Hello all,

I'm sorry that it took a while for me to put out a
message after our last meeting at NASA, but I've been
on vacation and then catching up.  I thought we had a
good meeting.  It was great to see so many of you!  I
thought I counted 23, but there are only 21 on the
sign-in sheet, 10 of whom stayed for the business
meeting.

I'm going to try to summarize where I feel we stand
with the group, but first I'll start with leadership
news.  Charles Mauch felt like he couldn't continue to
be acting president, so after some negotiation, we came
up with the following volunteer positions:
	 Mike Ewert - acting president
	 Steve Stelzer - acting vice-president
	 Kim Travis - acting secretary
We are keeping the "acting" titles until the group
becomes more formal and/or we have a more formal
election.  Think about whether you are willing to play
a leadership role in HREG - having active leaders will
be important to the success of the group.  By the way,
thank you to Kim for already starting the e-group!

OK, here is my summary of what the HREG has discussed
and decided, going all the way back to our first
meeting at the end of last year.  Feel free to respond
if you remember things differently or have something to
add.

The focus of the group will be renewable energy,
including energy conservation considerations - hence
the name - Houston Renewable Energy Group.  The group
is a citizen's organization, open to anyone.  The
primary interest of the group is learning more about
renewable energy use in the Houston area and sharing
that knowledge to improve our community.  We do not
plan to focus on business or political activities.

Since no one has a lot of time to devote to the group,
we would like to keep or functions and organization
simple.  We might consider becoming an un-incorporated
501c3 non-profit organization in time, if that isn't
too much work.

We would like to pursue at least an unofficial
affiliation with the Texas Solar Energy Society
(TXSES), acting as their local group.  We will
encourage, but not require, members of HREG to join
TXSES.  At present, HREG has no plans for dues.  TXSES
has annual dues of $25.

Ideas for group activities include public exhibits such
as Earth Day festivals, a tour of solar homes, speakers
and solar construction projects.

Since we cover a wide geographic area, we plan to use
electronic communication to reduce the need for
face-to-face meetings.  We would like to make Texas
Southern University (TSU) our regular meeting place.

Many have expressed an interest in energy efficient and
solar homes.  Therefore, I propose this topic for our
next meeting.  Also, I think we should create a list of
several activities for the group, such as the ones I
listed above, through an on-line discussion.  Then we
can vote, or find some way to prioritize them and get
started on the first.

I close with a slogan used by TXSES and I look forward
to hearing from all of you soon.

The Solution Comes Up Every Morning!

Group,

Thanks, Mike, for the summary of the last meeting.  An area I am hoping we
delve into is city government, namely the City of Houston.  HREG can be the
prime supporter, or champion, for a Sustainable City Program and similar
programs.  With the adoption of the Electric Restructuring Act this summer,
there may be actions and initiatives for the city to implement.  Perhaps we
can discuss electric industry restructuring, the PUC activity going on as a
result, and sustainability at the next meeting.

Jonathan A. Clemens

mike.ewert@... wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> ....
>
> We would like to pursue at least an unofficial
> affiliation with the Texas Solar Energy Society
> (TXSES), acting as their local group.  We will
> encourage, but not require, members of HREG to join
> TXSES.  At present, HREG has no plans for dues.  TXSES
> has annual dues of $25.
>
> ...

It's really nice to see you guys getting going.

I am interested in figuring out ways to boost the whole
Texas renewables scene. I think something that makes
sense is to figure out how TXSES can do statewide things
that help local RE groups (I would also like to see REACT,
the unofficial Austin area RE group take on most of the
local Austin activities).

What sorts of things do you Houston folks think TXSES
could do that would make it worth joining?

Ideas...
     - regular newsletter of state activities
     - prepared materials (like the fact sheets)?
     - coordinate speakers, state events
     - prepared programs (probably more of a repository
         than a source)
     - RE Library

Please comment!

Thanks.

--
Chuck Wright
http://home.earthlink.net/~chucklesw

Hi Mike,

I think gratitude is in order here--thank you so much for being willing
to lead the Houston group in its formative stages!  Hopefully, we can
work together to support each other's efforts.

