High Tech

Manufacturing & Design Companies in Milpitas

All these manufacturing and design businesses are in Milpitas, CA, 95035. Great resource for looking for suppliers or work locally or internationally.

Biotechnology
Certification
Communications Manufacturing
Electrical Power
Entertainment Products Designed in Milpitas
Glass
Incubators
Networking
Parts Manufacturing
Storage Solutions for Data

Certification

Cetecom
The main areas of activity in the USA are mobile communications, Bluetooth® wireless technology and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). They provide market approval certification.
411 Dixon Landing Road
408-586-6200

Communications Manufacturing

3H Technology
Develops new technologies in addition to system integration programs applicable to the Unix based multimedia systems for Video Conferencing.
660 Vista Way
408-858-0856

Cisco Building 23-Corporate Office
Site shows all the networking products made at Cisco. See what’s going on today at Cisco.
560 McCarthy Blvd.
408-955-0639
See also Cisco 22
821 Alder Dr.
408-527-7988

Cisco Webex
Meet, create and communicate all in one place designed to fit the way you work.
771 Alder Dr.
408-526-4000

Electrical Power

Digital Power Corporation
The Company’s custom power supply, in conjunction with the Transportable Tactical Command Communications (T2C2) satellite terminals, facilitates access to strategic, tactical and secured communications networks for military, Homeland Security, or first responder personnel.
1421 McCarthy Blvd.
510-657-2635

Electrical Training Alliance of Silicon Valley
The largest electrical apprenticeship in Northern California with an average of 600 students.
1873 Barber Ln.
408-453-1022

Entertainment Products Designed in Milpitas

Creative Labs
Amplifiers, speakers, sound cards, headphones, gaming headsets, mice and keyboards, and more.
1901 McCarthy Blvd.
405-742-6622

Glass

Hoya
We provide color glass filters for a wide range of fields such as cameras, optical instruments, physics and chemistry, educational materials, industrial and medical, with spectral characteristics and size according to your requirements.
680 N McCarthy Blvd
800‐818‐HOYA (4692)

Incubators

Kohl’s Digital Center
Kohl’s has an IT office located in Milpitas, Calif. Those that call Milpitas home support the continued growth of Kohls.com and our strategic focus on omnichannel initiatives to ensure you have a seamless shopping experience. Kohl’s Digital Center serves as an extension of the IT team at our Menomonee Falls, Wis. corporate office.
840 N McCarthy Blvd.
262-703-7000
Kohl’s Office
620 N McCarthy Blvd.
262-703-7000

TIPark Silicon Valley
We provide fabulous working space (about 50000 sqft) and incubation services for startups with a very low cost. We focus on frontier technology such as VR/AR, AI, intelligent manufacture and intelligent equipment.
1601 McCarthy Blvd.
408-321-8218

Networking

ActForNet Technologies
A professional network supplier of Huawei products.
1601 McCarthy Blvd.
866-318-6636

Extreme Networks
Makes networking simple, flexible and scalable. We focus on making your network a strategic asset to power new services, ensure business continuity and accelerate innovation.
1011 McCarthy Blvd
866-918-9918

Parts Manufacturing

Casetronic
A worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of electronic enclosures.
1126 Yosemite Drive
888-965-8899

Flex
Flex combines leading-edge technologies and operational capabilities on a global scale, transforming the way products are made.
280 S Milpitas Blvd. and other Milpitas buildings.
408-576-7492

Glide Write
Products at the US operation are primarily made of ceramics and Piezo-electric ceramics and are produced by diamond saw blade slicing, free abrasive lapping and polishing, photo lithography, reactive ion etching, and film deposition by CVD or sputtering. Now also focusing production of face masks.
304 Turquoise Street
408-262-8400

Onanon
Onanon is an engineering and manufacturing company capable of producing over 10 million connector components a day.
720 S Milpitas Blvd.
408-262-8990 Sales ext. 296

TDK Headway Technologies
Using our broad and fundamental understanding of recording head technology, we develop products that provide our customers with significant performance advantages. Headway employs approximately 800 people in engineering, manufacturing and administration roles in Milpitas.
682 South Hillview Drive
408-934-5300

Storage Solutions for Data

SanDisk
The world leader in Flash memory drives. Now owned by Western Digital.
951 Sandisk Dr.
408-801-1000

Medical Technology Developed in Milpitas

Health Services in and near Milpitas

Medical Technology companies are growing in number in Milpitas, CA. When you come to Silicon Valley, you can find talent in both technology and medicine.

