We are In our new INN!

I cannot believe it is the summer solstice and we are in our new building. I have been remiss on blogging but the energy and time was sucked up in the move. We made it just in time for our busy season. The rooms are quiet, peaceful, and so far we are getting rave reviews.  The solar (when the sun shines) heats the water as high as 175! It is amazing to see how hot and how fast the water becomes. One can understand why in eons past, the first humans worshipped the sun as their god.
Our tables and some of our beds are made from recycled white pine from the Old Globe grain elevator that was built in the 1880's. The old growth white pine was harvested from our area so in a sense, the wood has returned to its "roots". A creative and passionate fellow, Seth has designed and built our furniture. Please check out his website and designs. www.ingvaldbuilds.com He is passionate about using all reclaimed lumber in his designs.

Recycling an old building

It is time to remove the last old building that was part of the Adventure Inn and also a part of Ely's history. This old building was built on the site of Ely's old mink farm. In fact, there was a spring that flowed past the Inn. We discovered that when we dug the footings for the new building and struck water.

So we say good by to memories. some of our guests have fond memories and stories of what it was like before the Adventure Inn. 4 Star stories that brought tears of laughter.. and yes, we had complaints as well. It is an old, tired, cobbled building that has done its time and now needs to be laid to rest.

So, we are Freecycling the building. We have advertised to come and take windows, doors, usable toilets and furniture, sinks too. The siding is going and we have sticky notes placed on items that people are wanting to take. The Ely fire department will also use the building for a practice in search and rescue by filling the rooms with smoke.

 When the building is gone, we will be paving over and making better parking for our guests. So progress moves forward and change is coming to the Adventure Inn. We hope it is a change for the better and we hope that as we progress our carbon footprint is a small one.

Solar comes to the Adventure Inn in Ely

MANPOWER                                                           

MACHINEPOWER

Late march, still temps below zero at night...will spring ever come. But.... the tilt of the earth has given more power to the sun and we are soon to capture some of the power for the Adventure Inn. We have gotten 10 of our panels up and 10 more will be up in a few days. It has been a learning process as at first the panels were hoisted up by man power. Grunt!! Then a crane came to the rescue and then the panels went up much easier.

The glass on the panels is similar to windshield glass on a car. 50mph winds and golf ball hail

should bounce off the panels without a crack. I hope I never have to find out.

We have 3 large hot water tanks that will store the hot water from the sun. We can use the hot water to provide showers to our guests, do our laundry and in the winter, the excess will run through the wirsbo piping in our cement slab. During our busy summers, there will be no excess as guests and laundry will use it all up.

Inside, the dry wall is being finished, tiling is beginning and mudding and taping of the drywall is

also in process. June is around the corner.

New generation of recyclers

Sasha Edgington hard at work stripping plastic off of copper wire that he collected off the floor of the new building. He has dreams of the money he will make by selling the copper wire... What fun as he also turns the copper wire into creations of art (or guns)

Progress continues...on the inside

It is down to Nitty Gritty time as the electricians, plumbers, and inspectors come and go getting us ready to put up the dry wall. If every home was to be inspected as a commercial building, there would be a lot less problems for many homeowners...needless to say, our building will be safe! Even the Health department has a say in how the building is designed to make sure there will be no contamination or bug homes when I serve our delicious Blue Heron scones and Gene Hicks coffee.

My 2 sons have decided to make enough money to buy a snow mobile so they are reclycling all the copper wire bits and piping left behind. Every piece is picked up and peeled of its plastic coating. Our little recyclers.

Our solar panels will be here in 2 weeks and we are so excited to finally have them up and ready to work. Now... please send us more sun!

Our winter this year has brought us a lot of snow and cold... not much in the way of sunny days, other than the ones that also brings us the temps below zero for highs. Great for all the ones who love to play in snow.. myself included. However, this has been a huge challenge to our building....

Think spring...Think SUN!

About our solar installation

Conservation Technologies' background is in building construction, the performance of buildings, and energy issues in general. We sell and install energy efficient building supplies, Venmar heat recovery ventilation systems, and solar electric and hot water systems. We also consult in building design and performance. Conservation Technologies has a comprehensive support team that includes sales, installation and technical support professionals. We serve a growing area in the upper Midwest from our Duluth office.

Here are a couple of pictures of recent Solar Hot Water Installations:

Details of the Adventure Inn Solar Hot Water System:



Conservation Technologies will be installing 20 MN Made 4x10 flat plate solar collectors. The collectors are made by Solar Skies Mfg and are made in Alexandria, MN. These 20 4x10 collectors have a cold climate btu rating of 24,000 btus / collector / day. The total system will produce approximately 175 million btus/ year. This system will reduce the Adventure Inn’s Carbon Foot Print by 51,000 lbs / year.



Background on Solar Hot Water:

Solar water heaters, sometimes called solar domestic hot water systems, may be a good investment for families and for businesses. Solar water heaters are cost competitive in many applications when you account for the total energy costs over the life of the system. Although the initial cost of solar water heaters is higher than that of conventional water heaters, the fuel (sunshine) is free. Plus, they are environmentally friendly. To take advantage of these heaters, you must have an unshaded, south-facing location (a roof, for example) on your property.

Solar water heaters can operate in any climate. Performance varies depending, in part, on how much solar energy is available at the site, but also on how cold the water coming into the system is. The colder the water, the more efficiently the system operates. In almost all climates, you will need a conventional backup system. In fact, many building codes require you to have a conventional water heater as the backup.

Contact Information: Please call 218-722-9003 or email info@conservtech with any inquiries

Another Winter Perfect Festival in frigid Ely

The effects of global warming are missing Ely this winter (or is it because of?) We have had incredible snow falls and not a day over freezing for almost 2 months. Temps down in the -20's and even down in the -40's one night. That being said, it has made Ely a perfect winter destination. We revel in it, we play in it, we carve in it! The first 2 weeks of February bring the Annual Winter Festival to Ely and with it comes the Snow carvings! Children, families, individual compete in amateur contests, and the Pro's come out to outshine each other. Every year, I believe they are the best ever, and this year is no exception. I am sharing just a few of the carvings this year and the deep freeze that we are experiencing is preserving them. All you southerners heed some advice. Come and experience a real winter for a vacation in Ely. We have dog sledding, snow shoeing, nordic skiing, sledding down Big Dutch (the only golf course that becomes killer sled runs in winter)

Ice fishing (yes, we Minnesotans haul houses on lakes and cut holes in the ice and fish) and for the true adventurer, winter camping in the BWCA. You can experience a sky far away from city lights, air as pure as you will find anywhere on the planet and silence. No where can you go and experience no sound. It is an incredible experience. It is so quiet out in the wilderness that you can hear the blood rush through your body and the buzz of your brain as it takes in the beauty. Winter in Ely is why we live here.