Many washers agitate the water by a back and forth motion, electrically its like filling a shopping cart and then jerking it back and forth. Most of the energy is used to arrest the motion and then reverse it. It also wears on the clothes because of the friction. Who's idea was that !?

The Staber spins in one direction for a while, then the other. It can get by with this by design. The inner tub that contains the clothes has 6 sides. The bottom of the outer tub that holds the water is formed by 4 equally spaced 45 degree corners.

As the inner tub turns the water is forced in and out of hundreds of holes that are in the inner tub by turbulence and cavitation in the water. This accomplishes the same result as the jerk and yank method, only without overheating the poor inverter, killing batteries or just spinning the meter faster for you on the grid type folks.

Of course the Staber is a natural for the southwest, It uses 15 gallons of water instead of the average 45. figure 10 loads of wash a week for a family, that's 300 gallons of water that isn't used... do the math. It could really make a difference.

Most laundry is done in warm or hot water. Heating 15 gallons takes 1/3 the energy of heating 45. Pretty simple logic, right?

Because the Staber uses less water, it uses less soap as well. I put a little under half what is recommended for a regular washer.

I catch up to 70 percent of the water used here from the roof. Rain water does not contain minerals like ground water does, In this area, the well water is awful. The soap has to fight the water first, dirty clothes second! Rain water is soft already, free of minerals. Clothes come out smelling good and feeling soft-even with ordinary soap.

The Staber spin cycle really hauls. The clothes are nearly spun dry. This would really save energy if I were using a clothes dryer. I do have a gas dryer, I use it only occasionally. The clothes line works just fine.

The Staber uses 110 volts AC, ordinary household power, so having an inverter or running the generator is necessary. If you want to keep it simple and go without an inverter, wire for DC only, get a charger and use the generator at night for battery charging while the washer runs. The Staber seems to pull no more than 500 watts even while spinning so a small inverter should do fine. My inverter can run an air compressor and a shop full of tools so there is no worry there. I do usually wait until 10 am to 2 pm to do the wash. This takes a load off the battery system.

Lighting

Natural lighting should be used as much as possible along with light colors to help brighten the room. Skylights are a nice way to bring light into rooms that would most likely be on the north side of the house.

As for electric lights, I have compact fluorescents in every room. I also run 24 volt DC wiring to each room for low voltage lighting. This is a efficient way to go if the only thing on is lights, an inverter running at low power levels to supply 20-100 watts is a inefficient way to do it.

Having DC lighting also makes sure if there ever was a failure with the inverter, you would still have lights. The same holds true for the refrigerator. Another great bonus to this is it leaves the inverter unburdened to do other work. 80 percent of the time my inverter is asleep. It is always ready but it isn't kept puttering along running the small stuff.

Inverters are rated for efficiency at high power levels, usually at 2/3rds of maximum output. at 50 watts or less, it may approach 60 percent efficiency. A 50 watt light burning will take more like 80 watts from the battery in that situation. The trace DR series of inverters takes about 8 watts just to be running without a load on it and they are very good. The cheaper ones use much more. the trace DR (and other high end inverters), have sleep mode. This way when there is nothing switched on, it I will shut off. Set the sleep mode and save some power.

DC lights avoid the inverter coming on so all things being equal, they save a lot of energy. Although still expensive, LED lighting is very good for low light situations and they use very little power. I have one that was a truck turn signal, it lights up a room quite well and uses just 7 watts. It should last for many years as well. It 'hides' on top of a pedestal lamp.

Lightning Protection

Lightning is a threat to any home. An off grid home might be out in the open or worse, on top of a hill where it is more likely to be struck.

Proper precautions need to be made to protect sensitive electronic gear such as inverters and charge controllers. I have had people explain to me that grounding something increases your chances of lightning. Well, that is wrong, sorry. Voltage potentials high enough to jump through a mile of air are not going to notice enough difference in path resistance between hitting the tree or the ground a few feet away or your roof. The difference is when you do take a hit or a near hit, the path to ground is as low resistance as possible. The tree goes up in smoke because it impedes the energy, and pays the price.

Metal objects act like capacitors when they are ungrounded, building up static charge until they have enough voltage potential to jump off or through to something, or someone else. Every electrical ground and neutral wire should be bonded properly and all ground systems bonded so they offer the same potential, no matter where they are struck. Metal roofs, wind generators and solar arrays are right in the shooting gallery. Make sure it is all properly grounded.