Applied Stem Cell
Our goal is to advance gene-editing and stem cell innovation for biomedical research and gene and cell therapy.
521 Cottonwood Drive, Suite 112
South San Francisco number: 415-231-5660

BigFoot Biomedical
Bigfoot believes people living with insulin-requiring diabetes deserve relief from its daily burden. We envision a world where the emotional, mental, physical, and financial burden of diabetes has been significantly reduced. We are passionately dedicated to delivering simpler, safer, and more effective solutions for life with insulin.
1561 Buckeye Drive
408-716-5600

BioGenex
A global market leader and an innovator in providing customer-centric molecular pathology solutions and complete walk-away automation of cell and tissue staining.
49026 Milmont Drive, Fremont, just north of Dixon Landing in Milpitas.
510-824-1400 ext 1

Elixir Medical Corporation
The company’s next-generation drug-eluting stent systems are designed to optimize localized drug delivery and provide a safe and effective treatment for cardiovascular disease.
920 North McCarthy Blvd, Suite 100
408-636-2000

IGeneX
IGeneX is pleased to provide COVID-19 testing for Corporations, Governments, Schools, Assisted Living Facilities and Professional Sports Teams. Including IGeneX’s home town, the City of Milpitas, California. Tests also for other illnesses such as Lyme disease and other tick-bourne illnesses.
556 Gibraltar Dr
650-424-1191

MagArray
Develops and deploys medical diagnostics with a technology that brings new levels of sensitivity and ease of use to immunoassays through the innovative application of magnetic nanosensors.
521 Cottonwood Drive, Suite 121
408-638-9612

Medical Design Solutions
A contract design and developer of complex, highly precise miniaturized sensors and systems used in medical device applications.
1525 McCarthy Blvd
408-684-5110

Sikka Software
Helps dentists and teams understand and maximize their business profitability with best fee schedules, ROI analysis, marketing, patient analysis, insurance analysis, supplies analysis and demographics analysis.
830 Hillview Court, Suite 290.
408-876-4040

Varian Medical Systems
Oncology solutions designed to work for today, and think for tomorrow. The ProBeam® Compact proton therapy system, an alternative for centers with limited space, brings full function at a reduced cost structure and footprint.
660 N McCarthy Blvd
408-321-9400

Semiconductor Businesses in Milpitas

Milpitas has some of the most interesting semiconductor businesses in Silicon Valley. Our businesses are also on the cutting edge of nanotechnology. Almost all participate in a global market. The headquarters of the semiconductor industry is located in Milpitas.

Association

How do you make a fab work?
SEMI Global Headquarters
SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chain for the electronics industry.
673 South Milpitas Blvd.
408-943-6900

Nanotechnology

NanoGram Corporation
A leading developer and licensor of core process technology for the manufacture of unique nanostructured materials for optical, electronic and energy applications.
165 Topaz Street
408-719-5300

Nanolab
Using cutting edge technology and expertise, Nanolab Technologies provides Knowledge Based Analytical Services for Advanced Microscopy, Chemical Analysis, Electrical Failure Analysis, Materials Analysis, FIB Circuit Edit, and Defect Analysis. Technology.
1708 McCarthy Blvd.
408-433-3321

Onto Innovation, formerly Nanometrics
Our systems address a broad range of process control requirements for applications such as semiconductor manufacturing and advanced semiconductor packaging, data storage, high-brightness LEDs and solar photovoltaic applications.
1550 Buckeye Drive
408-545-6000

Semiconductor Equipment

KLA-Tencor
KLA-Tencor’s Process Module Control Solutions provide the systems, software and expertise semiconductor manufacturers need to control all of the critical process modules that drive IC manufacturing success.
One Technology Drive
408-875-3000

