Eco
Getting off the grid with MRT
By Mike Touzeau
They’re not tree-sitting radicals or even Earth Day activists. Matt and Cindy Turner are mainstream American entrepreneurs who happen to believe that any or all of us can make a difference in improving our planet, for now and for future generations.
The couple started Valley Woodworks Inc. in 1985 and eventually sold it to Cabinet Encounters, now in the Continental Plaza. After some tinkering and time with the family, Matt — a lifelong cabinet craftsman — grew a little restless.
Gasoline was four bucks a gallon, so with his own research and a little help from a nephew in Phoenix who was already making his own biodiesel fuel, Matt perfected his own reactor. Five local restaurants now dispose of their used cooking oil with Matt.
“As far as I know, I’m one of the few around here,” he said as he described the process that saves him money running his truck, but also helps save the environment and reduce foreign oil dependence.
That success sparked the couple’s interest in more energy-saving projects around their home. They swapped their air conditioning for swamp cooling, converted to solar hot water, changed their lights, thermostat and daily power-usage habits.
“We cut our power consumption in half from last year,” Matt said proudly, “and we get 90 percent of our water from the sun.
“I even gave the kids new light bulbs for Christmas. They didn’t like that too much.”
They didn’t stop there.
Matt took online classes from Solar Energy International, upgraded his contractor’s license, and he and Cindy created MRT Enterprise to show homeowners and businesses here how to get on board and take advantage of the new technology, along with the accompanying tax breaks and rebates, while saving energy and money.
Daughter Jennifer and son-in-law Nathan Salcido have joined in, and the family business is already taking off, especially given the wave of new eco-consciousness sweeping the country.
“With the economy, people are doing it,” Cindy explained. “I guess we’re the baby boomers who know we should be doing this, and yet you go through life doing the same things.
“I think our generation will start making the change, and our children will be better at it.”
They sit down with the customers, outline their usage and design a system to meet their needs and their budget, explaining how easy it is and little it costs, given the utility provider and government’s renewed interest in helping defray the cost.
A typical system change installed for a couple averaging 3.5 kilowatts a day in a 1,400- to 1,800-square-foot home would cost in the neighborhood of a hefty $28,000.
However, after subtracting the $14,000 utility incentive paid up front by the power provider no longer needing to send electricity, added to an $8,400 tax credit (not just a deduction) from Uncle Sam, plus Arizona’s thousand dollar credit, that reduces the cost to $4,600, and that can be recovered easily in seven to nine years, Matt said, and much faster if you consider the increasing energy bills each year you won’t be suffering if you go “green.”
A grid tie system is the most popular, he says, which basically provides all your needs and sends any excess power back to the grid, which is either sold back to the utility company at cost, or your meter simply runs backward.
“The snowbirds love it,” he added, “because their meters will be running backwards all summer while they’re gone.”
The company is licensed, bonded and insured, as are all sub-contractors. And installation is quick and easy, Mike said.
They can even do wind turbine systems for those who can accommodate them on their property.
It’s all explained on their Web site, www.mrtenterprise.com, or phone (520) 444-8924.
Green Valley resident Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.
The couple started Valley Woodworks Inc. in 1985 and eventually sold it to Cabinet Encounters, now in the Continental Plaza. After some tinkering and time with the family, Matt — a lifelong cabinet craftsman — grew a little restless.
Gasoline was four bucks a gallon, so with his own research and a little help from a nephew in Phoenix who was already making his own biodiesel fuel, Matt perfected his own reactor. Five local restaurants now dispose of their used cooking oil with Matt.
“As far as I know, I’m one of the few around here,” he said as he described the process that saves him money running his truck, but also helps save the environment and reduce foreign oil dependence.
That success sparked the couple’s interest in more energy-saving projects around their home. They swapped their air conditioning for swamp cooling, converted to solar hot water, changed their lights, thermostat and daily power-usage habits.
“We cut our power consumption in half from last year,” Matt said proudly, “and we get 90 percent of our water from the sun.
“I even gave the kids new light bulbs for Christmas. They didn’t like that too much.”
They didn’t stop there.
Matt took online classes from Solar Energy International, upgraded his contractor’s license, and he and Cindy created MRT Enterprise to show homeowners and businesses here how to get on board and take advantage of the new technology, along with the accompanying tax breaks and rebates, while saving energy and money.
Daughter Jennifer and son-in-law Nathan Salcido have joined in, and the family business is already taking off, especially given the wave of new eco-consciousness sweeping the country.
“With the economy, people are doing it,” Cindy explained. “I guess we’re the baby boomers who know we should be doing this, and yet you go through life doing the same things.
“I think our generation will start making the change, and our children will be better at it.”
They sit down with the customers, outline their usage and design a system to meet their needs and their budget, explaining how easy it is and little it costs, given the utility provider and government’s renewed interest in helping defray the cost.
A typical system change installed for a couple averaging 3.5 kilowatts a day in a 1,400- to 1,800-square-foot home would cost in the neighborhood of a hefty $28,000.
However, after subtracting the $14,000 utility incentive paid up front by the power provider no longer needing to send electricity, added to an $8,400 tax credit (not just a deduction) from Uncle Sam, plus Arizona’s thousand dollar credit, that reduces the cost to $4,600, and that can be recovered easily in seven to nine years, Matt said, and much faster if you consider the increasing energy bills each year you won’t be suffering if you go “green.”
A grid tie system is the most popular, he says, which basically provides all your needs and sends any excess power back to the grid, which is either sold back to the utility company at cost, or your meter simply runs backward.
“The snowbirds love it,” he added, “because their meters will be running backwards all summer while they’re gone.”
The company is licensed, bonded and insured, as are all sub-contractors. And installation is quick and easy, Mike said.
They can even do wind turbine systems for those who can accommodate them on their property.
It’s all explained on their Web site, www.mrtenterprise.com, or phone (520) 444-8924.
Green Valley resident Mike Touzeau is a freelance writer for the Green Valley News.
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