It would be really great to get even a small tour of homes organized for
the National Solar Homes Tour, which is scheduled for Oct. 16th this
year.  I am organizing a very big tour in the Central Texas area, which
has more homes to choose from than we can include on a one day tour.  If
your group wants to take this on, perhaps a few of us could meet to
allow me time to give you my years worth of experience in organizing
tours.  It is a bit late to start, but if you focused on even 3-6 sites,
it could still be done.  Media is the key!  Leonard Bachman
(713/743-2372) should have some ideas for sites, as should LaVerne
Williams, a Houston architect who is a long-standing TXSES member.  He
is at 713/528-0000; with some other folks to lend a hand, he might get
encouraged enough to spearhead your efforts. My list of renewable
architects also includes two others I am unfamiliar with, but they might
come up with something for you:  ABO, Inc. at 713/681-4511 and MCCM
Architects at 713/523-6070.
Please let me know if I can be of assistance.
Kathryn Houser, Director
TXSES
800/465-5049

Kim Travis

Kim & Garth Travis wrote:
>
> Hi,
> The solar home tour was one of the topics discussed at the last
> business meeting.  There were people for setting up a Houston tour,
> but several members had never seen one.  The idea was put forth that
> perhaps the HREG should charter a bus or several vans and go as a
> group this year to the tour in Austin to see how it was done.
> Considering that this project need to be done by Oct. 16, I think our
> group  visiting Austin makes more sense than trying to set up our own
> tour in mere 10.5 weeks.  Comments?
>
> Kim Travis
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>                              [click here]
>                              Click Here!
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications

Your group coming to Austin to see the tour is a great idea and has an
added benefit for those who could stay overnight:  we plan to have the
annual membership meeting for TXSES the following Sunday.  This is
generally a fun gathering, barbeque kind of thing, with some future
planning thrown in the mix.  It would be especially great if some HREG
members could stay over to participate and represent your interests and
needs.
As far as seeing what goes into the planning of a full-blown tour, you
won't get the whole picture by going on the tour.  By that point, it is
a well oiled machine that appears to run on its own.  However, for the
scale of the Central Texas tour, it takes a full time staff person two
months of work.  I do not suggest you go into your first tour with this
as your expectation.  It is something to strive for over the years, as
we have grown with the TXSES tour.  Last year, I got a SECO grant for
$8,000 to support it.  This year, I have a U.S. DOE grant to support
it.  Very different kind of approach from what you all will be doing as
a volunteer group.  Our first year was a very thrown together, last
minute effort, that had great results from simply faxing out a map of 6
locations to anyone who called from an article in the local newspaper
covering one of the houses.  That kind of coverage is the key to getting
the public's eye.  After finding sites for the tour, find who knows
someone in the media business that can get you in the door for coverage
before the event.  Bingo!  You have a tour.
Kathryn Houser, Director
TXSES

I will sign off this trip.  How is group Bus run from Houston?


>From: Kim & Garth Travis <gartht@...>
>Reply-To: hreg@egroups.com
>To: Houston Renewable Energy Group <hreg@egroups.com>
>Subject: [hreg] Solar Home Tour
>Date: Wed, 04 Aug 1999 11:05:55 -0500
>
><< text1.html >>


_______________________________________________________________
Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com

Thanks for the encouragement from the state level.
Regarding your question, this doesn't exactly apply
to the whole state, but many of our members have
asked "what practical renewable energy things can I
do (to my house) in Houston?".  Some of the experts
in Austin could help us answer this question and I'm
sure some things apply no matter where you live in
the state. Speakers or fact sheets or even e-mail
messages could be used. "Product reviews" might be
another way to look at it.
> mike.ewert@... wrote:
>
> > Hello all,
> >
> > ....
> >
> > We would like to pursue at least an unofficial
> > affiliation with the Texas Solar Energy Society
> > (TXSES), acting as their local group.  We will
> > encourage, but not require, members of HREG to join
> > TXSES.  At present, HREG has no plans for dues.  TXSES
> > has annual dues of $25.
> >
> > ...
>
> It's really nice to see you guys getting going.
>
> I am interested in figuring out ways to boost the whole
> Texas renewables scene. I think something that makes
> sense is to figure out how TXSES can do statewide things
> that help local RE groups (I would also like to see REACT,
> the unofficial Austin area RE group take on most of the
> local Austin activities).
>
> What sorts of things do you Houston folks think TXSES
> could do that would make it worth joining?
>
> Ideas...
>     - regular newsletter of state activities
>     - prepared materials (like the fact sheets)?
>     - coordinate speakers, state events
>     - prepared programs (probably more of a repository
>         than a source)
>     - RE Library
>
> Please comment!
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Chuck Wright
> http://home.earthlink.net/~chucklesw
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