Sierra Monitor
A leader for many years in providing complete hazardous gas detection systems for combustible gas, oxygen deficiency and toxic gases.
1991 Tarob Ct.
408-262-6611

Integrated Circuits & Devices

Analog Devices formerly Linear Technology
Recently purchased by Analog Devices, Analog Devices Completes Acquisition of Linear Technology
1630 McCarthy Blvd.
408-432-1900

Diodes Incorporated
A leading global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality application specific standard products within the broad discrete, logic, analog and mixed-signal semiconductor markets.
1545 Barber Lane
408-232-9100

Isolink
The leading global supplier of high performance, high quality and radiation tolerant optoelectronic components for aerospace, defense, medical, extreme industrial and high-reliability markets and applications.
880 Yosemite Way
408-946-1968

Macronix America
Macronix is the largest and the most advanced supplier of ROM products worldwide.
680 North McCarthy Blvd., Suite 200
408-262-8887

Mobiveil
One of the preeminent players in the Semiconductor Intellectual Property (SIP) industry by delivering key semiconductor IP components for the data center and wireless infrastructure market.
920 Hillview Court, Suite 250
408-791-2977

ON Semiconductor
Formerly California Micro Devices. Designs, manufactures and markets integrated thin-film, silicon-based termination and filtering components and active electronic circuitry.
430 N. McCarthy Blvd. #100
408-263-3214

PalPilot
In 20+ years, PalPilot has positioned itself in four core industries; PCB Design, PCB Manufacturing, Interconnect Products, and Magnetic Components. Our roots in PCB Design have given us the experience to understand the unique and custom nature of the electronics industry. Our factories bring a complete supply chain of PCB manufacturing and interconnect products, which brings the greatest value to all of our customers’ needs. We deliver low cost solutions, coupled with superior quality and service.
500 Yosemite Drive
408-855-8866

Renesas
Sales. Offers a wide range or microprocessors for embedded systems.
1001 Murphy Ranch Rd.
408-432-8888

Socionext America
A leading fabless SoC (System-on-Chip) supplier. The company’s specialty is designing and developing products for the automotive, consumer, and industrial markets.
1455 McCarthy Blvd.
408-550-6861

Sonix
The leading supplier of acoustic scanning microscopes for front-end wafer applications worldwide.
1804 McCarthy Boulevard
408-577-0521

TE’s SMI Pressure Sensors (formerly Silicon Microstructures)
We are a premier semiconductor sensor company developing and manufacturing MEMS based pressure sensors and serving challenging applications in the automotive, medical, and industrial markets.
1701 McCarthy Blvd.
408-577-0100

Lasers

Blue Sky Research
Produces superior performance electro-optic solutions. Our VPSL diode process (Virtual Point Source Laser) produces the industry’s highest quality diode laser output beam. We harness this property to maximize your system performance.
510 Alder Dr.
408-941-6068

Lumentum
Lumentum’s optical components and subsystems are part of virtually every type of telecom, enterprise, and data center network. Lumentum’s commercial lasers enable advanced manufacturing techniques and diverse applications including next-generation 3D sensing capabilities.
400 North McCarthy Blvd.
408 546 LITE (5483)

Test Systems & Services

Cohu
The Only Company with the Expertise on the Entire Test Cell and Inspection.
880 N McCarthy Blvd Suite 100
408-635-4300

Green Businesses in Milpitas Create Jobs

Creating Green Technology at Milpitas Green Businesses

Check out the role that Milpitas is playing toward the goal of green energy through its green businesses.

SolarCity
Solar panels produce renewable clean energy while securing low utility rates. Our panels exceed industry standards for durability and lifespan. Now owned by Tesla. Tesla careers.
418 S Abbott Ave.
855-860-7652

Staten Solar Corporation
The company’s focus is commercial and utility solar PV applications where it has a combined experience of more than 1 GW of projects from small business owners to billion dollar corporations. Staten Solar careers.
1627 S Main St
408-780-2889

SunWork
SunWork Renewable Energy Projects is a nonprofit in California’s San Francisco Bay Area that installs solar electricity systems on small-energy-footprint homes with the help of trained volunteers.
477 Valley Way
650-520-9918

View
View Dynamic Glass is powered by a sophisticated intelligence engine that adapts to your environment and you. It automatically responds to outdoor conditions and people’s preferences, or can be controlled individually from a mobile device. View careers.
195 South Milpitas Boulevard
855-478-8468

Using Green Technology

Our Solar SystemGoMilpitas Produced by Sunbeams
GoMilpitas-a green business. Solar panels installed April 2008 and more in 2018. Other green improvements.

