Little Cayman is currently the Greenest of the 3 Cayman Islands, so we decided to visit our friends and have a look for ourselves. In particular the the Little Cayman Research Center (LCRC) is the Greenest of them all. LCRC has solar panels for hot water and a composting toilet system (shown in photo) that was amazingly clean and scent free. for more information on the Central Caribbean Marine Institute and their research center, visit http://www.reefresearch.org

Southern Cross Club is also doing well in the Green arena, with solar panels for hot water and water re-use systems for irrigation. Peter (the owner) is also looking in to PV solar panels to generate electricity for their cold storage during power cuts.

For more info on Southern Cross, visit: http://www.southerncrossclub.com

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices. USGBC is composed of more than 12,000 organizations from across the building industry that are working to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Members include building owners and end-users, real estate developers, facility managers, architects, designers, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, product and building system manufacturers, government agencies, and nonprofits.

The USGBC system will be used for certifying the Green design and construction of the Cayman Diving Lodge.

For more information, visit www.usgbc.org

The word is starting to get out about the exciting new opportunities at the Cayman Diving Lodge.   The online magazine, Entertainment and Leisure, and the online version of SCUBA Diving Magazine are carrying links to our development updates!   Check out more here:  www.entertainmentandleisure.com  and be sure to click through to the Featured Site.

We are very excited to announce that the LR6 lighting product that CDL will be using has been chosen as the 2007 Grand Prize Winner of the “Lighting for Tomorrow” SSL competition, a contest sponsored by the American Lighting Association, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Consortium of Energy Efficiency.

LLF is a global leader in general illumination solid-state lighting technology. The 6″ down lights (LR6) will be used in all rooms and the lobby of the Cayman Diving Lodge. These lights use 75% less energy that regular bulbs and do NOT contain any mercury as do the popular CFL energy saving bulbs. These new Solid State Lights have a life span of 25-50 years and will out live most of us, other than our children.

You can learn more about LED lighting at:

http://www.lightingfortomorrow.com/

http://www.llfinc.com

Wind turbines like stackable Helical fans will be installed at the Cayman Diving Lodge. The wind energy of our tropical breezes will be put to good use at the new lodge – there is something very satisfying about the act of using wind power to create energy to run air compressors to fill dive tanks. The 30 year averages for wind speed in Grand Cayman are between 7.1 to 9.7 mph, which are well suited to this particular model of turbine which has no minimum cut out speed. The model ‘SeaHawk’ shown in the photo is produced by Pacwind and is available in individual 500W modules or in a tower stack up to 5 units tall. More information is available on their website: www.pacwind.net

Loaded with noise and irregularities, everyday power creates extra electrical demand, shortens the life of equipment and is inefficient. Powergy systems condition and optimize the electrical requirements of noise generating systems like the AC motors and pumps, HVAC, refrigerators and etc. It combines proven technologies in surge suppression and reactive power mitigation. Powergy Systems increases the capacity of the power network and helps prevent brownout.Not only will this system keep the power at Cayman Diving Lodge clean, but is proven to reduce electrical loads and consumption by 10%! This is the equivalent of saving approximately 18,000 lbs of Carbon Dioxide emissions.

http://www.powergy.com/products.aspx

Sometimes being Green is easy, even if not always obvious- some of the Greenest designs are a contrast of common sense and ‘why didn’t I think of that’.

One of these designs at CDL is the intelligent use of Gray water:

In homes across the U.S., the bathroom accounts for 74 percent of water used.
About 5 percent of all domestic water consumption runs from the lavatory faucet into the sink, and eventually into the sewer. About 40 percent of all domestic water consumed is used to flush toilets. To capture and reuse lavatory water, WaterSaver Technologies developed AqusTM, which uses water from bathroom sinks to flush toilets.

For more information and to install this system in your own home, visit:

http://www.watersavertech.com/

Hurricane Dean quickly raced by the Cayman Islands on Monday as it headed on a collision course with Mexico’s resort-dotted Caribbean coast. Dean’s eye wall and other hurricane winds bypassed Grand Cayman, veering to the south enroute towards Belize and the Yucatan coastal region near Tulum, Mexico.

Dean’s eye passed some 100 miles south of the Cayman Islands, with Grand Cayman experiencing strong winds, and high seas. Fortunately, the maximum gusts on the island reached just over 60mphs, and the island receiving relatively little storm related rain. Power, water, internet and phone lines have all been restored, and clean up has already begun. Our hospitals and clinics have reopened, and no reports of of injuries have been received. The Airport is scheduled to re-open tomorrow, Tuesday, August 21st, at 7am and visitors will be allowed to resume travel to the Cayman Islands at that time.

Everyone here at Cayman Diving Lodge is safe, and unharmed. We thank you for all of the generous prayers and well wishes. Tomorrow is a bright new day on our tropical island paradise, and with a little elbow grease and some new landscaping, the island should be in top form again in no time.

Visit our blog again soon for more updates on our clean efforts, and next steps for the Cayman Diving Lodge & Residence.

The Cayman Islands are well prepared for Hurricane Dean- we learned a lot from Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  The island rebuilt with better hurricane protection standards, and new construction has been built with the latest hurricane protection products and building techniques.   Grand Cayman is currently fully operational with internet access, phone lines, power and water fully functioning.

The Cayman Islands rarely are directly hit by a hurricane.   On average, the island is indirectly brushed once every 3 years or so, and damage is generally nominal.   Once a decade, statistically, the islands experience a direct hit.  Some hits result in little or moderate damage, and some like Ivan are more destructive.  Each time, the island rebuilds stronger and better than before.  

From the latest predictions, it looks like the storm will pass to the South of Grand Cayman, and we will only get the outer bands of the storm – with strong winds and heavy rain forecasted at a Tropical Storm level (50-70mph winds).  It is projected that the closest point Dean will reach will be 60-70 miles to the South around noon on Monday.  For safety measures, the Power and Water companies may shut down early Monday AM as a temporary precaution.  At the current forward tracking speed of this storm, we hope that Dean will have completely passed the islands by Monday evening.

Everyone here at Cayman Diving Lodge appreciates your thoughts and well wishes.   We send our hopes and prayers to those in Jamaica who have experienced the strong weather and are beginning their recovery efforts.   

Once the storm has passed we will update you on news of the island, and next steps for the continued redevelopment of the Cayman Diving Lodge. 

For updates visit:

http://www.noaawatch.gov/2007/dean.php

Installing solar panels in the Cayman Islands normally will yield very good results- simply due to the 330+ days of sunshine we receive each year. But to maximize the photovoltaic output it is best to do a little homework and figure out the best direction and angle to point your new solar panels. At the Cayman Diving Lodge, one of the tools we used was a very handy web based tool at: http://www.sunposition.net

SunPosition uses an advanced mathematical algorithm to run calculations which are incredibly accurate, meaning you can be sure to know exactly where to expect the sun, wherever and whenever you need to.

Technically you should adjust your solar panel March 21, June 21, Sept 21 and Dec 21st as you go through the seasons. Or as a quick rule of thumb (Northern Hemisphere), place your solar panel on the most South facing section of your roof, and use the latitude of your location as the default upward angle/tilt- for example, in Cayman we are at 19 degrees latitude above the equator- so would tilt the panel at 19 degrees upward from horizontal.

We recommend you always use a professional when installing Solar Panels, but it is always good to know a little background on positioning and fine tuning to maximize output.

After the Cayman Diving Lodge has finished construction, make sure you ask for the behind the scenes tour so you can see how our Green Technology works.