I have 6 ground rods around the house and 3 at the tower. All 8 ft long and driven in all the way, just 6 inches showing above ground. Ground rods must be all connected (bonded) together. If they are not, a surge from lightning will jump through something plugged into the wall to get to the next ground rod that isn't already saturated with energy.. like water, it will seek an easier path and it takes just microseconds to arc through and destroy some transistorized gadget. This problem condition is called a ground loop and you want to avoid it.

6 gauge bare copper wire is strung between all the ground rods and those wires are buried 6 inches deep. On the lower end of the house there are 'bleeders'.. long wires running downhill about 50 ft. The more contact with the earth, the better. The tower has the same thing. Each leg has a 50 foot long bare wire extending out. Planning any earth moving? place as much wire zig zagging around so you can bury it. Leave the end of it long enough to tie into the ground system.

In each AC outlet there are two MOV's or Metal Oxide Varisters. This is a device that presents an open circuit to the normal 120 volts. If a power surge occurs and the voltage jumps to 140+ volts they conduct and give the hot and neutral wire a direct path to ground. If the surge is potent enough, the MOV will be destroyed and you will have to replace it. You will know when one goes, they smell pretty bad. Some times they trip the circuit breaker first, sometimes they fry. Low voltage versions are available and can be put on the wiring coming from the solar panels and wind generator as well.

The junction box that connects the leads from my solar panels has a lightning arrester as well.

Panel Mounts, Racks and Trackers

Solar panels can be mounted just about anywhere. They are put on off grid homes, motor homes, traffic lights and satellites in space. There are some considerations to picking the method of mounting them, however.

First of all, due south isn't always the answer. Do you have a clear shot of the southern path of the sun on the shortest day of the year? If there is a hill or maybe trees that are located on someone else's property? You have to aim the array in middle of the best part of the sky that you have.

If mounting panels on a roof, you can build your rack accordingly. Remember, a small shadow cast on a panel cuts its output dramatically. Your panels might be safer from thieves but you may have to get the garden hose out if wet leaves get attached to your array. Also, the panels should be adjusted for tilt angle at least 3 times a year, so either arrange it so that you can swing an arm from the ground or get used to climbing up on the roof occasionally.

This array belongs to one of my neighbors. He had 2 panels already and I sold him 2 more.

If you want to mount the array on the ground, a sturdy rack of steel pipe or wood set in concrete will do. I don't have a welder so I have mastered the plate and muffler clamp method. If you wanted to spend the extra money, a tracker could be set in concrete and it will follow the sun.

My favorite cheap ground method is the old C-band dish mount. Keep an eye peeled for the solid 9-12 ft dishes that are scattered all around. Don't go for the mesh dishes unless you are mounting just a small panel or two. They are pretty flimsy. These mounts are usually made to fit a 6 inch steel pipe. Well casing pipe is available, sometime free. You will need to have it cut however. If you have a cutting torch, cut it off and use the jagged end to place in the concrete.

The solid dish mounts are very heavy and high quality. They have adjustments for all directions and you can replace the motor drive with a trailer hitch lift, as in on a boat trailer. If you are skilled in electronics, a homebrew drive system could keep it aimed at the sun. Another bonus is that people will usually thank you to haul this stuff off. I am considering options for the old dishes. Fake UFO to scare tourists? Gigantic 3 bladed wind generator? Prehistoric sized bird bath? Roof for hot tub.. any ideas?.. bring 'em on.

If you are on the south slope of a hill and a ways back from your property line, there are few worries. If you are on a north slope and close to the line, figure out what your latitude is and offset 15 degrees and check for tree lines and the possibility of non believers bringing in the dreaded power line poles.

Remember this, trees grow and grudge fences can be built so figure in all these things before committing to a spot.

If you are going to have a 12 volt system, get at least 4 gauge wire unless the array is mounted very close, within 25 feet. It is sold quite reasonably for bringing in 220/440 power to large on grid installations. It is stiff and difficult to work with but it works quite well for this purpose. You can use thinner wire for 24 and 48 volt but, hey it's not that much more money and you have less losses.

Phantom Loads

A phantom load is a device or appliance that uses power even when switched off. The average home is full of them. Off grid homes must have this under control to even consider running the home with solar or wind power.

