In recent years, I have the opportunity to interview many interesting people were: tourism experts, authors, philanthropists and enlightened entrepreneurs. For my series of articles on Toronto's Beach Neighbors of a specific research ideas for entrepreneurs interview innovative business models that have come up with social and environmental issues.
Michael Prue, the member of Provincial Parliament for Beaches / East York, pointed me inDirected by Alex Winch, owner of Beach Solar laundry. You might think - a laundromat, how can it be an interesting business? Well, read on and you will see that this activity and its owner, in any case outside the norm.
Earlier this cold Thursday morning I met Alex at his premises in Queen Street East and got an introduction to this unusual activity. When Alex bought the laundry, in 2002, was outdated and dirty, so Alex to work and replaced almost half ofWashing machines and dryers with new high-performance machines. He also presented the city with a complete cosmetic overhaul, and he brightened considerably.
But where it gets really interesting behind the scenes, where the entire operational process of the laundry has been redesigned. Alex has decided to open this business in a business highly modern, environmentally friendly. So in October of 2002, has ordered eight solar panels that are made in December 2002. Alex had thought of everythingnecessary with the sun's energy to heat water in its laundry.
Alex explained that the eight solar panels on the roof of the building of 250 square meters and the measure of a company called Solcan in London, Ontario have been installed. The thermal plate, a layer of black copper with a copper weathervane to four inches, three / eighth-inch copper pipes with antifreeze flows through s contains. Antifreeze is made of propylene glycol and food transfers heatEnergy from the roof through the entire system up to a heat exchanger in the basement. Although there is a leak in the lines freeze, it does not contaminate ground water.
The anti-freeze has a freezing point of -25 degrees Celsius in which he feels glycol gel messaging shut down the solar thermal system was easy to move the glycol in the tubes. In this case, a natural gas boiler backup treatment system begins to heat water.
In the interest ofSo his business more environmentally sustainable, Alex has also renewed the lighting and installed new high-efficiency fluorescent lamps that are made under an aluminum reflector. The reflector essentially doubles the light output of fluorescent tubes real. In combination with high-efficiency lighting electronic ballasts, this measure alone lighting energy savings of 72%. Alex added that energy security measures are important because the lights are in his companyto 18 hours a day, 7 days a week.
One of the first things that Alex was told a manager of air over the door, the warm moist air being sucked out of the laundry, running through the coils and dehumidify the air. Condensation is captured and transmitted through a system of pipes in a basement. The defrost water is not used again in the laundry lint out of concern for water contamination.
To illustrate the operation of his company's solar hot waterSystem adopted, Alex me to the basement, where he showed me a series of water tanks, pipes and sophisticated measurement that calculates the actual energy efficiency and the displacement of natural gas in this solar hot water provided.
In the basement there are two different heating systems: the solar system, which uses a heat exchanger and a hot water tank 200 liters, and a backup natural gas heating system that uses a natural gas boiler with aSeparation of a tank of 100 gallons of hot water. The separate 100-gallon storage tank replaces two 200 liters used before. The new gas boilers to provide heat 100 liters of water in seven minutes, and this new system is smaller and more efficient just-in-time "hot water and heats the water only when needed. The advantage of this system is that it is a much smaller amount of hot water, which reduces the energy losses of stored waterStorage.
The building is brick chimney was hit on the roof level and now serves as a conduit for the pipes to keep the glycol that circulates through the solar panels on the roof. From the tables of the heated glycol then travels back to the basement is heated through a heat exchanger and hot water for laundry. A second heat exchanger heats the water that circulates through the radiators and provides space heating for the building. An air-conditioningNext three air handling units for the construction, the water temperature in the laundry room is 120 degrees Fahrenheit (55 degrees Celsius), which is enough to dissolve detergents, so that no additional heat loss.
All the processes of heating and cooling are controlled by thermostats, and a sophisticated measurement system calculates the amount of gas is saved by using solar energy. This measurement system is a web site on the Internet (www.bslvideo.com) connectedthat monitoring live energy for all, curious.
The site also offers a "recycling of live cam" is to give customers the Beach Solar Laundromat to see how busy the laundry. Alex has installed a camera with low resolution to improve customer service, so customers can easily check from home, when would be a good time for laundry. A second high-resolution camera, the images are not accessible to the public, was for security reasons, such as installationLaundry is not constantly busy. Some of the clients were initially concerned about the invasion of the cameras' of their privacy, but as soon as Alex explained that the cameras with lower resolution images is not sufficiently clear to identify them (or their dirty clothes), these fears are been alleviated.
Obviously Alex has a very good access to technology, and when he tried the intricate details of its solar system to explain to me - an absolute beginner, things like heatvolume meters heat exchanger and flow - I asked him if he was an engineer. He explained that in 1985 he graduated from engineering physics at Queens University. Four years later, he added the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst sell to his resume and his own company to research on Canadian shares in U.S. hedge funds. In 1990 he started his first hedge fund, which was followed in 1993, opening an office at 667 Park Avenue in New York City. Based on his success, he retired1995, an event is referred to as "freedom 31".
