Saturday
18Jul2009
Rented Trees?
Sat, July 18, 2009 at 21:23
Or, Has Someone Pruned RecycleBill's Roots?
It was a few months back when RecycleBill told you how to build a passive solar powered cooling system but for those of you who need green cooling tips now... Well, that was the link.
Anyway, while watering our 10' high stalks of corn a few minutes ago I wondered if perhaps corn or some other perennial plant might also serve the function of shading the side of your house as a means to help reduce Summer electric bills when I came up with my newest addition to my list of green business start-up ideas.
Everyone knows that trees help cool your home through shading but do you know they also cool the air by removing moisture from the air? And as one who lives in the moisture laden, muggy Southland I can't help but think trees and dry air are cool. (Bad pun intended.)
Problem is, trees don't always do well in certain yards and growing trees to a size that could actually provide shade takes several years. But what if your goal wasn't to shade entire yards? What if your goal was simply to shade east and west facing walls thus reducing the number of hours a house sits in full sun each day? These trees wouldn't need to be mighty oaks or stately maples like RecycleBill has in his yard-- they could be smaller. They could even be potted which would make them portable and rentable.
Let's say you already own a business that sells and delivers live trees-- is there any reason you couldn't rent those same trees for a few years before finally selling them? I mean, you're already caring for them so why not earn something during the time in which you're waiting to sell them? Making money off your trees before they're sold might even allow you to reduce the final sale price giving you an edge on your competition. And if by chance you're helping people keep their houses cooler then you just increased your green cred.
By the way, if anyone reading my green start-up ideas ever manages to become successful using one or more of my ideas I would love to hear from you simply because I want to tell my detractors, "Na, na, na, na, na, I told you so."
It was a few months back when RecycleBill told you how to build a passive solar powered cooling system but for those of you who need green cooling tips now... Well, that was the link.
Anyway, while watering our 10' high stalks of corn a few minutes ago I wondered if perhaps corn or some other perennial plant might also serve the function of shading the side of your house as a means to help reduce Summer electric bills when I came up with my newest addition to my list of green business start-up ideas.
Everyone knows that trees help cool your home through shading but do you know they also cool the air by removing moisture from the air? And as one who lives in the moisture laden, muggy Southland I can't help but think trees and dry air are cool. (Bad pun intended.)
Problem is, trees don't always do well in certain yards and growing trees to a size that could actually provide shade takes several years. But what if your goal wasn't to shade entire yards? What if your goal was simply to shade east and west facing walls thus reducing the number of hours a house sits in full sun each day? These trees wouldn't need to be mighty oaks or stately maples like RecycleBill has in his yard-- they could be smaller. They could even be potted which would make them portable and rentable.
Let's say you already own a business that sells and delivers live trees-- is there any reason you couldn't rent those same trees for a few years before finally selling them? I mean, you're already caring for them so why not earn something during the time in which you're waiting to sell them? Making money off your trees before they're sold might even allow you to reduce the final sale price giving you an edge on your competition. And if by chance you're helping people keep their houses cooler then you just increased your green cred.
By the way, if anyone reading my green start-up ideas ever manages to become successful using one or more of my ideas I would love to hear from you simply because I want to tell my detractors, "Na, na, na, na, na, I told you so."
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