Every home in the US has a TV and VCR sitting there quietly draining power away from the grid. The total phantom load from this stuff of mine added up to 39 watts. At the push of a button it becomes zero. Just imagine every home in the US doing just this simple fix.

It may be hard for you to believe, but the TV set in the guest bedroom that hasn't been on in months is most likely using much more than your coffee pot or water pump. It is sitting there quietly burning maybe 10 watts, all day, every day, all year.

Phantom load total for the unused TV set, if 10 watts an hour is 240 watts a day...Don't believe it? Go room to room and turn everything off. No water running, no ceiling fans.. nothing. Now, go out and look at the electric meter- Wow! still moving.. How can that be?! compare the unused TV set with the coffee pot, it uses maybe 1500 watts for 5 minutes once a day, or about 125 watts a day.

VCR, Mine measured 6 watts. About 150 watts a day.

Microwave with clock/timer.. 5 watts. 115 watts a day. Get one with a manual timer when the old one wears out. It doesn't use any power while sitting there. Mine sits plugged in all the time.

Here's a big one, the very popular DSS satellite dish. even when off it uses the same 25 watts. 25 x 24 is 600 watts per day. That's about 90 minutes worth of production from my array... to have something OFF! A simple computer power bar or even nicer, a switched outlet that costs just $4 installed nearby can switch it off. I wonder how many DSS dishes there are in the US sipping that 25 watts apiece? If switched off Would it replace one nuclear reactor or strip mine?

Another sad fact is that many people use these receivers for listening to music.. using their 200 watt TV just to use that 99 cent speaker in there! What a waste. More power used and more heat generated. The DSS receiver has RCA plugs coming out. A quick trip to radio shack and you can buy a small, efficient amplifier that will run your speakers and put out much more powerful sound. This is an upgrade over the TV speaker by far and eliminates about 120 watts per hour by not having the blank TV powered up.

Any electronic device has a certain lifespan built into it. Running the TV when not needed is wearing it out. Preserving the television longer more than makes up for the $19 amplifier.

The DSS receiver could easily be rebuilt with a 10 watt per channel audio amplifier in it. That and a real power switch would make a tremendous difference in the load on the grid. See, it isn't that hard, its just understanding the problem. Government solution... build more power plants...Run more power lines... Make dumb people happy. You get what you deserve. Learn. get involved. Tell others.

Of course, there are so many opportunities to save energy that are not phantom loads. I work as a service technician, so I have been in thousands of offices and I see a common theme: Computers 'have to be left on'. Well, if it is tied into some crucial network operation, maybe, but rebooting a computer takes just a minute, so check. Also, Why is the screen saver so popular when there is a power switch right there that would truly extend the life of the monitor and save power as well. The monitor can be off and the computer can continue to operate. Very often I see a empty room with several unattended PC's idling along.

An old fashioned tube style monitor burns about 100-170 watts per hour. This creates heat in the office as well that has to be cooled by using even more energy. If buying a new PC, get a LCD screen. Even with it's 'wall wart' power supply that is real junk, it still uses just 20 watts. I run mine directly with my 12 volt supply that converts 28 volts into 12 so I can run a car radio and some other things. I read 15 watts drain that way. Conservatively, the old CRT tubes use 125 watts more apiece than the new LCD monitor.

Here in the mountains that figures out to about 1 1/4 cents an hour less cost for electricity per unit. Eight hours per day use, that's 10 cents a day, 50 cents a week, 25 bucks a year. Figure the monitor will be there for 3 yrs, that's $75 saved. Of course the monitor cost a bit more to begin with, however I didn't figure in the 125 watts of HEAT added to the building that the AC unit has to battle. Works out pretty close and besides these things are cool. I hung mine on the wall.

All electronic devices have a lifespan engineered into them. Buy high quality gear and use it wisely. If left on needlessly, there is no doubt it will fail sooner.

I see ladies sitting at desks with 1500 watt space heaters blowing on their legs because the air conditioning is set to 60 degrees and the controls are set in spring and unbolted in the fall. Why is this going on? Crazy.

Often I see a hot coffee pot with about an once of burned up coffee in it. That coffee pot, if left that way for the afternoon, will use about half as much as my house does in 24 hours.

