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Pagosa's First Solar Powered Forklift |
Bill Hudson | 4/6/07
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Pagosa Springs business owner Udgar Parsons packages up a unique product for shipment all over the world. So it is perhaps not too surprising to find out that the crated greenhouse kits are loaded onto the delivery trucks using Pagosa's only solar powered forklift. In fact, it could be the only solar powered forklift anywhere. "It might be the only one out there, I'm not sure..." Parsons admits. Continued...
The Growing Spaces solar powered forklift loads a shipment last month. Photos: Glenn Walsh
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Parsons' company, Growing Spaces, sells greenhouse kits that can easily be assembled by a do-it-yourself purchaser into a sturdy and energy-efficient geodesic dome. Over many years of experimentation starting in 1989, Parsons had developed a very reasonably priced greenhouse which is capable of retaining enough passive solar energy to grow crops like lettuce and tomatoes, even in the middle of a Rocky Mountain winter. The "growing domes," as they are commonly called around the Pagosa area, come in eight sizes ranging from 12 foot diameter (priced at about $3800) to 51 foot diameter (priced at about $37,000.) Continued...
Parsons talks about his ten years of experience running his house using solar-generated electricity, and his decision to use the same powerful energy to operate his forklift.
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With ten years of experience in using solar power in his off-the-grid home, Parsons naturally made the decision to try using solar power to recharge the electric forklift as well. "The sun's energy is especially powerful here in Colorado," Parsons says. The forklift came with a standard 240 volt 60 amp charging unit, but that unit sits unused in a corner of the Growing Spaces warehouse. Instead, Parsons plugs the forklift's 3000 pounds of batteries into a simple two-wire cable that connects to three 50 watt solar panels mounted on the south wall of the warehouse. Continued...
The forklift uses 3000 pounds of batteries.
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Parsons got inspired to buy an electric forklift "because I don't like the fumes that the gas and propane forklifts put out. I bought this forklift on eBay for $1500. The first time I used it, I plugged it into the wall to fire it up and charge the batteries — and I've never plugged it into the wall since." Continued...
Parsons points out the three 50 watt solar panels that can fire up his electric forklift in a matter of hours "when the sun is out," which is most days in sunny southwest Colorado.
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Click here to view the Post video about Pagosa's first solar powered forklift in action.
"For [my wife] Puja and I, everything is connected, and we are ever awed by the complexity and beauty of the natural world," Parsons writes on his web site. "Offering a product which helps people enjoy and support this beauty and the bountiful ways of nature — while growing an abundance of food — is very fulfilling for us."
For more information about the Growing Spaces geodesic greenhouse kits, visit their web site. |
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