When the judges’ votes were cast, the winners of the Jackson EMC Solar Water Heating Contest were Miranda and Peter Chave of Lawrenceville. For the best video about living the “green life,” the Chaves won a solar water heater for their home.
    
“Our panel of judges chose the Chaves’ submission because they clearly demonstrated both their commitment and enthusiasm for green living,” said Christy Queen, Jackson EMC Marketing Resource Specialist. “Their commitment to energy conservation and low-impact living is a daily expression of our cooperative’s longstanding support for energy efficiency. Their video showed numerous simple things anyone can do to be more environmentally responsible, and then they took it a step further with their application of innovative energy technology.”
    
Miranda and Peter incorporate a range of “green” initiatives into their lives. During the day, Miranda and son Douglas enjoy natural light from the sun flowing through windows and skylights. Compact fluorescent light bulbs provide nighttime illumination, while the day’s laundry air-dries on an ingenious rod-and-cord system installed over the washing machine. Miranda uses biodegradable laundry detergent and makes her own cleaning products from vinegar and baking soda. The attic fan and open windows delay the need for air conditioning in the summer; deadfall branches burned in the fireplace and electric blankets postpone their use of central electric heating in the winter. Outside, Miranda’s organically grown vegetables and herbs benefit from compost-enriched soil and rainwater channeled from the roof to a water storage barrel. Captured bathwater irrigates shrubs and ornamental plants.
    
“Ultimately, I would like to be as self-sufficient as possible,” said Miranda, who grew up in West Africa, where water was brought in on a tanker truck and food and supplies had to stretch from one year to the next. “I’m always assessing our actions, and I’m absolutely horrified when I find I’ve been doing something wrong.”
    
Peter supports his wife’s conservation efforts and has a unique project of his own. Last year, he purchased a 1973 VW Microbus, which he is currently converting from gasoline to battery power. He spent six months researching and documenting the process before starting work. The microbus will run on 12 batteries with 90% energy conversion efficiency and zero ground pollution. When complete, Peter will use the eight-seat vehicle to carpool to work.
    
“We have an ethical bias,” Peter said. “We want to be low-impact, to preserve Earth for our children. But with gas at $5 a gallon, you start thinking about energy holistically. My background is in electrical engineering, so the technology side interests me, but the savings are important, too.”
    
Reuse and recycling are another important part of the Chaves’ lifestyle. The stack of recyclables to be picked up far outweighs the trash, which fits into one grocery store bag. Miranda has also taught Douglas’ classmates about recycling.
    
“I can’t just put something in the trash before I’ve exhausted all possible uses or recycling options,” Miranda said. She checks Earth911.com to find places that accept post-consumer items such as car batteries, restaurant take-away boxes and packing peanuts. When the couple had trouble burning their contest video entry to CD, they hung the unusable discs in the garden to frighten away plundering squirrels.
    
The family has been investigating solar power as their next step, so Peter was excited when he read about Jackson EMC’s Earth Day video contest. According to Miranda, they “overcame a lot of self-imposed obstacles” to enter, but their effort was rewarded on June 4, when Correct Solar Installation, in partnership with Solar Energy Marketing, installed the contest prize – an EnerWorks residential solar water heating appliance. “This is the easiest system to install on an existing house and a better system for the homeowner,” said John Pfeiffer of Correct Solar Installations.
    
The system consists of two roof-mounted, flat-plate solar collectors; an energy pack that is unique to this product; and a 120-gallon combined solar and auxiliary electric hot water storage tank. Inside the energy pack, a pump circulates the heat-transfer fluid – freeze-resistant food-grade propylene glycol – through the closed-loop system to the collector panels and back to a heat storage tank. Separate pipes bring cold water into the energy pack and through a heat exchanger that warms the water before sending it to the storage tank. Safety features of this appliance include an anti-scald valve that keeps the solar-heated water from reaching unsafe temperatures and a passive device on the solar collectors that prevent overheating.
    
Solar heating can provide up to 70% of the hot water needs of most households; the electric auxiliary only operates when there isn’t enough solar energy to meet the demand for hot water. Although the Chaves’ solar water heater installation took place on a cloudy day, Correct Solar Installations professional Rex Nelson noted that the remote energy monitor included with the system recorded a temperature of 135 degrees F shortly after the technicians uncovered the solar collectors to activate the appliance.
    
“We’ve never won a contest before,” Miranda said. “When Christy called and said we’d won, I ran around the house screaming!” The couple hopes their new addition will inspire other homeowners to consider investing in solar power.
    
Congratulations also go to video contest first runner-up Paula Mellom of Athens and second runner-up Robert Schlect of Hoschton.