Most office machines, copiers and printers to be precise, use huge amounts of power. The reason is that the xerographic process uses heat to melt plastic ink onto paper. This works better than any other printing process so will most likely be around a bit longer.

For the last 5 yrs or so, those devices have been built with energy saving timers that are fully adjustable from 5 minutes to 4 hrs, one timer runs out first, switching the heaters off or to a reduced level. This also makes cooling fans run slower, pulling in less dust as a bonus. The second timer will switch the unit off completely.

How much time goes by between copies in your office? Make an estimation and add 10 minutes and that's the 'go to sleep timer' setting. Add 30 minutes to the first number and enter that for the second timer. Enter a higher number to the second setting to take into account lunch breaks or whatever. It isn't carved in stone, so play with it until the hollering and griping subsides.

I have been told that 'it takes more power to restart'-- Hmm. really? Well, let's go over that theory. Let's use the PC as an example. Let's say it runs just 5 hrs when not in use. It's probably all weekend but lets go with just 5 hrs. That's about 750 watt hours. Now, let's imagine that it could possibly use that much in the 3 minutes it takes to boot back up.

3 minutes is 1/20 of an hour so, that would require a 15,000 watt load for that 3 minutes to equal the 5 hrs idle time. Even if it took 1500, it would possibly trip a circuit breaker and most certainly you would see the lights dim. There are just too many falsehoods out there. Power leaks are like water leaks, only you can't see them. That is why there are so many of them.

How much does it use..? good question. Most appliances have a tag quoting some number on it. I have found that it is rarely accurate and fortunately, usually a bit less than what is quoted. I have a meter called a Kill-A-Watt. It was $30 on sale at radio shack. It plugs into the wall and then the device plugs in and the measuring begins. Leave it plugged into the fridge for 24 hrs and prepare to see a huge number.

There you have it. There is no big mystery to going off grid, it's just knowing where it all goes and fixing it. Living with a high electric bill while on the grid is optional, not a requirement. I use a maximum of 3000 watt hrs per day on average. Any more than that and I run out after a week.

When you are off grid, you KNOW what you use because you know what you have. Being plugged into an endless supply makes it too easy to get careless and lazy. Why do you think the government wastes all that money, because you just ain't paying attention, that's why.

Many people give the 'I don't use all that much' line when I ask about their habits. Well, to that I ask, how much do you use exactly? If they don't know, there is a problem. Ask someone how much they owe on their car loan or visa account.. I bet they will be pretty close. Why is it any different? It's invisible that's why.

Power: Keeping Track of It All

Knowing where and how much power is being used is essential to the off-grid power system. I use the Tri-metric meter. It shows at a glance how much of a surplus or deficit I am running, state of charge of the batteries in 5 percent increments, battery volts, net gain or loss, and several other functions. You can see exactly what each appliance in the home draws. Its a very important item!

My Trimetric 2020 ammeter. Showing 85 percent state of charge on the batteries after long day of sharpening sawblades, surfing the web and doing laundry. lots of lights on too. My battery bank is large for my usage. 15 percent represents about 2,500 watts.

The inverter I have has a sleep mode that takes over if no loads are present. This keeps the inverter from idling when not in use. Idle power is about 10 watts per hour. I am away for about 12 hrs a day, maybe more, so, that's 120 watt-hrs that would have to be generated. Like money, Its far easier to save energy than to make more.

When the inverter is asleep, it puts a pulse on the house wiring.. if suddenly it senses a load, it will come back online. There is a split second delay when squeezing the trigger on a drill for example. I can remotely turn the inverter off also from inside the house.

If the inverter is not asleep, of course power is in the house wiring.. for this reason I bought illuminated wall switches for every room. If these light switches are not blinking, I know that I forgot to turn something off. before going to sleep or running out the front door, I know what is going on. It has avoided a lot of accidents here. Of course this doesn't help with loads that are powered by DC power, but I am pretty careful about not leaving those lights on.

Rain Water

In the past it was common practice to catch rainwater, especially on farms where large barn roofs and thirsty animals made a good combination. My rainwater catcher started out as a single 1550 gallon tank set at the corner of the house. I quickly found out that having just a 1550 gallon tank was like having a single battery in the middle of a wind storm.. I just couldn't catch enough. Watching the tank run over only to make the driveway muddy was very frustrating.

