Inner warmth

An addition at Bush Brothers and Co. is heated by the production of baked beans in the adjacent plant. Photo courtesy of Bush Brothers and Co.

They're known as the magical fruit - both for their natural qualities and Jack's trip up the beanstalk - so perhaps it makes sense that beans are at the heart of Bush Brothers' money- and power-saving heating program.

The bean canner outgrew its Augusta production plant. With only 800 square feet of office space - and those offices scattered here and there throughout the facility - employee interaction was inefficient and workspaces were cramped, said Todd Peterson, project manager for Bush Brothers and Co.

But a 25,300-square-foot addition helped reinvigorate the plant and its employees, and even the beans got to play a new role. Heat from the production of baked beans in the adjacent plant is used to warm the addition and keep sidewalks outside clear of ice and snow, said Rick Anderson, president of Apex Engineering Inc., Eau Claire.

Apex, a company with a history of working on energy-saving systems, designed the heating, plumbing, HVAC and heat-recovery systems in the plant.

"The most important thing to the manufacturer is to not affect their process," Anderson said. "At Bush Brothers, it benefits the process because they are wasting less water - they had been using it for cooling - and they can run product faster because they don't have to wait for the heat to dissipate anymore."

The heat from the canning process warms the offices through a water-to-water heat exchanger whenever the plant is in operation. A gas boiler was added to supplement that heating system when production is not ongoing.

"This is new for us," Peterson said, explaining that the company's Tennessee manufacturing plant doesn't use such a system. "The way our process of cooking cans is, we were generating too much heat. This helps us get rid of the excess heat."

It also will save the plant a great deal on utility bills, but how much money is saved is hard to estimate because the addition is new.

Ayres Associates Inc, Eau Claire, designed the addition and Apex handled the mechanicals. Their work won the 2006 Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Leadership Award Special Citation for Innovative Heat Recovery.

Repeat business

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Milwaukee helps fund the many building projects that Habitat for Humanity undertakes. Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity ReStore

Constructing new homes is the mission, but funding those new projects relies on an old maxim: Waste not, want not.

Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity is following that maxim as it tears down the notion that used goods are trashed goods. The group is taking old items, selling them and reinvesting the money into its core work - giving solid, modest homes to those in need in the Milwaukee area.

The group's ReStore, a used furniture and building material store, opened in Milwaukee last fall to support the local Habitat for Humanity's good, but costly, deeds.

Walk into the former Sam's Club building on Hawley Road, and you'll find everything from doors to windows to sinks to toilets, said Jeri Kavanaugh, ReStore's director.

"You can pick up a sink for $5, $10," she said.

It costs Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity $60,000 for every home it builds, and last year the group erected 35 new residences.

"Our goal is to continue to feed money into Habitat's mission," Kavanaugh said.

- Jennifer Pfaff