Case Study: Milpitas Unified School District
Chevron Energy Solutions (CES) developed a comprehensive solar power and energy efficiency program that provides 75 percent of the district’s annual electricity needs through solar energy.

Computer and e-Waste Recycling in & Near Milpitas, CA

Recycling e-waste is a bit of a project: first you need to remove all personal data from the devices, and then you need to find a place that will accept both the type of electronic device and the quantity you wish to recycle, and preferably locally.

Many electronic products (e-waste is old computers, cell phones, PDAs, etc) are used to store personal information. Before donating or recycling your equipment, remember to remove all sensitive and personal information from its memory. Note that simply using your keyboard or mouse to delete files does not necessarily completely remove the information from your device’s memory. Your local software store can provide you with the necessary drive cleaning software appropriate for your system.

Getting Started

How to Wipe a Computer Clean of Personal Data
Short of removing the drive altogether, the best solution is to perform what’s known as a factory reset. As for why you can’t simply clear out your Downloads folder and log out of your accounts, Matt Ham, owner of the service company Computer Repair Doctor, explains that manually purging files isn’t enough.

Local stores that take back electronics in limited amounts

Best Buy
Electronics, Appliances and Fitness Equipment Recycling at Best Buy. You can recycle up to three items per household per day (see categories below for state-specific info, and different limitations on TVs, computer monitors and laptops). If it is a product type that you can buy at Best Buy, they probably recycle it.
63 Ranch Dr.
408-942-0201

Home Depot
Our local Home Depot recycles small light bulbs (but not long florescent tubes) and rechargeable batteries only. Bring to the customer service desk, the door just north of the garden center, near the disabled parking. How to toss other products you have purchased at Home Depot.
1177 Great Mall Drive
408-942-7301

Saf Keep Storage of Milpitas
Offers free e-waste drop-off at its location at 1680 S. Main St. Residents can bring any kind of electronic waste between 9am & 5pm every day at no charge. Now also at 985 Montague Expressway.
For more information call 408-600-0114

Staples
Outdated technology doesn’t have to end up in a landfill. So when it’s time to upgrade your laptops and printers or replace your ink and toner, count on Staples to recycle it responsibly.
627 East Calaveras Blvd.
408-956-9204

Places with larger capacity to take more eWaste

Computer Recycling Center
Accepts all computers, working or not. Also provides refurbished computers to schools and non-profits.

E-Cycle Environmental
Will come down to Milpitas businesses to pick up a minimum of 10 computers or any electronics. May be a small fee. Call at 510-839-5000 in Oakland.

Green Ewaste Recycling Center
Green Ewaste Recycling Center services the Bay Area with electronic waste disposal drop-off and free* business ewaste pick-up. To eliminate the risks of attempts to reuse or recover data from corporate computers and devices, Green e-waste recycling can physically destroy hard drives, cell phones, PDAs, tablets, tapes, flash memory, RAM, ROM, integrated circuits, DVDs, CDs and computer equipment.
1664 Watson Ct.
408-898-8640

Milpitas Computer Liquidators
Purchases assets, large and small, of excess and obsolete computer equipment, specializing in technology assets in the Silicon Valley region. We buy and sell the following computer equipment: PC and Apple computer parts, consumer electronics, and networking equipment. We buy used & refurbished Cisco equipment. We sell used, but still functional equipment, too. Contact A-Z Milpitas computer liquidators, to find out how we can help you maximize the value of your surplus computer inventory by offering you cash for your IT related liquidations. Please note our liquidation service is only for business dealers and corporate environments; we do not buy from or sell to the general public.
By Appointment Only – 408-907-9147

Networking Businesses in Milpitas

Milpitas networking companies play a major role in designing and manufacturing the world wide web for us all to enjoy.