I'm interested in this although I'm not sure the whole
group is. Are you knowledgeable enough in this area to
educate us, or do you have someone in mind?
> Group,
>
> Thanks, Mike, for the summary of the last meeting.  An area I am hoping we
> delve into is city government, namely the City of Houston.  HREG can be the
> prime supporter, or champion, for a Sustainable City Program and similar
> programs.  With the adoption of the Electric Restructuring Act this summer,
> there may be actions and initiatives for the city to implement.  Perhaps we
> can discuss electric industry restructuring, the PUC activity going on as a
> result, and sustainability at the next meeting.
>
> Jonathan A. Clemens
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> MyPoints-Free Rewards When You're Online.
> Start with up to 150 Points for joining!
> http://clickhere.egroups.com/click/630
>
>
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

mike.ewert@... wrote:

> Thanks for the encouragement from the state level.
> Regarding your question, this doesn't exactly apply
> to the whole state, but many of our members have
> asked "what practical renewable energy things can I
> do (to my house) in Houston?".  Some of the experts
> in Austin could help us answer this question and I'm
> sure some things apply no matter where you live in
> the state.

This is an interesting question, Mike. I have several
thoughts:

Anyone, feel free to ask any questions, and I will try
to connect you with people for answers.

Part of the basis of "green building" is responsiveness
to the local climate. An optimal design in Austin might
not be best for Houston, and of course, El Paso would
be quite different. You folks have Leonard Bachman,
who is quite expert on passive solar and on the local
climate. And, he's taught workshops, too. I would be
most interested in knowing more about how Houston
design would be different.

There are quite a few PV installations around here,
and alot of information to be had. But, you folks
probably have the same around Houston.

I have done some "renewable" things to my house:

- My solar water heater is very effective (how good are
they in Houston? Are particular designs more suitable
for Houston (how often and hard does it freeze?).
By the way, Gary Vliet has taught some workshops
on such things.
- I bought a new refrigerator which uses about a third
of the electricity of the old one.
- I also installed a setback thermostat.
- Also, have done some shading of windows, as I have
become very interested in heat gain effects from diffuse
solar radiation.

I don't know what's responsible for most of the savings,
but my electricity usage has declined considerably.

> Speakers or fact sheets or even e-mail
> messages could be used. "Product reviews" might be
> another way to look at it.

Take a look at my personal web page for stuff that I have
written up. One item is test results of the "PowerPlanner"
device that you may have seen at Home Depot, claiming to
save lots of energy on motor-driven appliances (it doesn't).

At the TXSES board meeting yesterday, we agreed that
we would like to consider you folks to be a "chapter", if
you agree. There are no obligations. I think we can offer you
some space on the TXSES web page (http://www.txses.org -
check out what we do with EPSEA, who actually have more
stuff than TXSES), which needs some updates (to be done
soon).

- C

http://home.earthlink.net/~chucklesw

Hello,

This Sunday, August 15, we will be taking down the eGroups.com web
site and mail service for nine hours while we upgrade our database
system.  During this downtime, we will be adding three new database
servers, which should dramatically enhance the performance of the
site.  The upgrade should begin at 9am PT and continue until around
6pm PT.

Thank you for your patience.  We apologize for any inconvenience this
may cause.

Thanks,

Scott

--
Scott Hassan
CTO, eGroups Inc.


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Hello,

This Sunday, August 15, we will be taking down the eGroups.com web
site and mail service for nine hours while we upgrade our database
system.  During this downtime, we will be adding three new database
servers, which should dramatically enhance the performance of the
site.  The upgrade should begin at 9am PT and continue until around
6pm PT.

Thank you for your patience.  We apologize for any inconvenience this
may cause.

Thanks,

Scott

--
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CTO, eGroups Inc.


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You can read the attached message from Kathryn Houser,
the executive director of the Texas Solar Energy
Society.  They are willing to hold our money for us and
they would like us to become an "unofficial chapter". I
suggest we discuss the latter at out next meeting, but
people may want to comment on the eGroup too.  As for
the money, I'd like to handle that decision by e-mail.
Charles already agreed to let TXSES hold our money.  If
no one posts any objections by the end of the week,
would you go ahead and send a check to TXSES please
Charles.  Just deduct the amount you spent on Earth Day
from the $500.  If anyone else spent something they
would like to be reimbursed for, let us know. (I don't
think there were any.)

