Post by Jonas Last Howl on May 29, 2007 18:08:21 GMT -5
Wednesday morning, after most of the residents of the shelter have gone out for their day's labor, two crews of workmen show up at the shelter led by Jonas Wakefield.
One company, Solar Solutions spends most of the day affixing the flat black photovoltaic cells to the roof and prepping their charge to take over power from the grid. Along with the plates on the roof, they install what is essentially a battery backup charged by the solar panels in the basement...just in case of a string of smokey/rainy days.
The second company, Color Kinetics comes into the shelter and converts all the existing lighting fixtures. In the main room, there is enough cool white light for reading, without the humming or flickering of flourescents. The dining area is filled with a warm glow from wall sconces while keeping overhead lighting in case people want to have a meeting or read.
They change over every light and switchplate in the shelter, during which time Jonas explains how they work to Maggie and the staff. He tells her that they work both by the wall sliders/dimmers and via remote which is tucked away in a box. Jonas returns with a large box, much larger than a remote, and upon opening it, Maggie finds enough CK nightlights for each bunk.
By the time people begin filtering in for dinner, ladders are collapsing, people are coming up from the basement, and all the empty packaging has been put back in the vans (mostly by Jonas, obsessivly trying to leave the place as he found it). Jonas leans over the desk in Maggie's office during their conversation and presses the (|) button and says, "Fiat Lux..."
One company, Solar Solutions spends most of the day affixing the flat black photovoltaic cells to the roof and prepping their charge to take over power from the grid. Along with the plates on the roof, they install what is essentially a battery backup charged by the solar panels in the basement...just in case of a string of smokey/rainy days.
The second company, Color Kinetics comes into the shelter and converts all the existing lighting fixtures. In the main room, there is enough cool white light for reading, without the humming or flickering of flourescents. The dining area is filled with a warm glow from wall sconces while keeping overhead lighting in case people want to have a meeting or read.
They change over every light and switchplate in the shelter, during which time Jonas explains how they work to Maggie and the staff. He tells her that they work both by the wall sliders/dimmers and via remote which is tucked away in a box. Jonas returns with a large box, much larger than a remote, and upon opening it, Maggie finds enough CK nightlights for each bunk.
By the time people begin filtering in for dinner, ladders are collapsing, people are coming up from the basement, and all the empty packaging has been put back in the vans (mostly by Jonas, obsessivly trying to leave the place as he found it). Jonas leans over the desk in Maggie's office during their conversation and presses the (|) button and says, "Fiat Lux..."