Array Networks
A leading provider of optimized and secure universal access solutions.
1371 McCarthy Blvd.
408-240-8700

Cisco Systems
Cisco is new to Milpitas — sort of. They put up buildings in just about every vacant industrial lot, and then didn’t move in because of the economic downturn. At their web site they offer all sorts of shareware, demos, and utilities for their networking clients. This isn’t for your home computer, neighbors.

cPacket
Some of the biggest names in the most demanding industries rely on cPacket networking solutions to monitor and manage their networks. In order to accommodate the growth, cPacket is moving and expanding its corporate headquarters to a much larger location in McCarthy Ranch, Milpitas, CA.

ePlus
From Cloud, Security and AI to Digitization and Managed Services, we help organizations navigate their technology options – and then design, orchestrate and seamlessly implement solutions.
720 S Milpitas Blvd.
408-220-1820

Flex
Flex has also added dedicated customer-confidential work spaces that include increased security and restricted access to protect customers’ intellectual property and confidentiality of new products being launched into the marketplace.
677 Gibraltar Court, Bldg. 2 (M2) and several other locations.
408-576-7492

Promise Technology
The worldwide leader in Ultra ATA RAID storage controllers and subsystems. The company has an impressive track record of design innovations and product introductions since its founding in 1988.
580 Cottonwood Drive
408-228-1400

Red Shift Networks
A leader in securing Cloud based VoIP networks and provides the industry’s first complete security solutions developed for Unified Communications (UC), VOIP and Video. Data Recovery Service.
673 S Milpitas Blvd
408-649-2582

XLink Technology
Developers of the PC NFS and PC X-Server solutions for Windows 3.x / 95/ 98 / NT to UNIX connectivity.
142 N. Milpitas Blvd. Ste# 283 Inside UPS Store.
408-263-8201

Wi-Fi – Wireless Internet Access Points

According to Yelp, these are the best spots for free public wi-fi in Milpitas, CA. Most are restaurants, where you would be expected to order, but the public library is in the list, too.

Free Wi-Fi

Community Coffee
A coffee shop located on the campus of Christ Community Church.
1000 S Park Victoria Dr
(408) 262-8000

Teasociety
Tea Room · Asian Restaurant in Beresford Shopping Center.
55 N Milpitas Blvd
(408) 708-4772

Teaspoon
Boba Shop
201 W Calaveras Blvd
(408) 770-3675

Milpitas Public Library
Borrow books. Use public computers or your own.
160 N Main St
(408) 262-1171

i-Tea
Teas and food. Boba shop.
760 E Calaveras Blvd
(408) 262-2988

Paris Baguette
Cakes, a variety of breads and pastries.
249 W Calaveras Blvd
(408) 263-0404

Peet’s Coffee
Caffes, teas, and chai.
543 E Calaveras Blvd, left of Safeway in Town Center.
(408) 416-0700

BCUTE tea drinks and finger foods
Boba shop.
200 Serra Way, Ste 12 Serra Shopping Center.
(408) 708-5240

Computer History

Liza Loop showing me the first Apple computer that Wozniak personally gave to her. Yes, it is just a PC board, no case, but it still works when hooked up to a power supply, keyboard, and a monitor. It was kept in Milpitas for many years until the Sobrato Center kicked out the little museum. This photo was taken in Milpitas.

Liza Loop and the First Apple
Liza Loop and the First Apple

Apple II History
This project began as a description of how the Apple II evolved into a IIGS, and some of the standards that emerged along the way. It has grown into a history of Apple Computer, with an emphasis on the place of the Apple II in that history. By Steven Weyhrich.

Atari Games Museum
The following pictures were taken in May of 2003, when Midway decided to close their Milpitas facility. The Milpitas facility was the old ‘Atari Games’ building. I was able to get some pictures, before everything was moved out of the building.