We are working on plans for the next meeting.

In the mean time, I just found this web site which I
found interesting.  Check it out!
www.csupomona.edu/~crs/

I copied a couple of you haven't signed up for the
Egroup yet.  Don't wait for the Christmas rush; sign up
now!  E-mail Kim at gartht@... if you have
forgotten how to.
----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
From:    "EWERT, MICHAEL K. (JSC-EC)" <michael.k.ewert1@...>
To:      "'ChasMauch@...'" <ChasMauch@...>
Cc:      'Home' <mike.ewert@...>
Subject: FW: Houston Renewable Energy Group
Date:    Mon, 16 Aug 1999 11:46:11 -0500

Charlie,
I'll give you a call about this sometime.  I had asked if TXSES would hold
our money so that you wouldn't have to.  It looks like they said yes.

> ----------
> From:  Kathryn Houser[SMTP:rainfall@...]
> Reply To:  rainfall@...
> Sent:  Thursday, August 12, 1999 4:42 PM
> To:  EWERT, MICHAEL K. (JSC-EC)
> Subject:  Re: Houston Renewable Energy Group
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> We held a discussion about HREG at the TXSES board meeting last Saturday
> and are all in agreement that we want to encourage and support your
> group as much as possible.  We would like for you to officially declare
> yourselves a local chapter, which only means that you can elect a
> representative to sit on the TXSES board starting after the first of the
> year.  (That person should be a member of TXSES, of course.) Most of the
> meetings happen in Austin, so someone willing to travel would be great.
> This will insure that your interests are well represented in our
> decisions.  the El Paso chapter has a representative on the board now.
> We also voted to hold your funds for you in our TXSES account.  I guess
> my only restriction would be to request that you not withdraw funds in
> smaller amounts than $100 so I am not hassled with lots of small
> checks.  Since you don't really foresee a need for the money, it will
> probably just sit for awhile.  It is no problem to keep it separate in
> our accounting.  If you want to have Charlie write a check to TXSES for
> whatever the amount left would be, I can then deposit it and send you a
> copy of the deposit slip for your records.  Happy to do it.
> Kathryn Houser, E.D.
> TXSES
> PO Box 1447
> Austin, TX, 78767-1447
> www.txses.org
> 800/465-5049
>

Mike:  I went over to Laverne Williams office last Friday and he has a "road
show" for his energy efficient houses.  I talked to Oral yesterday about
meeting over at TSU in September.  Laverne can only meet Friday evenings and
Saturday mornings.  How is your September?  I am open, and Friday evenings
are very good for me.  Let me know and I will put it on the website as soon
as I figure out how to post on it.

Steve

-----Original Message-----
From: mike.ewert@... [mailto:mike.ewert@...]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 1999 11:10 PM
To: hreg@egroups.com
Cc: jdcornwell@...; Olafleur@...
Subject: [hreg] FW: Houston Renewable Energy Group


You can read the attached message from Kathryn Houser,
the executive director of the Texas Solar Energy
Society.  They are willing to hold our money for us and
they would like us to become an "unofficial chapter". I
suggest we discuss the latter at out next meeting, but
people may want to comment on the eGroup too.  As for
the money, I'd like to handle that decision by e-mail.
Charles already agreed to let TXSES hold our money.  If
no one posts any objections by the end of the week,
would you go ahead and send a check to TXSES please
Charles.  Just deduct the amount you spent on Earth Day
from the $500.  If anyone else spent something they
would like to be reimbursed for, let us know. (I don't
think there were any.)

We are working on plans for the next meeting.

In the mean time, I just found this web site which I
found interesting.  Check it out!
www.csupomona.edu/~crs/

I copied a couple of you haven't signed up for the
Egroup yet.  Don't wait for the Christmas rush; sign up
now!  E-mail Kim at gartht@... if you have
forgotten how to.
----------------------  Forwarded Message:  ---------------------
From:    "EWERT, MICHAEL K. (JSC-EC)" <michael.k.ewert1@...>
To:      "'ChasMauch@...'" <ChasMauch@...>
Cc:      'Home' <mike.ewert@...>
Subject: FW: Houston Renewable Energy Group
Date:    Mon, 16 Aug 1999 11:46:11 -0500

Charlie,
I'll give you a call about this sometime.  I had asked if TXSES would hold
our money so that you wouldn't have to.  It looks like they said yes.

