Go Green!
Ten Bits Ranch is a green facility. What does that mean to people who live
on the grid or for people who live in a major city?
SOLAR POWER…the
facts:
Solar power is a reliable, efficient way to generate electricity in remote
areas! Solar panels receive sunlight
and generate electricity which is then stored in a large battery bank. An
electrical inverter then sends power to our facility at 110v – the same as any
other place you may stay.
The size of the solar array and the storage batteries are the key to having the
amount of energy required to run a home, small business or even a large
commercial facility. Our system is
sized perfectly so that our guests always have the comforts they need.
We use solar energy to run appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves,
washers/dryers, dishwashers and more.
Unless we told you that the ranch is solar-powered, you probably wouldn’t
know the difference from your own, on-the-grid home (except for the lack of
power poles and lines – things we’d rather not see anyways!)
Unlike the local power company, the ranch has reliable power 365 days a year.
We never have to worry about the periodic brown-outs that other folks in the Big
Bend get so annoyed about. In fact,
Big Bend is so remote that it can take the power company several days to even
find the cause of an outage much less fix it.
Although we have plenty of power, it is not unlimited.
Batteries get low unless they are charged each day.
Periods of cloudy weather can affect how we run our facility so we have
adopted some common-sense practices to ensure that we have plenty of power and
to promote an atmosphere of sustainability.
The
Ranch runs 90% off of Solar Energy. While we have back-up generators to
ensure that we always have power we rarely need them! We ask that when you
are not using the lights in the room please turn them off. Besides,
this is a great place to view the Stars. When is the last time you saw
the bright Milky Way or the Space Station go over head?
To conserve water (and power for pumps) we ask that you reuse your towels
but if you need fresh ones we will be happy to provide them.
We
treat your room as your own personal space. We generally do not make up
rooms on a daily basis as it results in a waste of water and energy.
The
Ranch does not provide in-room coffee makers or refrigerators.
These comfort appliances waste too much electrical power.
If you need coffee we will provide it for you in our cantina all day
long and as early as you would like it. All you need to do is let us
know. If you need a blow dryer the Ranch has a few to loan out to our
guests or you may bring your own. Charging a laptop, camera or other small
appliances is not a problem.
We
do have wireless internet for our guests. Please keep
in mind because this is rural America that the internet is Satellite-based
and will not be as fast as you are used too.
A note for people who need to keep in touch with the world: Cell phone
service is spotty in the Big Bend area and cell phones do not work at the
Ranch. We do have a land line for people to make calls but you will
need a calling card to dial long distance
WATER – lifeblood
of the desert:
Yes, we really do live in a desert. That means we don’t get much rain.
Actually we get only about 8” of rain per year (sometimes more if summer
thunderstorms drench us). So…Ten Bits Ranch collects water from a large
rainwater catchment system which is supplemented by a very deep well (almost
1400’ deep!). The well requires the
use of a large, 20kw generator which uses A LOT of propane to operate (and it’s
really noisy too!). So we try to
conserve water whenever possible.
What does this mean to you?
Please use water sparingly. We
try to avoid taking long showers or running water in the sink while brushing
teeth etc. These little measures add up to a tremendous water savings!
Bath tubs are not available however we do have nice, HOT showers!
We also use water conserving shower-heads to prevent water waste
while showering. We think you’ll
find that your showers are just as warm and pleasing as you would like after
a long day hiking in the desert.
We do not offer daily maid service in order to promote the re-use of towels,
soaps and reduce the amount of water required to do laundry (the biggest use
of water at the Ranch behind the flushing of toilets).
Please report any water leaks or other water-related problems immediately.
That way we can get things fixed right away so that all of us have
plenty of water to enjoy.
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