Chief Yahoos: David Filo and Jerry Yang
“Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can postpone to the day after.” This parody of the old proverb could very well be the motto of Yahoo! Inc. co-founders David Filo and Jerry Yang. By following such a philosophy of procrastination, they not only created the world’s most popular (and most profitable) World Wide Web search engine; they also made themselves multimillionaires in the process. Well, sort of.

Computer History Museum
Timeline of computing history, browse by topic, or send them information about computing history. Located in Mt. View.

Don Hoefler
The journalist credited with coining the phrase: “Silicon Valley.”

Folklore
Andy Hertzfeld’s book in blog format. Read about the origins of Apple and the Macintosh computer.

GoMilpitas Way Back
This site has archived my home page and some internal pages since 1999. If you’d like to see news headlines and such, take a look here.

Apple I replica creation: back to the garage
By Tom Owad. A Google book preview.

History of Computing Industrial Era 1976 – 1979
The Third Generation of computers starts approximately in this era. These computers are characterized by mainly electronic models but now fully programmable. From The History of Computing Foundation.

Homebrew Computer Club
That summer in 1975 at the Homebrew Club the Intel 8080 formed the center of the universe. The Altair was built around the 8080 and its early popularity spawned a cottage industry of small companies that either made machines that would run programs written for the Altair or made attachments that would plug into the various kinds of micro computers. Be sure to check out the early newsletters.

IBM’s Early History
In 1890 the U.S. Census Bureau knew its traditional methods of counting would not be adequate for measuring the population, so it sponsored a contest to find a more efficient means of tabulating census data.

IBM Through the Years
A timeline that begins in 1885 with short articles about this history of this business machine company.

An Illustrated History of Computers
The first computers were people! That is, electronic computers (and the earlier mechanical computers) were given this name because they performed the work that had previously been assigned to people. By John Kopplin.

Intel Museum
So you have “Intel Inside.” What exactly DO you have inside your computer?

The Jargon Dictionary
A comprehensive compendium of hacker slang illuminating many aspects of hackish tradition, folklore, and humor. This file, jargon.txt, was maintained on MIT-AI for many years, before being published by Guy Steele and others as the Hacker’s Dictionary. Many years after the original book went out of print, Eric Raymond picked it up, updated it and republished it as the New Hacker’s Dictionary.

Lawrence Livermore Labs History
The single event that triggered the establishment of Lawrence Livermore was detonation of the first Russian atomic bomb in 1949.

Lo*op Center
Once located in the Sobrato Center in Milpitas, under the direction of Liza Loop, documents, artifacts, and stories were preserved to tell the history of educational computing.

Memoir of a Homebrew Computer Club Member
Posted on a bulletin board in the PALY terminal room (containing 6 noisy KSR-33 teletypes in the Palo Alto High School math-science office) was a notice that a computer group meeting would be held at the home of Gordon French. By Bob Lash.

National Semiconductor History 1959 1960’s
National Semiconductor started by making silicon mesa transistors for industrial and military uses. The company grew quickly after 1967 under CEO Charlie Sporck and new management, moving headquarters from Danbury, Connecticut, to Santa Clara, California in the heart of today’s Silicon Valley.

Pong Story
The video game history started in a strange and complicated way and it is important to avoid confusions with what happened in the 1950s and 1960s. The real video game history started with Ralph Baer as early as 1951.

The Promise: An Educator’s History of the Internet
An investigation into the history of the Internet and the promise for its use in the K-12 classroom.

Silicon Genesis
A unique collection of oral history interviews with pioneers of the semiconductor industry.

Steve Paul Jobs
Like the Bhagwan, driving around Rancho Rajneesh each day in another Rolls-Royce, Jobs kept his troops fascinated and productive. The joke going around said that Jobs had a ‘reality distortion field’ surrounding him. He’d say something, and the kids in the Macintosh division would find themselves replying ‘Drink poison Kool-Aid? Yeah, that makes sense’. – Robert X. Cringely, 1992.

Woz and Ann picking up new iPads April 3, 2010
Woz and Ann picking up new iPads April 3, 2010

Steve Wozniak, Still Fathering the Computer Revolution
He’s been called the Wizard of Woz. It was he who single-handedly designed an entire personal computer, the Apple I. It was he who designed the Apple II and wrote the software to make it run. Site has more good Woz sites, including Steve’s own website.

