Sun Frost

Larry can't really remember when he first got in to sustainable design - it just seems to be part of who he is. In college he studied mechanical engineering: "I don't know if I was thinking about sustainability as such at that time, but I could see that we were wasting a lot of resources, and I just liked the idea of doing things more efficiently and on a smaller scale."

In pursuit of efficiency, Larry realized he needed to learn more practical skills. "I never really studied anything related to manufacturing. The stuff you study in university is high-tech. I had to take classes at a junior college to learn how to do the practical things like solder and weld and braise."

With practical tools in hand, Larry set out to find small-scale design challenges. In the hills and byways of northern California, he eventually met "solar pioneers who needed energy efficient refrigerators." Alert to both the challenge and a market opportunity, Larry set out to re-design that most basic American household appliance, the refrigerator.

Larry's design philosophy is that small is beautiful. "If you think it through and keep it simple, then it often ends up being the best possible product." Sun Frost, Inc. is the result of applying this thinking to food storage. Sun Frost began to manufacture solar-compatible, energy efficient refrigerators in 1986. After a slow start, refrigerator sales began to mount, and momentum was gained. Larry attributes the success to the focus on a small niche market of little interest to large manufacturers. "It was a place where you could make a good contribution without a lot of competition."

While manufacturing is in decline in Humboldt County as a whole, with the entire sector representing only about 14 percent of the jobs in 2000, Sun Frost is one of a number of smaller businesses that buck the trend. Sun Frost currently employs about 18 workers and has become a mainstay of the Arcata economy. Sun Frost refrigerators manufactured in Arcata are now found in over 50 countries.

Larry could have been more aggressive in growing his company. But following his design principle, Larry has expanded with caution. "I try to do things on a small scale. The idea is that doing things on a smaller scale is sometimes more efficient. I didn't want to grow too fast." Rapid expansion requires immense capital investment, while being smaller allows Larry to avoid debt and the strain of managing a larger business. "I felt that if I made four times as much money, but had to worry about the whole business that much more, then it wouldn't be worth it." In other words, "more freedom, fewer ulcers."

This approach has allowed Sun Frost to continue to push the design envelope. Among more recent innovations are solar-ready medical refrigerators, specifically designed for safe storage of vaccines in remote areas of developing nations. The World Health Organization has rated it the most efficient unit of its kind. These vaccines storage units now account for approximately half of Sun Frost's business. Sun Frost has also developed an efficient and attractive composter made out of recycled wine barrels. With an acrylic bubble top capturing solar heat, the temperature of the composting chamber is elevated, allowing rapid conversion of food scraps into mineral-rich soil. The composter is designed to double as a planter, with soils at the perimeter of the barrel providing a perfect environment for flowers or vegetables.

In Sun Frost's future, Larry sees compact composting toilets, home-sized systems for hydroponic gardening, and energy-efficient air conditioning units for small spaces, like bedrooms or the sleeping compartment of trucks. "We are working on an air conditioner that is designed to keep you comfortable when you are sleeping. We created a small insulated space around the bed, that's open above the head because cool air is heavier than the hot air. So instead of air conditioning the whole room, you can air condition the small space, and the loads are low enough so that you can do it on solar." This idea could allow truckers to use stored battery power to run air conditioning units while they sleep, eliminating the need to leave trucks idling.

The Sun Frost composter perhaps best represents the union of design simplicity and practical function that Larry advocates and has become known for. The composter is a back door tool that converts waste to fertile soil, and that reminds us that good design sometimes looks simple and simple is sometimes the best way to meet our needs.