12 ways we saved money by going green

We believe that every individual and every company can play a part in fighting climate change by reducing emissions. To that end, we have upgraded our building, our product line, and our production methods to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions using the following tactics.

Insulate walls, IG windows, LED lighting, solar panels, mini-split AC, recycle glass, electric hand dryer, foam-core doors, biodegradable packing, cotton towels.

Out with the old – in with the new!

The greening of Artistry in Glass began in earnest when our old building, our home for more than 20 years, was demolished as part of Tucson’s Grant Road widening program.

Artistry in Glass building is demolished

Our decrepit home quickly became an ex-building, a formerly existing edifice, under the remorseless power of the wrecking excavator, ripping through the defenseless walls with jaws like a giant T-Rex.

As the saying goes “when life gives you lemons, the best course of action is to make lemonade” and, with the assistance of the City of Tucson, we were able to purchase a replacement building on Fort Lowell Road.

Glazed Expressions is the former tenant at 2618 E Fort Lowell — Pottery shop “Glazed Expressions” becomes the new home of Artistry in Glass

Assistance with moving was provided by the City of Tucson and Tierra Locations Services, and with the professional help of Architect Joseph Maher Jr. and General Contractor Al Lecoque, we commenced the refurbishment of the building.

New Artistry in Glass building at 2618 E Fort Lowell Road — Updated façade – Glazed Expressions becomes Artistry in Glass

Specifically we:-

Furred-out and insulated exterior walls
Installed dual paned windows
Installed foam-core steel doors
Switched from incandescent to LED lighting
Installed a Seer 23 mini-split HVAC system
Installed a roof-top solar panel system
Developed a new line of recycled green glass awards
Recycle sheet glass for tabletops & shelving
Recycle cabinet doors with art glass inserts
Use emailed CAD drawings for design approvals
Switched from plastic to biodegradable packing materials
Switched from paper towels to electric hand-dryers
Switched from paper shop towels to cotton towels
Operate a repair & conservation service for crystal & porcelain
Restore historic stained glass windows

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Insulating the exterior walls

The 1950s-era commercial building was constructed with concrete blocks plastered with stucco. To radically improve the energy efficiency we furred out the walls on the inside and used Owings Corning, pink fiberglass insulation to give an addition R-13 rating.

Furring the interior walls — Furred out interior with Owings Corning insulation

With the standard 1/2″ thick drywall applied to the inside, the total insulation value of the wall exceeds R-20.

Insulating the showroom windows

The existing showroom windows are made of monolithic (single pane), 1/4″ thick plate glass. Although the windows face north they still let in considerable heat during the scorching >100 degrees, Tucson summer as well as letting out heat in the winter months. Windows are the main source of energy loss so it is always prudent to invest in insulated glass.

IG windows in showroom — We install insulated glass panels on the inside of the existing 1/4″ plate glass

Insulated (dual-paned) glass panels of this large size, retail for in excess of $1000.00 each but are rated for at least 20 years on North-facing windows and will pay back the investment in about 10 years as well as providing a more comfortable experience for customers. Our windows include a high-tech, pyrolytic “Low-E” coating that minimizes the transmission of infrared and ultraviolet radiation while allowing visible light to pass through. Ask your glazing contractor for demonstrations of the effectiveness of various Low-E coatings (passive or solar control). For Tucson customers, we recommend Glaztech industries for insulated glass.

For convenience and extra insulation, we place the new IG units up against the old 1/4″ plate glass and carefully caulk and weatherproof the wooden stops to create a virtual triple-pane window.

Replacing the carved wooden doors

We inherited attractive and funky wooden doors, heavily carved in the rustic Mexican style. Much as we admired the craftsmanship we reluctantly decided to replace them with fire-rated, automatic closing, steel doors with foam insulation in the interests of energy efficiency.

New steel door — Drafty & funky wooden doors (left) are replaced by a modern 48″ wide steel door (right)

All’s well that ends well!

We passionately believe in re-cycling and thanks to Craig’s List, we find a very suitable home for our beautiful doors – in the rustic wall of an attractive Tucson garden.

Installing LED lighting

In electrical improvements, we replaced all the old incandescent and fluorescent lights with modern, energy-efficient LED fixtures (many of them purchased from Amazon),

Even our state of the art display cases are illuminated by LED strip lighting.

Swamp cooler replaced by mini-split HVAC system

We replace the ancient swamp cooler (noisy, hard to maintain and ineffective in the humid months of July & August) with a state of the art mini-split system.

Out with the swamp cooler in with mini-split

Our mini-split system, installed by Family Air of Tucson, boasts a SEER value of 23 and is quiet and easy to calibrate with 6, individually adjustable registers. Mini-splits have the major advantage of having no expensive and hard-to-clean ductwork.

Roof-mounted solar panels

As one of the sunniest cities in the US, with over 3700 hours of sunshine per year, Tucson is an ideal site for solar panels and we use our unobstructed flat roof to generate about 40 KWH per day.

Solar panels and inverter — Solar panels on our Tucson roof and (right) solar control panel with meter and inverter.