GoMilpitas Produced by Sunbeams

I am excited to announce that GoMilpitas.com of Milpitas, CA, is now being produced using sunbeams.

Our carbon footprint has just become considerably smaller as electricity for our computing and other household and business use will be considerably generated by two sets of 8 solar panels: one shown on the south-facing roof in the photo above, and a second set of 8 on the second story west-facing roof. In 2018 we added some more efficient solar panels on our garage roof.

Our Solar System

The salesman and the installation crew from REC Solar did a wonderful job Thursday and Friday, April 17-18, 2008. The City building inspection was on the following Monday, and PG&E also needs to make the final connection to the meter, but it appears for the “sunny” months we will be selling more electricity back to the power company then we normally have used in the past.

Update April 29, 2008: PG&E hooked up a new meter to our solar PVC system shortly after noon today. My husband is happily watching the meter showing a credit to our energy account.

Update June 8, 2008: We just got our first full month’s gas and electric bill for the month of May. Are you ready for this? Combined gas and electricity bill was $29.83! The electricity part was $8.69, most of the rest was for hot water heated by gas. Fred figures the bill would have been $270 without the PVC installed.

Update December 12, 2010. With most of our energy efficient projects finished, our total PG&E bills in the past 24 months through December 2010 has come to $2246 for 24 months, averaging $93.60 a month for gas and electricity. Past 24 months our electric bill alone has been $1288, or $54 a month on the average. In 2006 & 07, before the energy efficiency was in place, our PG&E bill had been $4405 or $183.50 a month. Electricity had been $3516 of that ($146.40/month.) We are paying 64% of our previous electric bills. Rates have gone up, or it would be better than that.

Several months ago we replaced our dishwasher with a highly efficient model. Our older Maytag dishwasher was being recalled, and the Maytag company offered us to either fix it or give us $75 toward a new one. At the same time, the power company was offering a rebate, and a nearby appliance store had a sale on a KitchenAid Energy Star dishwasher.

All three toilets on our home office are water efficient models. Two are Dual Flush toilets: down for #1 (1.0 gals.) and up for #2 (1.6 gals.). We watched for rebates, and so were able to get a partial refund from the area water company for installing more efficient toilets. Kitchen and shower faucets are all low-flow.

We have been recycling for years, so I almost forgot to mention it. We have three large bins: Paper, Metal and Plastic Recyclables, Yard Trimmings, Garbage/Food Scraps. We have a compost barrel in our back yard, so much kitchen and garden compostables go in that.

Most of our lighting has been replaced with Smart LED lights. As many of you know, I find natural spectrum lights more harmonious, and they make my photographs look their best, so I was glad that florescents finally came in this spectrum range. Driveway, entry way and back deck lights are motion sensitive, so are only on when needed. Now many of those have been replaced by “smart” LED light bulbs. I can turn them on and off, or just a percentage on, with just my voice and Alexa.

Most of our bills are viewed and paid online through our credit union, saving who knows how much paper waste. We are also doing all we can to refuse junk mail. Paper waste is shredded and goes in the compost pile.

Our front lawn has been replaced by a low-maintenance butterfly and hummingbird attracting garden (Seen in part in the photo), and so is a delight to all who pass by. We don’t have a lawn anywhere else either! We go to the community park next door when we feel the need to be on grass.

Our pool has been solar heated all along, but will be getting an upgrade soon. One of the perks of working from home: jumping in the pool to cool off, and working in my swimsuit. (No, you won’t be seeing a photo of THAT any time soon!)

Extra insulation has been added under the roof, in the attic, and Reflectix under the floor.

We added an attic fan to help keep our place cool in the summer, so we seldom need air conditioning. It comes on automatically when the attic temperature hits a certain temperature. We have a NEST thermostat which help learn our habits and keeps us in ‘Eco’ range.

