As a small business owner, Molly Luther of the The Good Life Cafe in Park Rapids knows first hand how important it is to save money.
Luther is one of many businesses and other groups taking part in the Minnesota Water-Saving Bulk Buy from the Clean Energy Resource Teams. She was recently interviewed by Lakeland Public Television for a feature story. Check out the video or read the interview below.
“We operate on such a tight budget,” Luther noted. “Especially being in a seasonal community, when you’re really busy and you do a majority of your business in the summer.” It makes the winter months that much more difficult to get through. But Luther has found a way to make the cold pass by a little easier this year.
“We reinsulated our attic space, so we went from R19 (which is the resistance of heat transfer) to R44, which is a really big addition,” said Luther. Luther says that saves her about $300 per month in heating costs, but she’s also taking steps to save water.
“We installed faucet aerators on our handwashing sinks, both in the bathrooms that the customers use and also the employee ones,” Luther explained. An old faucet aerator like this one uses about 12,000 gallons of water a year, and a new one uses about 5,000 gallons a year. While that can save some money, spray valves can be even more efficient.
“In a restaurant or cafeteria setting where there’s significant use—maybe 300 days a year or more—we can see saving over $400 per year with efficient pre-rinse spray valves,” said Alexis Troschinetz with the Clean Energy Resource Teams.
While changing a faucet aerator, spray valve, or light bulb may seem like a small project, they are important ones in terms of money saved. “Saving money on energy costs allows us to do more marketing and advertising,” Luther commented. And that money saved can help businesses weather the cold winter months.
The Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams has established a bulk buy program for groups to purchase spray valves and aerators at a lower cost. Last year about 70 participants took part in the program.