> ----------
> From:  Kathryn Houser[SMTP:rainfall@...]
> Reply To:  rainfall@...
> Sent:  Thursday, August 12, 1999 4:42 PM
> To:  EWERT, MICHAEL K. (JSC-EC)
> Subject:  Re: Houston Renewable Energy Group
>
> Hi Mike,
>
> We held a discussion about HREG at the TXSES board meeting last Saturday
> and are all in agreement that we want to encourage and support your
> group as much as possible.  We would like for you to officially declare
> yourselves a local chapter, which only means that you can elect a
> representative to sit on the TXSES board starting after the first of the
> year.  (That person should be a member of TXSES, of course.) Most of the
> meetings happen in Austin, so someone willing to travel would be great.
> This will insure that your interests are well represented in our
> decisions.  the El Paso chapter has a representative on the board now.
> We also voted to hold your funds for you in our TXSES account.  I guess
> my only restriction would be to request that you not withdraw funds in
> smaller amounts than $100 so I am not hassled with lots of small
> checks.  Since you don't really foresee a need for the money, it will
> probably just sit for awhile.  It is no problem to keep it separate in
> our accounting.  If you want to have Charlie write a check to TXSES for
> whatever the amount left would be, I can then deposit it and send you a
> copy of the deposit slip for your records.  Happy to do it.
> Kathryn Houser, E.D.
> TXSES
> PO Box 1447
> Austin, TX, 78767-1447
> www.txses.org
> 800/465-5049
>

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Hi to all,
I just returned from a reception with other environmental groups
belonging to Earth Share of Texas, where I met as many people from
Houston as I could find.  I asked each one for connections to the built
environment there, hoping to find some more sites for your potential
tour.  Beyond LaVerne, another architect's name kept coming up:  Jim
Blackburn.  If you could contact him (or have LaVerne contact him) he
probably knows of some other sturctures.  A few other folks took my card
and will pursue when they return to Houston--they have media connections
and thought the tour would attract media attention.  Give it a whirl!
Kathryn Houser

Kim Travis

Hey folks,

Architect Laverne Williams, with many energy efficient homes to his
credit in this hot/humid climate, is tentatively set up for September
10 or 17 (both Friday evenings) at TSU.  Oral is also.  We can do this
on either following Saturday also, at this point.  Please indicate a
preference as soon as possible.  I was in a 3000 sf home he designed in
Sugarland 10 years ago, and the owner told me that his electric bill
has never exceeded $140.00.

Steve Stelzer

Kathryn and Mike,
I have not seen any email objections so will mail the money ($500 - $25 rent
for the bubble machine = $475) to Kathryn today so TXSES can hold this money
for us. Steve, thanks for the work you have been doing to set up the meeting
with LaVerne. It sounds really interesting, and any of the dates you
mentioned in your email today will work for me. Hope you hear from everyone
else soon so you can go ahead and finalize things.
Charlie Mauch

Thanks Charlie.  Any of the dates are OK for me too, but
David Bergeron and I are going to the Astros at 12:15 on
the 11th. I'm looking forward to the meeting.
> Kathryn and Mike,
> I have not seen any email objections so will mail the money ($500 - $25 rent
> for the bubble machine = $475) to Kathryn today so TXSES can hold this money
> for us. Steve, thanks for the work you have been doing to set up the meeting
> with LaVerne. It sounds really interesting, and any of the dates you
> mentioned in your email today will work for me. Hope you hear from everyone
> else soon so you can go ahead and finalize things.
> Charlie Mauch
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

Oops!
Steve, I just heard from my daughter that she will be visiting me from her
home in Los Angeles from the 10th to the 14th. Her flight will get in about
10:30pm on the 10th so I could probably attend at least part of a meeting
that night but not on the 11th. Thanks,
Charlie Mauch

rjohnst-@... wrote:
original article:http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg/?start=23
> Oops!
> Steve, I just heard from my daughter that she will be visiting me
from her
> home in Los Angeles from the 10th to the 14th. Her flight will get in
about
> 10:30pm on the 10th so I could probably attend at least part of a
meeting
> that night but not on the 11th. Thanks,
> Charlie Mauch

The 10th is the only date open to me, too, and only if in early evening
(say, 6 pm timeframe).  That would probably match Charlie's needs to
escape early as well.  So that's my vote, for what it's worth.  Thanks
for setting this up, Steve!

