Summit County second homes could be more green

People concerned about their carbon footprints probably assume that vacation homes are not in their futures. 

But anyone deciding to buy a second home can balance out its impact on the environment.  Driving to the mountains once, for a four day stay, versus four times for four separate days will save gas and time, especially if you don’t go home when everyone else does on Sunday afternoon.  Stay until after dinner, or perhaps even Monday morning.   It may sound like a cop out, but keep reading! 

A wonderful new store has opened in Breckenridge.  It is called Ecoasis, and it is just that, an oasis of environmentally sound ideas and products.  I spent about an hour there the other day and met Beth, who is very knowlegable and anxious to help anyone with questions.  Ecoasis carries everything from flooring products to insulation, paint, light bulbs, composting bins, photovoltaic cells, and yes, even cholorine free diapers, natural lotions and soaps.  They have a wonderful selection of gift products too.  It will be a great spot for Christmas shopping. 

Beth had a story about some people who bought a 2,000 sq ft vacation home in Breckenridge.  They then proceeded to add another 3500 sq ft to it, which environmentally, has a lot of impact. Small and simple is much preferred.   However, every product they used in the home was as environmentally friendly as possible, from the photovoltaic cells to the on-demand water heater to the linoleum and cork flooring.  (yes, old fashioned linoleum is environmentally sound, but now it is much easier to install, coming in “click together” planks.)  Today it is called Marmoleum. 

I was surprised to find that many of the products they offer are much less expensive than I assumed they would be.  You can buy cork or bamboo flooring for what it costs for Brazilian hardwoods at Home Depot.   Both products amazed me with their selection of colors and textures.  If you don’t want the formaldehyde gasses in your home that particle board puts out, they have a product made from wheat that can be used to make cabinets and furniture the same way particle board would be.  I found a beautiful, lightweight “wood’ product made from sorghum stalks (agricultural waste)  that can be used for floors, walls, furniture and anywhere else you can use wood. 

An important criteria when trying to use good environmental practices is to buy locally as much as possible, and it did concern me that most of these products came quite a distance.   One of the locally produced wood products that is now in good supply is beetle killed pine.  They have used some of the blue stained wood in the store as trim around the doors, and it really is attractive. 

My favorite product was a backpack, made with some recycled content, that had photo voltaic cells on the top of it.  The cells produce energy from the sun’s rays while you are hiking, which then can be used to recharge your ipod or cell phone.  If you are headed into the mountains for a backpacking trip, be sure to take one with you. 

Few people I know winterize their homes when they are gone for long periods, and many homes are vacant for months at a time.  It is possible to drain the water pipes and turn off the heat if it is done properly.  I would not suggest it for a condo or townhome.  Nor is it a good idea  in any home for just a week or two, because it takes along time to warm the home up again in the middle of winter.  In-floor heat especially, is very slow to come up to a comfortable temperature.  However,  if you only come to Summit County in the summer, it could be an option for you. 

There are many more ways to lessen the impact of your second home, and I will be writing more posts about options in Summit County.  If you would like to get those posts in your in-box or google reader automatically, subscribe.  I also write about Summit County real estate and the lifestyle, so there is lots more to come! 

Posted by Summit County Real Estate Agent Joanne Hanson at 8:17 pm in General, Summit county environmental info. Subscribe to comments RSS feed.

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