Sustainable homes tour shows off array of green innovations

The High Country Conservation Center's ninth annual sustainable homes tour gave participants a glance at the cutting edge of environmental construction Saturday, visiting four Summit County homes.

The homes incorporated a wide variety of sustainable features, from solar heating to straw-based walls for natural insulation. And this year, participants got closer than ever: previous tours didn't take people inside the homes, but this year participants got to spend time in each.

Beth Orstad, program coordinator for High Country Conservation Center, said the homes on the tour, which was co-sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society, were selected to show people creative ways to go green.

"We strive to provide practical solutions, and so by showing people [homes] from renovation to ones built from the ground up, we can show people the different options for sustainable buildings," Orstad said.

The first stop on the tour was perhaps the least green-friendly of the four: a 5,500 square foot second home on Peak 7 being remodeled. But the features being installed in the home are a model of efficiency. Incorporating both passive solar heating - positioning windows to allow optimum warmth from sunlight - and active solar heating from panels on the roof should offset 70 to 80 percent of the home's heating costs.

The renovations to the home are also expected to reduce the electric bill from around $800 to arounnd $200 a month.

The second home, owned and designed by Curtis Scheib of Ecobuilders, featured reused materials with a local twist: pine beetle-killed logs were used in the ceiling, staircase and shelving. Scheib, who specializes in building environmentally friendly homes, also included passive solar heating and superinsulation to trap heat - two features he highly recommends.

"The number one thing, if someone comes to me as a building professional or on a consulting basis, I tell them, 'Put your money into a superinsulated shell and passive solar shell,'" he said.

Scheib said building a sustainable home takes compromise: not all features can be environmentally friendly. "I'm not going to lie to you and say there's nothing in here from Home Depot, but it's a balancing act," he said.

Probably the most innovative feature of the home is its straw walls, covered over so they look and perform like a standard wall material. Scheib said the walls are built with straw in the same way one would use brick, but they provide more insulation.

Architect Len Kumar also designed his own sustainable home. Located in Blue River, the house is run on self-produced energy - "off the grid," in green lingo. Kumar said he built the sustainable home to show clients the possibilities for energy independence.

The only municipal service Kumar's home receives is telephone service, but with satellite television and broadband Internet, Kumar says he isn't lacking for 21st century amenities. But living on solar power with a back-up generator, his energy consumption has to vary by the amount of sun on a given day.

"You just have to budget your energy," he said. "On the days with sunshine you do your laundry, your vaccuum cleaning and run your dishwasher."

Kumar said he soon will be going "on-grid," partially against his will. His mortgage company, he says, doesn't understand the off-grid lifestyle. "They think because I'm off-grid I'm living in poverty. They don't understand I don't need to be on the grid."

But Kumar says there are advantages to joining the grid. Because he produces energy, he'll receive financial incentives from local energy providers. And on days when he produces more than he uses, the extra power will go to other area homes.

The final home on the tour was also off the grid. A log-cabin style home the owners designed themselves, it's heated by burning wood and powered by solar panels and a back-up generator. Owner Bruce Campbell's excavating service provides plenty of trees to keep the house warm.

Bruce said the set-up works so well that in the winter "it gets too hot in here; we have to open our doors."

While getting back to the Campbells' property isn't for all vehicles, the family has all the modern technology thanks to wireless service. The only thing they miss, Bruce said, is a fax machine.

Dr. Shane Gold and Tari Gold, a couple from the Denver area looking to build a home in Summit County, said they got several building ideas from the tour. "The main thing that we're talking about is going off the grid, and how do we do that without giving up all the creature comforts of home," Shane said.

"It's more feasible than people think," Tari added. "It's just a matter of sitting down and doing the math."

Andy Bruner can be contacted at (970) 668-4620, or at abruner@summitdaily.com.