BP Helios House: A Little Better
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 02.26.07
BP are the first to admit that the Helios House is not revolutionary, just "a little better" (they even wrote that on a billboard). But when oil companies actually improve things (instead of just talking about it), it should be noted - encouraged, even. These giants are sitting on so much cash that if they wanted to they could be really big players in greening the future. Instead of funding disinformation campaigns, they could fund research into clean technologies and be leaders.
Back to the Helios House: It is an experimental gas station that tries to be more eco-friendly on the architecture side, and to help educate the public on environmental issues. More after the jump.
The station has been submitted for LEED certification (read here for more). Here are some of its features:
Water: Helios House exceeds current environmental standards for on-site collection, filtration and distribution of water; canopy collects rainwater for irrigation; rain and site water are filtered to prevent hydrocarbons from polluting groundwater.Heat: Helios House is designed to minimize the “heat island” effect. The green roof is landscaped with drought tolerant plants, reducing the need for heating and cooling systems, minimizing rainwater runoff, and re-oxygenating the air through CO2 absorption (carbon sink).
Light: 90 solar panels produce enough energy to power two to three homes which is equivalent to just over 5,000 lbs/year of CO2 generation reduction. Energy-efficient lighting in the canopy area uses 16 percent less electricity than traditional stations.
Materials: The site utilizes farmed wood from renewable sources; bathroom tiles utilize 100 percent recycled glass; signage is made from stainless steel scraps from the project; all stainless steel used on site is recyclable.
They are still selling gasoline, but compared to the ubiquitous regular gas station, that's a step in the right direction. We can wish all we want that all gas stations would suddenly disappear, but that's not going to happen in the short term (lets hope that electric vehicles will be here in the medium-term and have a great adoption rate -- an expensive oil barrel and further reductions in the price of batteries could certainly create the right conditions) so in the meantime improving the "gas station" concept is better than nothing.
Here are a few more details about the features of the Helios House:
Cell Phone Recycling Center. Cell phones can be dropped off at Helios House, where they will be safely recycled instead of going to a landfill.LED Lighting. Light emitting diode bulbs are used in signage and throughout the station, saving about 50 percent of the energy of fluorescents or metal halide bulbs. LEDs also last 60 percent to 80 percent longer than conventional bulbs.
Photocells and Timers. Lighting throughout the station uses multiple circuits and sensors to automatically switch electric lights on or off as needed through a 24 hour cycle. This will save about 400 kilowatt hours (kwh).
Natural Light. The design of Helios House makes use of natural light as much as possible, saving about 1,400 kilowatt hours each year.
Low VOC Paint. Ordinary paint releases VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) into the air. The paint in Helios House is Low-VOC and better for the air.
But what might be the most interesting feature of the Helios House:
Specially-Trained Staff. Helios House will be staffed by a team of attendants specially trained to provide consumers with information and tips about green living and answer customer questions about the station and its green features.
If the staff really is knowledgeable, with lots of good tips and information references around the station, then that's the killer app. Information and awareness are prerequisite to action, and since gas stations are everywhere and most people visit them frequently, they a place as good as any to reach them. Why not?
We strongly encourage BP to go much further. Even if you can't go 100% green and be impact-neutral (or even restorative!), at least start by offering better choices to your customers - like Toyota did with the Prius - and then build on that. Don't limit yourself to the short-term, aim high. In a not so distant future, what most people will want is clean energy and carbon neutral or even carbon-negative technologies. Cradle-to-cradle products that don't end up in landfills, renewable fuels (cellolusic ethanol, biodiesel made from algae, etc) and sustainable buildings (LEED, green roofs, recycled and sustainable materials, non-toxic paints and glues, natural light, etc).
As Wayne Gretzky said: "Skate to where the puck is going, not to where it is."
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"...educate the public on environmental issues..." - yes, i will always look first to an oil company for this kind of education.
"yes, i will always look first to an oil company for this kind of education."
They have a lot more to lose by telling people BS than by giving actual good tips. And if they make stupid claims, then lets blast them.. But in the meantime, I'm ready to give them the benefit of a doubt.
I think it's much better to try to work with big businesses and encourage them when they try interesting things than to try to destroy them and... and what? create a communist utopia? What's the alternative to working with oil companies and car companies and such?
I agree. The carrot & stick approach is the best.
They do something good, reward. They do something bad, stick.
But if you only have a stick, they won't even try.
People should be skeptical about corporations, but at the same time, corporations choosing to bargain with a bunch of environmentalists may be cheaper than stonewalling them. Big corporations were very accomodating to organized labor (UAW, Teamsters) for a long time, less expensive than strikes...
Either you're at the table, or your on the menu!
Part of it is probably that they are afraid of the backlash, but sometimes it's also just that there is a certain number of individuals in the company that really believe in that stuff and are in positions of power or have succeeded in "selling" the concept to those who are.
After all, there's a pretty good business model in going green, but as an added value to your brand and in future-proofing your company.