Rainwater is great for plants, showers and of course flushing the toilet. Evaporative cooler pads will not load up with minerals because there isnt any minerals in the rain water. You will also use less detergent in the laundry.

I installed standard raingutters on the house and used a 1 inch drop in 18 feet using the center of the house as a starting point. This makes half the water run off each corner of the house. The big thing you don't want is low spots anywhere in the system. Water is very heavy and will bring the gutters or pipes down easily if not installed correctly.

There are 7 downspouts between the garage and house and all of them go approx 12 inches below the level of the inside floor. I figured this height based on hanging the 4 inch pipe from the decks that were to be built later.

The 4 inch pipes run the full perimeter of the house and they have enough drop so that the water drains out in one spot. I could have easily gotten by with 3 inch pipe, but at the time had no idea how much it would handle and where the bottlenecks would be.

The catchtank and roofwasher sits at the corner of the garage. The pressure pump sits temporarily on a cement block.

A common trash can is the reservoir for the float valve. After 25 gallons goes here then it can start filling the tanks.

Most of the rainstorms here occur during the summer monsoon season. This feast or famine style weather dictated a more elaborate storage system. I ordered 3 3,000 gallon tanks from Larry Penny in High Rolls, NM. He brought them within yards of where they needed to be on a trailer. The system will now hold over 10,200 gallons of rainwater. That is what i expect to get over the monsoon. If I see the main tanks run over this summer I will save for a fourth big tank. I made sure there was room there for it.

Here is my main tank setup. 9,000 gallons are stored here. That's 9 inches worth of rain with the little house that I have. When the decks are on and the roof extended, it will take about 7 inches. This flat spot was dug by hand. It is about 10x30 feet. It is perfectly level. The tanks fill up equally. They are attached together at the bottom.

In spring, with just enough water hauled in to get by, I will be ready for the next monsoon with near empty tanks. If you are sitting for a long time with a tank full of water and nowhere to put more, you are hauling in too much. You should always have room for at least a few inches or rainfall.

I placed the 1550 gallon tank near the the corner of the garage where a 4 inch pipe that travels the full perimeter of the house and then across the back of the garage where the garage downspout ties into the 4 inch pipe. It takes 1 inch of rain to equal 1000 gallons with a 1600 sq. foot roof. don't go out and measure your roof because it is sloped.. measure the amount of ground it covers, no matter what its shape.

On my system, before it gets to the tank, the water enters a 'roof washer' this makes sure that the first 25-30 gallons of water dumps on the ground, this gets most of the dust and pine needles before making it to the strainer- without the roofwasher the strainer would be quickly clogged with debris. You should size the roof washer to dump 1 1/2 gallons for every 100 sq feet of roof area.

I designed my own roofwasher using a trash can as a reservoir and the bottom a 5 gallon bucket as a float. As the trash can fills with dirty water the float moves up to block the outlet. The water then backs up and spills over into a 3 inch outlet.

I inserted some common roof flashing into the "T" to raise the water level in the pipe approx. 1 inch after the rain stops, the trash can will drain trough a small hole near the bottom. Once the trash can drains the valve opens and the 5 gallons or so trapped in the pipe will drain out.

I believe this design is better than the ones sold on the internet. Electronics and tiny valves freeze up or fail. Keep it as simple as possible.

The strainer is a common pool 'leaf skimmer' that you would clean a swimming pool with.. $5 at Wal-Mart. The 1550 gallon tank has a hole bored in it at the 1200 gallon mark where i attached a 1 1/2 PVC pipe that then goes underground and under the driveway and downhill to the large storage tanks.

I did install a valve in case there was a leak in the main tanks I could at least keep the whole 1550 gallons. Inside the first 3000 gallon tank is a filter from a shop vac, wet/dry vacuum. this catches anything that managed to make it through the first strainer. the 3 tanks are perfectly level to one another and are connected at the bottom, the water fills all 3 equally. This manifold pipe is buried under 2 ft of dirt. the top outlets are plugged on two of the tanks and the third has a pipe that runs down to the ground and down hill past the tank about 20 ft. Without this, the water would pour out and erode the dirt and stone the tanks are sitting on...plan ahead!

The 350 gallons above the outlet in the small tank serves as a buffer for the occasional cloudburst. Once a day a timer turns on the pump at the main tanks and runs for 6 minutes, topping off the small tank to the 1200 gallon mark. The timer is adjustable from 1 minute up to several hours.