Robert Johnston

I would like to volunteer as a respresentative to Austin.  Jonthan Clemens

So far, 9/10/99 is good for most and bad for some, if you count the
responses from the previous postings (an underwhelming response)  I
have a conflict myself and won't be there, but I am familiar with
Laverne's material.  I can set him up to meet Oral at TSU at 7 pm
Friday evening.  I am somewhat reluctant though, for four people.

What do you think Mike?

Steve

Steve et al,

I have a preference for Saturday morning, but am absolutely ok with Friday
evening.

Jonathan A. Clemens

Strike me from the list if it is 7.  I am only available for early evening.
I'd be out of there by around 7:45, which probably isn't long enough.

Robert


> -----Original Message-----
> From: steve@... [mailto:steve@...]
> Sent: Friday, August 27, 1999 3:31 PM
> To: hreg@egroups.com
> Subject: [hreg] Meeting with Laverne Williams
>
>
> So far, 9/10/99 is good for most and bad for some, if you count the
> responses from the previous postings (an underwhelming response)  I
> have a conflict myself and won't be there, but I am familiar with
> Laverne's material.  I can set him up to meet Oral at TSU at 7 pm
> Friday evening.  I am somewhat reluctant though, for four people.
>
> What do you think Mike?
>
> Steve
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>
>

I would like it if you could be there Steve.  Saturday
morning the 11th at 8, 9 or 10am would be OK for me.
The next weekend is OK, but the 24th/25th is bad for me.
> So far, 9/10/99 is good for most and bad for some, if you count the
> responses from the previous postings (an underwhelming response)  I
> have a conflict myself and won't be there, but I am familiar with
> Laverne's material.  I can set him up to meet Oral at TSU at 7 pm
> Friday evening.  I am somewhat reluctant though, for four people.
>
> What do you think Mike?
>
> Steve
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
> http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

I have confirmed a meeting at Laverne Williams office - Environment
Associates - on Saturday morning 9/11/99 at 9 am, 4219 Richmond Avenue,
Suite 250, inside the loop just outside of Weslayan.  It is across the
side street from A&E Products on the south side of the street in a
small two story office building.  Since it is a small group, he can
accommodate us there instead of going to TSU.  Sorry to those that
would like to attend, but can't make it then.  Let me know if you have
any questions.

Steve Stelzer

1.what is the meeting address and contract phone # in case loss?
2.What's the meeting topic?
Thanks/Dannis

>From: stelman@...
>Reply-To: hreg@egroups.com
>To: hreg@eGroups.com
>Subject: [hreg] Re: Meeting with Laverne Williams
>Date: Thu, 02 Sep 1999 19:00:05 -0700
>
>I have confirmed a meeting at Laverne Williams office - Environment
>Associates - on Saturday morning 9/11/99 at 9 am, 4219 Richmond Avenue,
>Suite 250, inside the loop just outside of Weslayan.  It is across the
>side street from A&E Products on the south side of the street in a
>small two story office building.  Since it is a small group, he can
>accommodate us there instead of going to TSU.  Sorry to those that
>would like to attend, but can't make it then.  Let me know if you have
>any questions.
>
>Steve Stelzer
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

______________________________________________________

Environment Associates, Architects, 4219 Richmond Avenue (just inside Loop
610), 713-528-0000, and the topic will be energy efficient building
technology for Texas.

-----Original Message-----
From: d j [mailto:djen99@...]
Sent: Friday, September 03, 1999 9:25 AM
To: hreg@egroups.com
Subject: [hreg] Re: Meeting with Laverne Williams


1.what is the meeting address and contract phone # in case loss?
2.What's the meeting topic?
Thanks/Dannis

>From: stelman@...
>Reply-To: hreg@egroups.com
>To: hreg@eGroups.com
>Subject: [hreg] Re: Meeting with Laverne Williams
>Date: Thu, 02 Sep 1999 19:00:05 -0700
>
>I have confirmed a meeting at Laverne Williams office - Environment
>Associates - on Saturday morning 9/11/99 at 9 am, 4219 Richmond Avenue,
>Suite 250, inside the loop just outside of Weslayan.  It is across the
>side street from A&E Products on the south side of the street in a
>small two story office building.  Since it is a small group, he can
>accommodate us there instead of going to TSU.  Sorry to those that
>would like to attend, but can't make it then.  Let me know if you have
>any questions.
>
>Steve Stelzer
>
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>eGroups.com home: http://www.egroups.com/group/hreg
>http://www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
>
>
>
>

______________________________________________________

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The following articles are from issue No.5 of Earth Quarterly.  The
first article is on papercrete alone and the second includes tests on
fidobe.


