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2012excellence
Feb. 15, 2012
Energy efficient equals smart savings B’ville biz reduces footprint, educates community By Miranda L. Pennock
ABOVE: Hudson & Mowins owners Greg and Cathy Hudson stand by the solar panels on the business’ rooftop. LEFT: Customer Ermine Cunningham, left, and Cathy talk about the solar energy produced by the panels. A 24-inch LCD screen in the waiting area helps keep customers and the community informed about the system’s output.
Miranda L. Pennock
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sources,” he said. “I can’t believe a business would not take advantage of this.” Even though the panels are practically out of sight from the ground, Hudson & Mowins’ use of green technology isn’t hidden from the community by any means. A 24-inch LCD monitor is set up in the waiting area where customers can see the amount of energy generated from the sun. As of Jan. 19, the solar panels had created enough energy for a car to drive 4,723 miles and prevented 12,161 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Baldwinsville resident Ermine Cunningham, an environmentalist and retired teacher, who has been a customer at the business for approximately 20 years, said she hoped other businesses would take notice of Greg and Cathy’s efforts. “[They are] a real inspiration to other businesses in the area and hopefully it will grow,” she said. Cunningham said she believes people ought to think about future generations when consuming energy from finite sources like coal, which is burned in order to produce electricity. With higher standards for energy efficiency in place, Cunningham said she’s pleased to see Hudson & Mowins taking advantage of solar power and being conscious of the amount of energy the auto shop and parts store uses. “I think it’s wonderful and I am in admiration of them. They decided to take responsibility,” she said. “I was hoping this business could be a model for other businesses.” Occasionally there are hold ups where renewable energy is concerned — red tape at the local level and public hearings — but Cunningham, who has supported the Hudsons’ endeavor from the beginning, said municipalities should have policies in place regarding alternative energy sources. Essentially, local government needs to step up to the plate by backing those trying to be more conscious of their energy consumption. “We should be encouraging these things,” she said. The Hudson family has taken their efforts one step further with the use of a special furnace that burns waste oil drained from automobiles. Greg said they don’t do anything to the oil other than filter it to remove things like strands of paper from the vehicle oil filters. The entire business — 15,000-square-feet of building space — is heated using waste oil. “We’d like to think we took an industry that 30 to 40 years ago might have left the dirtiest footprint on the earth in a whole bunch of ways and turned it into one of the cleaner ones. I think a lot of people can relate and appreciate that,” Hudson said. “If it gains us customers, that’s great, too, but that certainly wasn’t the primary reason.” Hudson & Mowins, located at 62 E. Genesee St. in Baldwinsville, is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Miranda Pennock is a freelancer for the Baldwinsville Messenger. She resides in Baldwinsville with her husband and two daughters.
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While some snow enthusiasts have been left wondering where winter is, Baldwinsville business owners and avid snowmobilers Greg and Cathy Hudson are taking advantage of the sun. In the last two years, the Hudson family has doubled the size of their business — Hudson & Mowins on East Genesee Street — with the purchase of NAPA AutoCare Center on the adjacent property and invested in solar panels in an effort to use energy more efficiently. “One of the biggest reasons [for installing the panels] was we took a couple steps back and looked at how much electricity we were using,” Greg said, adding that if there was a way to cut back, they should. Just by switching out lighting fixtures, some of which had been in the building since the business opened in 1958, Hudson & Mowins electric bill was reduced by approximately 20 percent each month. After seeing the savings from installing energy efficient fixtures, the couple opted to research additional means of going green and focused on solar energy. Now, with the seven panels in use, Greg said the business’ National Grid bill for October and November 2011 was 75 percent less than the same months in 2010. Along with a reduction on the monthly bill, the Hudsons receive government incentives for going green. Greg said monetary reimbursements have come partially in direct funding as well as tax credits. Despite budget cuts, government programs encouraging renewable energy remain steadfast and intact. “I’ve talked to a few people in the know from the government [and] they have assured me that as important as it is to save money, it is no more important to find alternate energy
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