By Sarah Tobol
Brooklyn Eagle

CILNTON HILL – The first green self-storage space in the country has just gotten even greener: This week, Hall Street Storage installed a solar water heater.

The facility opened in the spring with Green-e certified energy for 100 percent of its electricity and green packing supplies, such as shipping cartons made of recycled material and bags of shredded paper to use instead of bubble wrap. Green-e is a certification process for renewable energy.

Since Hall Street Storage’s opening, company president Jeffrey Sitt has also started a “reuse� room, for clients who want to discard items. Instead of throwing them out, they can put them in this room and these items will be donated to local charities.

“Our commitment to having the lowest impact on the environment is more than one of policy; it’s become our primary passion,� said Sitt.

Hall Street’s new solar water heater comes from a collaboration with Solar WaterWay, Inc., a Brooklyn-based company that sells solar water heaters to businesses and apartment buildings. Owner Murray Sarway started the company about a year ago because he “was interested in alternative energy products.�

Sarway considered himself a green (meaning environmentally conscious) person before starting his company, but adds, “I didn’t think being green was enough.� He wanted to help others save money, which is exactly what he’s been doing with the solar panels; “The return on investment is excellent.�

He explained that when his company installs solar water heaters, the existing water heating system is not changed. Rather, the new system works into the old one, which is then used as a backup.

Installation on the new solar water heater at Hall Street Storage will be completed by the end of next week, Sarway said. But their collaboration doesn’t stop there.

Solar WaterWay will also store its solar heaters at Hall Street Storage -- as many as they can, at any rate, because “we keep selling out of them,� Sarway said.

Sitt has also decided to display a mockup of the solar water heater at the facility’s retail store. He explained that this will help people understand how to be eco-friendly. "We're excited about having the new solar hot-water heater, and hopefully being a model for others of how to be green, and creating community around that,� he said.

“When someone makes a decision to store, it’s location, price, convenience and so on,� said Sitt. “We’re changing that. We’re saying, ‘We’re green.’ And we hope that grows.�

In just five short months since its opening, Hall Street Storage has become an example for other businesses in the green trend. One can only imagine what they will think of next.

Hall Street Storage is located at 12 Hall St., Clinton Hill. Its web site is www.hallstreetstorage.com

With additional reporting by Linda Collins.

Can’t Get Enough Green? Visit the GreenBeat Brooklyn blog.

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