Aug.6, 2011
  
From recycling, to composting to steering clear of using chemicals in his yard that was just the beginning of Dr. Earl Ruby’s green-minded living alternatives at his home in Midlothian. Later he added four wind turbines in his yard as well as 60 solar panels.

Indeed, Ruby’s a green thinker, but his eco-friendly minded observations have helped him save money..  “The reason that we decided to install the wind turbines,” says his wife Elaine, “was due to the cost of our electric bills. We have all electric and we have pumps, wells, ponds and air conditioning” so the cost was high.

The WindHog 650 turbine generator is rated 200kwh of production a month in a 10 mile per hour wind speed.  Ruby installed the wind turbines himself mounting the poles, building brackets, installing the underground wiring, researching what inverters to buy, alerting the electric company that they were building alternative power and then finally moving the electrical boxes and building a power house to store the wind turbine equipment. ( Photo: Earl and Elaine Ruby )

“We decided to do this because of the projected reduction in our overall electric bill, eventually our plan is to be completely powered by our solar panels and the wind turbines,” the Ruby’s explain. “We will be able to produce our own electricity for the rest of our lives and with the garden and fruit and water returning to nature that also benefits us all.”

That garden in fact actually includes 14 fruit trees; peach and plum, blackberries, almond trees and pecan and produces as well tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cantaloupes, watermelon, squash and cabbage.  The house and garden sits on 13 acres with three ponds and a barn.   “We use no chemicals on the yard, our grass clippings go back into the yard, composting has been done for eight years and feeds our flower beds and the garden,” his wife Elaine explains.  “We recycle all plastic, glass and cans and we have had horses, cows, chickens and ducks”  It was in 2006 that they put in their own well, which is 800-feet deep and enables them to produce their own water instead of using city water.

“Our home has many trees, flower beds with perennial plants and bushes,” Elaine explains. “The home had one pond when we moved there and we dug two more ponds in 2006. The house has a large wood burning fire place, which is used almost every day during the winter. The trees and natural surrounding are very important to us and when we remodeled our home in 2006 all our plans changed because we would have had to cut down five trees to do what we wanted to do.”

Making it all sound quite simple, the Ruby’s actually did quite a bit of research when it came to their green changes, particularly when they installed the wind turbines and solar panels on their home.
“The research to determine which wind turbine to buy was initiated two years ago,” Elaine says. “The solar panels came from California, the turbines came from Alaska.  It was a long time [that we were] involved in the research.”

Ruby, who is a practicing physician on the medical staff at Methodist Charlton Medical Center also has a practice in Midlothian called Walnut Grove Family Health Center just four miles from, as he says “the way the crow flies” from my home. The Family Practice Clinic opened in July of 2002.

Born in Dallas he moved away as a child, but eventually returned becoming a Dallas Fireman in 1978 and in the third Paramedic Class graduating in Dallas. He was promoted to rank of Captain, but then left the Fire Department in 1990, returned to UTA in the summer of 1992 and completed his Biology degree in 1995. He attended medical school at University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth graduating in 1999, completing his Residency program with the Methodist Charlton Family Practice program in May of 2002.

The Ruby’s moved to Midlothian and built their home in 1983. and they say they’d do it all again.        
“Moving to the country was the absolute healthiest thing we ever did for ourselves,” the Ruby’s concludes. “It is country and we love every bit of it and we plan to install four more wind turbines in the fall.”

[ editor's note:  For those of you who want to do the math, a Wind Hog 650 turbine costs $1,400 with a one year warranty and includes the controller.  It weighs about 80 pounds.  The units are shipped from Alaska via FedEx ground for about a hundred dollar.  Of course towers, other equipment and installation are not included.]

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