After that date, was a major shareholder in a company casino voluntarily as head of investor relations and was appointed Chairman of the Board. Alex was not happy with how things were at that company and requested that several changes be made. If management does not respond to his interests, he left in 2002 and launched a proxy fight hostile threat, in other words, he threatened to take over the company. Alex had, all racesShareholders, and were ready to vote for change. Alex claims that the president resign or he would "hunt".
Management initially ignored the threat, and three days later came all the management and the Board of Directors and named him as a contact for the company. Alex explained that in a public company can not do, agents can not just walk away from their responsibilities. His lawyers advised him not to do anything. A few days later anotherDiscussion followed, said the administration and that Alex is not hostile to the proxy documents. Instead, management wanted to make the changes he had requested, would otherwise have been due to intentional damage.
The management company of the casino has responded with a statement by his resignation and the implementation of the changes that Alex had asked. In recent years, the value of the shares has multiplied seven times, the company is profitable and is one of Alex Winchthe largest shareholder.
At that time, Alex was generally disenchanted with the public capital markets, and decided to create his own small business. Living only five minutes, immediately saw the laundry when it was available for sale and determined that it will be an opportunity for an engineering project interesting, perhaps. And so the story started.
Alex interesting business model for laundry detergent and also a specialized service, which offered twolocal lord from Monday to Friday between 1 und 7 clock. The "fluff and fold" service offers customers the convenience of simply picking up and setting off their clothes completely finished later. Alex does not charge for the ladies their business out of his underwear, but his business is benefiting from increased use and load-displacement from the busy evening hours and weekends for less busy hours of the day, creating a win- win for his work, wash and foldService provider and the customer. Alex Winch is committed to solutions that satisfy the maximum benefit for all concerned.
But Alex the knowledge about the use of renewable energy sources and innovative business models do not stop with the laundry Solar Beach: Alex combines his unique process of energy production site and on-control, and turned it into a success commercial international project. Alex founded Mondial Energy, a globalability to install solar water heating, generated complete with the necessary control systems, solar thermal energy generated at the customer and the cost of solar thermal energy, regardless of where they are.
The advantage for customers is that they are in the cost of expensive up-front investment capital to bring their solar water heating systems up and running. Instead, owns and manages the hardware Mondial to produce energy, andWill retain responsibility for equipment. Customers are then subject to a fixed monthly rate based on how much energy the unit produces.
For customers, the ability to lock in energy costs is an important factor in an environment of fluctuating and rising energy prices. In addition, the price of solar energy supplied less than the cost of a comparable amount of natural gas, making this an increasingly attractive alternative to traditional natural gasHot water. Last but not least, totally green energy, without greenhouse gases.
Today Alex is involved in several major energy projects for sustainable adaptation to Toronto: In November 2006, mandates Mondial Energy is a renewable thermal energy to heat water you need to run a nursing home with 172 suites, a local non-profit organization non-profit called Neighbourhood Link Homes. Mondial installed 60 flat panels, solar panel antenna, which shouldto reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40.3 tonnes and Bill Link monthly neighborhood at affordable prices.
Solar energy is energy generated by Mondial, the hot water at Woodgreen Community Housing Inc., a public site of 170 housing units on Queen Street East, Toronto. 108 solar masses move about 32,000 cubic meters of gas, which in 53 per tonne reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases annually.
Alex explained that in this day and age of its systemsuitable for residential or commercial multi-unit. The cost for families with only one family still does not work so well, especially in Canada, very few incentives to move from offering traditional energy sources. Consequently, it focuses on projects of medium and large. Several large commercial projects are under negotiation, including a large hotel in Atlanta and a hotel casino in Reno Mondial Energy is also offering a large-scale solar waterHeating project in Hawaii. Contacts in the U.S. are very receptive to his unique way of on-site production of heat. In a way, Alex says he has come full circle, has become part of large companies with up to a small business owner and is now back to dealing with large corporations.
Bremen - for its innovative efforts for sustainable energy Alex has won numerous awards, including the Bremen Partnership Award (the "Environmental Prize BremenEnvironmental Award) for the provision of high value for the customer, the widespread use in the community, the sustainable use of water and solar energy and for the provision of added value in terms of "social dimension".
Alex is so high for a sustainable energy supply requires that his company Mondial Energy is a partner in the preparation of the Annual Tourism Climate Change Awards. Two awards of $ 10,000, sponsored by Mondial approved in November 2007:
o A World Responsible Tourism Award for Energya global
or a mission in Africa, responsible for Energy Award focusing on Africa
The jury for the prize includes representatives of global organizations such as Maurice Strong from the Earth Summit in Rio, Jose Maria Figueres (Past-President of Costa Rica), and representatives of the National Geographic Society and the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization). With this award, Alex has his commitment to raising the profile specified in the search for solutions to climate changethe tourism industry.
Alex is demonstrating its commitment to sustainable living, even in the selection of some of his personal belongings: he showed me his Citizen Eco-Drive Watch, clock fashionable look, her face a photovoltaic cell, the clock is running eliminating the need for batteries. Alex said the clock for 270 days without a job exposure to light and slogans citizens often refer to this clock as "unstoppable."
Unstoppable is a pseudonym, which couldWinch also apply to Alex - Alex is his first mission to do its part in reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to stop that.
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