Local firms going eco-friendly

McALLEN -  Considering it was a $40,000 investment, it didn't take much to convince Dean Munal's family to install solar panels on top of their office building on McColl Road.

The building houses his uncle's firm, Munal Insurance Agency, and his dad's real estate company, Reata.

Munal installed four photovoltaic solar panels on the roof, enough to generate about 7.5 kilowatts of electricity during daylight hours, or a quarter of the office's power.

"We have about 10 computers and air conditioning cranked on all day," Munal said. "This helps us save about $135 a month."

Growing concerns over global warming and rising gas prices are making many Rio Grande Valley businesses more aware of the impact they have on the environment. From low-energy light bulbs to environmentally friendly inks, many local firms are going as green as they can to help the environment even if it doesn't mean an immediate return on investment.

The state and federal government's push for the eco-friendly measures doesn't hurt either.

The state provides a 100 percent business tax-write off on solar panels, as well as incentives on natural heating like solar-heated water pumps. The federal government also offers tax breaks on solar panels, and many cities across the country offer refunds or incentives on compact fluorescents, though none in the Valley do.

Munal - who is trying to turn his love for all things green into a new consulting business, South Texas Renewable Energy - hopes to install a geo-thermal cooling pump to replace a traditional air conditioning system at his family's office building. Geo-thermal pumping cycles air through the ground, which is cooler than the air temperature, and up into the building.

With dramatic changes like solar panels, it will take about 30 years of electric bill savings to recoup the cost of the hardware and installation, Munal said. That doesn't include tax incentives. But other green trends, such as compact fluorescent light bulbs and digital programmable thermostats can pay for themselves in less than a year.

Other local businesses doing what they can to be eco-friendly include the Lack's Home Furnishing chain, which recently purchased a new machine to turn six to seven tons a week of Styrofoam into recyclable material. Most of the stores' furniture is packed in the Styrofoam.

"We had a huge problem with all this waste," said Hector Padilla, director of customer relations for the Pharr-based company. "But we are also a very green-oriented company and we wanted to do our part."

The machine melts Styrofoam into large dense blocks, which are then shipped to San Antonio or Austin to a processing plant. Padilla said the light-weight Styrofoam takes up large volumes at local landfills and also cost the company thousands to dispose of in shipping fees and labor.

The new machine will take years to pay for itself in waste disposal cost savings, but Padilla said it is worth the investment.

"We'll start to save money eventually, but that's not important to us," he said.

At Sign Depot's four Valley locations, water-based inks and greater volume of recycled paper are now in use.

The company invested about $40,000 in a printer that can use the special inks, which aren't as efficient as chemical-based ink printers but are better for the environment nonetheless.

Ruben Cepeda, one of the partners in the business, says the ink quality is expected to improve in the future.

"We're really not doing much," he said. "We do what we can and we think people will appreciate it."

____

Kyle Arnold covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4410.