COMBUSTION TESTINGON PAPERCRETE MIXES

by Robert Secrest

      Over the past few months, I have been conducting some tests aimed
at getting data that can
be used to assess combustion hazards for various papercrete formulas.
This is a brief report on
the results to date.
      I will save the details of my preparation methods for a full
report. It will suffice here
to say that care was taken to accurately weigh the components of the
mixtures and to prepare
and test the samples in a consistent manner. A propane torch flame held
at one point on the
sample for 60 seconds was the ignition standard used. This is much like
tests used by fire
safety inspectors.

PLAIN PAPER PULP
      Samples made using nothing but newspaper pulp continued to flame
for 30 sec. to 1 min.
after removal of the ignition source. The flame spread was fairly slow.
After the flame
extinguished, the samples continued to smolder in a way similar to
charcoal in a barbecue.
Some samples self extinguished after a time. Others were completely
camumed, leaving a residue
of white ash and unburned carbon.

PAPER PULP with BORIC ACID
      As a theater person, I have used boric acid as a fire retardant on
scenery. I felt it was
worth testing in this context. I added a quantity of boric acid to some
samples of plain paper
at 20% boric acid by weight to the dry paper.  These samples did not
support flame at all after
the ignition source was removed. They continued to smolder and produce
smoke for about a minute
after, but soon self extinguished completely. Boric acid is clearly
effective as a fire
retardant, but represents an added step and cost factor (even when
purchased as common roach
powder). I have not, as yet, established the minimum effective ratio for
this additive. It is
possible that a saturated solution applied to the surface like paint
would also be effective.

MIXTURES CONTAINING PORTLAND CEMENT
       In spite of being the most popular formulae for paper based
blocks, the cement mixtures
are the most troubling in terms of combustion. Samples containing
moderate amounts of cement
(50% and 100% by weight to dry paper) all exhibited the intense
flameless combustion, which I
refer to as "slow burn." Unlike ordinary combustion, which produces
smoke and a visible flame,
the "slow bum" produces a great deal of heat, (and I suspect Carbon
Monoxide) while showing no
flame and little smoke. The process is tenacious and will continue to
run through every sample
until it is completely reduced to a light brown ash. Quenching the
sample in water is about the
only way to extinguish this reaction. Samples containing a portion of
sand equal in weight to
the cement showed no difference with respect to the bum. I have not yet
tried samples with high
ratios of cement (2:1 and 4:1). These levels, while of interest to the
tests, would probably
represent impractically high ratios in block production.
      I also made samples containing an equal quantity of Portland cement
and paper (by weight),
to which I added 20% boric acid. In this case, the samples did burn,
despite the addition of
boric acid.
      One should bare in mind that, in spite of this disturbing evidence
on cement formulae, the
ignition method used represents a rather intense starting energy level.
The risk of ignition in
our applications may be acceptable.
      This testing is to be ongoing and I hope to have a wider range of
results to report on
later this year. I am quite interested in clay/paper mixtures, which
show much promise.
      I am happy to accept questions, comments, and suggestions by e-mail
at
<pptmotion@...>.
  Thanks to the Solbergs for including my report in EQ.




FLAME TESTS
      After we performed the strength tests at NMSU (see page 21) we had
plenty of broken
fragments left over, so I performed some flame tests on them. All the
papercrete formulations
listed on page 21 burned. These had a nonflammable (cement and sand)
content ranging from 44%
(the roof panel mix) to 65% (the formula for large tow mixer). Pure
paper pulp produced a lot
of smoke; of the papercrete samples, the higher the cement content, the
less smoke was produced.
      I also flame tested my paper adobe test bricks. The 1:1
(dirt:paper; 50% nonflammable)
and 2:1 (67% nonflammable) bricks burned. The other bricks, starting
with 3:1 (75% nonflammable)
and ending with 5:1 (83% nonflammable) did not burn.
      Flammability evidently depends on the ratio of flammable to
nonflammable material. For a
nonflammable formula, the critical level of nonflammable material is
between 67-75%. A little
bit of further testing should allow us to accurately pin down this
figure.
                         ---Gordon Solberg, Editor