,

00:30:10.778 --> 00:30:13.647
then I think we can all start
to contribute

00:30:13.647 --> 00:30:15.049
to making this planet

00:30:15.049 --> 00:30:17.284
a better place
for us all to live in

00:30:17.284 --> 00:30:20.421
and for the next generation
and the generations beyond that.