Our panels generate enough power to run the mini-split HVAC during the torrid Southern Arizona summertime

$150 tabletop offer — Click this link for a special offer on solar panels

Recycled green glass awards

One of our specialties since 1986 has been the design manufacture of awards and we have developed a unique line of recycled Green Glass awards that are manufactured from thick plate glass that would otherwise wind up in the Los Reales landfill.

Green Glass awards are all handmade by us in our Tucson Workshop using methods that, interesting enough, duplicate the age-old Paleolithic technique of flintknapping practiced by our long-distant stone-age ancestors. These awards can be made in any shape or size they are very attractive and affordable and you get the benefit of knowing that you are helping to save the environment.

Etching and recycling wine bottles

Conservation procedures in engraving include the custom etching of wine and liquor bottles for special awards and unique gifts.

Etched, recycled bottles — Custom etched wine & beer bottles and special toasting flutes manufactured from vintage wine bottles.

The funky green toasting flutes (right) are another interesting example of recycling. The original wine bottles were used by the bride’s parents at their own wedding 40 years ago. We skillfully cut and polished the antique bottles to create a unique souvenir for a 21st-century wedding toast.

Recycle glass for tabletops & shelves

We are Tucson’s leading supplier of glass tabletops and whenever possible we recycle sheet glass and polish the edges for shelving and smaller tops.

collection of four conference tables — Specialists in office conference tables

four types of glass tabletop are protective, patio, heavy and decorative — Protective tops, patio tops and heavy glass tabletops

Shelving for most residential applications is made from 1/4″ clear glass that can often be recycled from large sheets.

Recycle cabinet doors with art glass inserts

Replace wooden doors with art glass inserts — Old kitchen cabinets revitalized by inserting art glass

A favorite service at Artistry in Glass is also an example of conservation: we save cabinet doors from the garbage dump by carefully routering out the wooden inserts and replacing them with stylish art glass to add sparkle and light to your kitchen. Save on the trouble and expense of new cabinets and doors!

Recycling old cabinet doors saves the planet and revitalizes your dated kitchen.

Use emailed CAD drawings for design approval

Our green manufacturing credentials are not limited to glass awards – Utilization of 21st century computer-aided design means that our stained and etched glass services are now almost entirely paper-free. Drawings can be easily and inexpensively transmitted by email for customer approval – not only saving paper but also traveling time (and CO2 emissions).

Price of stained glass related to design complexity — Designs and color choices can be made remotely

Eco-friendly packing materials

We are now also proactively green when packing our fragile products for safe shipping or customer pick up. We have discontinued the use of plastic peanuts in favor of our own office-generated shredded paper.

Peanuts and shredded paper — Out with peanuts (left), in with shredded paper (right)

We have ditched plastic bubble wrap and switched to an excellent product called Pull it – Wrap it – Pack it. This perforated, biodegradable paper expands when stretched so that 300-foot roll ships in a conveniently compact package – much cheaper to transport than bulky rolls of bubble wrap.

Bubble wrap left & brown paper right — Biodegradable brown paper (right) is used instead of plastic bubble wrap (left).

Switched from paper towels to electric hand-dryers

Saving the planet by switching from paper towels — We dump the paper towels and switch to electric hand-dryers

Paper towels are bad for the environment for a number of important reasons. They are made from wood pulp, just like any other paper product – decreasing the stock of trees. They are dumped in water sources causing water pollution and harm to marine as well as human life. They also contain toxic substances that enter through our skin and get into our bloodstream. The most dangerous of these toxins is chlorine used in the processing of white paper towels. Finally, paper hand towels are expensive – we save money by switching to a high-efficiency electric dryer.

Switched from paper shop towels to cotton towels

Replacing paper towels with re-usable cotton towels — We switch from disposal paper towels to washable cotton towels

Cotton towels can be used many, many times before they need to be laundered, and then after laundering, they can be used again. Paper towels, on the other hand, are only able to be used once before they need to be thrown away. We like these 14″ * 12″ white, lint-free towels available on Amazon.

Repair of crystal and porcelain

Our core service since 1986 has been the repair of damaged antiques and collectibles and there is no more salient example of conservation than saving a chipped crystal wine glass from being dumped into the garbage. Waterford, Bacarrat, Lalique, and other crystal glasses retail for hundreds of dollars, and small chips in the rims can be carefully polished down to make them as good as new.

Chipped wine glasses repaired by Artistry in Glass — A chip in the rim of a Waterford crystal wine glass is ground and polished

Restoration of historic stained glass

Our highly talented staff of stained glass restorers plays an important role in preserving historically important stained glass art. We save beautiful panels from serious deterioration and abandonment – keeping fine art windows available for the enjoyment of future generations.

Art deco stained glass restored — 1910-era art nouveau panel is cleaned and restored, Broken pieces of blue border glass are matched and replaced.

Going green makes financial & moral sense

In conclusion, we have shown that going green makes practical and economic sense in addition to placing us on the moral high ground in the current fight to save the planet from the devastating effects of climate change. Artistry in Glass encourages everyone to play their part.

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