Our cars? Well, they may not be the most efficient, but we all work here at home, so we have eliminated commuting costs. When we do go out, we try to run at least three errands, and plot the most efficient route to get the most done. My husband is working with a group to try to make hydrogen-fueled cars a reality. Update: We traded in Fred’s “clunker,” and purchased a black 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid on July 31st. Took to 2 a.m. on August 1st to complete the sale. What a madhouse!

I don’t know if we are the first community site to go so majorly Green, but I believe we’re the only one posting about it. I would love to have some competition in this area!

Now you know where your money goes when you make purchases on this site: to make payments for these Green improvements and more to come. We recently refinanced our home loan, and got some money out for these improvements. (Fixed at 3.375% for about 1/3 the current value of our home.) The payments are less than they were earlier, so this helps us out by having both lower mortgage payments and lower power and water bills. Improvements were made over time, and not all were recent. We are paying less and using less limited resources. This allows us to save for the next earth-friendly improvement.

March 2009. Installed much more energy efficient heating and cooling system. There’s been improvements since 1976! We got an Amana system as our heating and cooling needs here in Milpitas aren’t very extreme. We bought it from AAA Furnace & Air Conditioner. Allowed PG&E to install a remote switch incase there is a power shortage.

All the downstairs and upstairs windows are now double-paned and better sealed.

April 2009. Added energy efficient windows upstairs. Downstairs had been done another year. We got ones built by Desert King Windows. If you decide to buy these based on my recommendation do tell them Ann Zeise sent you.

We also managed to find a beekeeper, Mark Small of Small Bees, to rescue us and the bee hive that had thrived between our living room ceiling and roof. He captured most of the honey bees and the queen bee in a gentle vacuum, and, after checking their health, will find them a new home in some orchard.

Got the energy star laundry appliances: a pair of Speed Queen machines. Only energy efficient ones that fit the small space with have for a laundry.

We’re not done yet. Stay tuned here to hear about new Green improvements to GoMilpitas.com. Saving for:

  • energy efficient TV
  • upgraded energy efficient pool filtering, heating and sanitation

Computing Resources in Milpitas and Nearby

Where to go in Milpitas when you need computer resources such as data recovery or to recycle an old computer or perhaps buy a used computer. Many also repair cell phones and tablets.

computer repairData Recovery

Apto Solutions
A global ITAD Leader that gives its clients everything they need to manage the risks and complexities of IT asset disposition with ease, confidence and maximum value recovery.
92 Railroad Ave
855-275-2786

Geek Squad
Geek Squad Agents in Milpitas are your technology experts, ready to help with any issue you can throw at us. From major appliances to TVs, computers, networking and more, we make your tech work.
Best Buy, 63 Ranch Dr.
408-942-0201

IntelliRecovery
San Francisco based data recovery services company specializing in hard disk & hard. Drive recovery. No Data, No Charge Policy. Free Evaluations.
1-888-995 DATA

Recovery Tips from Drive Savers
Selecting a good drive utility program. What to do if your drive makes odd clicking or scraping noises.

Seagate Data Recovery Services
One lab located in Santa Clara, but recovery teams available to travel all over or you may send drives to their lab.

WeRecoverData Data Recovery
We’ve developed the most advanced tools and have the highest level of expertise, so that we can recover data from any storage media, worldwide. As a result, we have the highest success rate of full recovery in the industry.
2880 Zanker Rd #203, San Jose, CA 95134
408-582-7300

Help

User Groups in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley user groups for hardware platforms, internet and web, professionals and hobbyists.

Manufacturers

Harmon.ie
Known for its development-related interop software.
698 Tasman Drive
408-907-1339

Recycling

Goodwill, Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul Society will also accept some computer products.

HP’s Planet Partners
An easy way to recycle any brand of computer equipment or HP printing supplies. HP ‘s state-of-the-art processes ensure that your unwanted hardware or HP printing supply is recycled in a way that conserves resources.

How or where can I go to recycle (electronics, CDs, toner, etc) responsibly?
Computer Recycling Centers in the California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Tech Exchange (formerly OTX)
For over 20 years, we have provided free refurbished computers and digital literacy training to low-income families and supported schools’ and community centers’ technology needs.
1228 36th Avenue Oakland, CA 94601
510-345-1910

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