I experimented with how long I needed on average. If it pumps a few too many gallons, it simply runs back down to where it came from.. no water is lost this way and no water sits in the pipes where it could freeze. The timer is set for 1 PM when I am not at home but the sun is usually already topped the batteries off and there is plenty of power that would otherwise not get used.

I can switch off the outlet that powers the timer to keep it from pumping if I am away on vacation. I am sure its not the perfect system but it works.

Here is the Southwest, water is becoming more of an issue every year.

According to what I read, the average person uses about 250 gallons a day.. this is crazy.. I can get by on 25 gallons a day without much trouble by using my Staber clothes washer, low flow toilet and shower head. The community I live in just issued a "water emergency" where no house can use more than 300 gallons per day.. wow, I sure hope they make it..geeez!

Refrigeration

Refrigeration along with heating and cooling are the big 3 energy consumers in the home. If you want to lower your electric bill or if you want to go off-grid, you will need a propane fridge or super-efficient electric refrigerator. I started out with a propane model. I added foam insulation to it that I rescued from a dumpster. Doors with windows in them are shipped sandwiched in Styrofoam. Places like 84 Lumber toss this foam out. It is usually bigger than a large exterior door. About 7 x 3 feet and 1 1/2 inches thick. Adding insulation to the fridge is an obvious way to save power.

I bought a cheap home furnace thermostat and took it apart. I reversed the mercury switch and it now turns on when hot, not the other way around. I soldered on some thin wire and it now switches a fan when the temperature around it gets too warm. I noticed a reduction in run time after this add-on. I also attached a 2 ft section of pipe to vent the hot air up and away from the cooling fins. It seems logical to do these things to appliances. If people demanded it, manufacturers would build this stuff.

I later switched to an electric fridge because I had enough surplus power to run it. Not using the power you make is the same as wasting it. Also, propane is getting very expensive. I chose the Sunfrost RF-12. Anyone want to buy a nice 5 yr old Dometic?

An old clunker fridge may burn anywhere from 300-500 watts and run 12 hrs a day, 3600-6000 watt/hrs a day. The Sunfrost uses 375-500 watt-hrs per day depending on temperature. Just think if every refrigerator was replaced with a Sunfrost as they wore out. A lot of pollution would be avoided and less power plants built. Most people don't think of the cost of ownership, just how much to get it past the cash register. Do the math, it is better to go with the efficient model.

The Sunfrost is available in 110 volts AC so you can certainly use it if you are on the grid. I would go with 4 golf cart batteries and a small battery charger along with the 12/24 volt Sunfrost for a blackout proof fridge. These four batteries could be charged at first with a charger and later 2 small panels could take over most of the load. Summer surplus could be used to run an attic fan. If doing this get a charge control that can be used as a diversion control to switch on the fan. This would be one of the wisest investments to make for lowering the electric bill.

No matter what type of fridge, you may have and how you may run it, In wintertime up in the mountains, A few 2-litre pop bottles left out overnight to freeze and then placed in the fridge to thaw back out cuts the energy use dramatically. Get 5 or 6 of these bottles so you can rotate them. Fill them within 4 inches of the top to allow for expansion.

A closed loop copper water/glycol line with coil and 'flywheel' tank outside on the north side of the house filled with pea gravel could do this automatically. Its an idea I have been thinking about for a while and I will someday do it.

Energy production with my system is down at least 25 percent in winter over summer. This method of getting some natural cooling helps balance this out.

Saving Water

There are many ways to save water in your home. Here are some of the things I am doing.

The toilet
This uses a large percentage of the water and should be looked at first. Is it a low flow model? If not, it should be. I use a 1.4 gallon toilet. Actually it uses a little less than that because it always seems to get the job done and still have water in the tank.

The old type toilet uses about 4 gallons per flush. mine uses just 1.4. that's 2 1/2 gallons saved every time its used. If you live in a house full of people, it sure would be a wise addition. Mine cost just $60 with everything I needed to install it. Say the toilet gets flushed ten times a day, that's 25 gallons less than the old unit. I believe that everyone should switch to the new model toilet immediately.

The nearest big town to me, Alamogordo, NM has about 35,000 people. Let's say two flushes per day per person, 70,000 times... multiplied by 2.5 gallons saved that's 175,000 gallons a day that's not gone to waste.