Considering the number of normal stations in the US selling E85, why aren't they? I would think that biodiesel would be easy enough.
While I commend BP for the solar panels and all of the other "green fixins" at the station, I have to say I am very surprised and sad that they didn't include any "alternative" fuels. Echoing the previous comment, they could have at least added biodiesel.
Seems like a real missed opportunity. But still, it's better than business at usual....
SEE www.justabike.net for transportation solutions that exist NOW and Video re-writing the Laws of Physics. 1,000 lb. Bike moved by human power.....it's never been done until now...see justabike on google........
Peace....Ron
I'm guessing the specially trained staff is not going to tell you not to buy bottled water. It's a nice design. But I agree with the author every bit helps but it would be nice if they spent more money on solar than the did on their marketing budget that which speaks to customers about how they are experimenting with solar.
a true treehugger wouldve eliminated bp and made all oil companies irrelevant from their lives already
get your energy from elsewhere or create your own ... to hell with supporting companies who have and continue to rape the planet and rob future generations of a decent quality of life
the faceless shareholders of oil companies should be locked up
THEY DON'T SELL BIOFUELS! What a pathetic joke.
I don´t think that it´s a marketing gag, it´s a just a very bad marketing and design strategy.
1. BP is already one of the biggest Solar Panel Producers and Dealers in Europe, so they are advertising their own buisness anyways.
2. They could have simply put the solar panels on Top of the Old Station and would have gotten the same result with out having to waste Energy - and that´s what is about - for
3. a new Metal building skin. That you can recycle, that´s true. But cost a lot of energy manufacturing it and simply looks like a very clumsy shrink-wrap over the old gas station.
Does anyone have the email address for BP or Helio House? I just saw a show on Sundance, "The Green" that mentions E10, which is 10% ethenal and 90% unleaded fuel, and any car can use it that was made after 1980!!! I want this station to start offering it! Help, I cannot find information or contact information on BP's website.
David Bell wanted the BP adddress and he can go to BP.com and contact their shareholder relations people for his input. I will tell you that 10% ethanol is available iin many parts of the US but the California specs for gasoline will only allow 5% and be street legal. Remember that ethanol creates more vapors and will increase pollution; that is why California limits its use.
Hope this helps.
I also thought that BP has totally wasted an opportunity here by not selling biofuels, but it's what I've come to expect from Big Oil. Fortunately, there are some interesting young companies like Propel Biofuels in Seattle that are working to make biofuels more readily available. You can ask them to put a biofuels pump in your neighborhood by visiting them at www.propelbiofuels.com.
hey. i was on craigs list and i got your job listing, and i tried to send my resume to the email listed and it comes back as a delievery failure. I'm moving to LA on May 1st and I am very interested in working with you. Let me know where i can send my info. thank you
MIke Bliss
I live near this nifty piece of architecture that bills itself as “a little better”. The emphasis really is on the word “little”. I was a frequent customer of
the Thrifty gas that used to occupy the same spot. When they closed down the Thrifty gas to construct the new bp I was excited, thinking that the future of alternative fuel stations was finally coming to L.A. the epicenter of the automobile. Being located in the middle of the ultra-chic Westside I thought what a bold statement from one of the worlds largest oil companies. Wrong!
As far as I know there are no bp branded stations in the greater Los Angeles area, so this really peaked my interest, the future is hear I thought. Now I will certainly be looking into a Flexfuel, ethanol, biodeisel, car for my next vehicle
purchase, maybe even a hydrogen car or car that I could swap in and out a standardized electric battery. Nope, just regular gasoline not even diesel. They wasted an opportunity and gave us the same thing just packaged differently. What a slap in the face as if to say, we recognize the global need for improving energy efficiency but we are not really interested in that, we just want the same antiquated products to look prettier and we want you to “feel” better about using them. I don’t buy my gas from that station in protest, I buy it at the Exxon across the street. A gas station that looks like a Frank Geary inspired H.R. Pufinstuff titanium tree house complete with magic mushroom mood lights, what a waste of talent and money. Save the big bp marketing dollars and build us the next generation of fueling stations with real alternative fuels next time. On a recent trip to Oregon I stumbled upon a real futuristic fueling station with all different grades of ethanol and biodiesel, It also had a real “living roof” on the store part and solar panels on the fuel canopy, organic self serve soda fountain and an array of locally made sustainable foodstuffs and other green products. How hard could it really
be to build such a thing? Check out http://www.sqbiofuels.com/ . I call that “a little better” not just a little more colorful. Take a wild guess as to where I’d like to move.
"We can wish all we want that all gas stations would suddenly disappear..."
Really?
BP is making logical decisions and taking reasonable steps toward providing society with a way to help while keeping the disruption to our daily lives at a minimum. It's easy to bash big companies. It's not so easy to take a deep look in the mirror. Bravo BP!
One must wonder how an instantly gas station-less society would survive. Even with alternative fuels on the horizon....