More than 125 building and real- estate professionals attended the Renewable Energy Solutions all-day seminar, presented by the Summit County Builders Association Friday at the Silverthorne Pavilion.

During the event, building professionals had different opinions — and experiences — regarding the demand for renewable energy from homeowners in Summit County; some see great growth and potential, while others see awareness and desire expanding more slowly.

“We’re seeing a huge interest in renewable energy,” said Eric Westerhoff, energy systems engineer of Innovative Energy, during his morning presentation about RISE, a grassroots Summit County group that stands for Renewables in the Summit Environment. “This field is taking off so fast that you pick up almost anything that has to do with renewable energy, and it’s going to take off.”

He installed the 6-kilowatt array to provide solar electric for the 6,000-square-foot, energy-efficient Ptarmigan log home, which is a ground-mounted unit tied to the grid, meaning that any electric needs the solar array doesn’t provide, Xcel Energy does.

But building professionals like Lou Fishman, board of directors of Level One Building Co., and Ray Zorens, an electrical contractor in Summit, wondered about quick expansion of renewables, particularly regarding the use of geothermal technology.

They were concerned about the initial expenses of geothermal drilling, which can cost between $12 to $30 a square foot for loop fields, the most common of which are vertical loops that delve 200 to 400 feet into the ground.

“Everyone wants to do the right thing, but it comes down to dollars and cents,” Fishman said.

Geothermal energy

Jim Lynch, of Rocky Mountain Geothermal, presented “geothermal 101,” in the morning session, explaining how geothermal systems use the earth’s energy to heat and cool structures.

The Environmental Protection Agency calls geothermal heat pumps “the most energy efficient, environmentally clean and cost-effective space conditioning system available.” Geothermal, which uses a heat pump in the house to transfer heat to and from the earth (which maintains an average temperature of 55 degrees or so), provides a 40 percent to 70 percent reduction in greenhouse emissions and saves 30 percent to 60 percent off energy costs. It cuts utility bills in half, Lynch said.

And with the new economic stimulus bill, homeowners can receive 30 percent of the cost of the system back as a tax credit.

So why hasn’t it caught on? Because the nation has paid relatively low gas and electric costs, and the geothermal energy industry has been slow to educate people about the advantages of the renewable energy, Lynch said. But, Friday, builders learned more.

Tim Crane, developer of Angler Mountain Ranch in Silverthorne, was intrigued with geothermal systems after the presentation. Angler Mountain Ranch cabins will use solar panels for electricity, and since learning more about geothermal, he thinks it “may be something to use in combination with PV (solar panels),” he said. He has seen a trend where homeowners want smaller (2,500-3,500 square-foot), luxury, sustainable, low-maintenance homes. Part of that equation involves renewable energy.

“People will still spend money but in features that add to intrinsic value,” he said, “and solar offers feel-good, intrinsic value.”

Pricey?

While there’s still a common perception that renewable-energy

systems — be it solar, geothermal or wind — are much more expensive initially, homeowner Peggy Smith of Mountain Log Homes didn’t find that to be true. She and her husband are renovating their 1983 home in Willowbrook and installing active solar in their home, and they found it “less expensive to put in solar,” with the renewable-energy rebates and the tax credits, than to put in a boiler with radiant heat.

“It takes someone to get in there and show (homeowners) it works,” said Sam Kellerman of BHH Partners. “We give a hard sale for PV (solar) installation and get clients to understand the costs and the environmental benefits.”

Greg and Annie Morrison, owners of the energy efficient log home on Ptarmigan, are an example of homeowners who “get it.” Eighty percent of their hot water — which makes up a quarter to a third of their energy bill — comes from solar water heating, said Richard Graves of Heatmeister, which installed the system. The Morrisons also invested in solar panels to generate electricity.

Westerhoff said most new construction homeowners are considering at least prewiring for solar electric (also called PV, or photovoltaic) — a process which involves placing pedestals on the roof for the panels and running wires from the roof through the walls. Prewiring costs about $1,000, compared to an array of panels that cost, say, $30,000 after rebates and tax credits (which often don’t come until a home is fully built).

And, the good news is that people can expect more rebates for using renewable energy in new construction and remodels as part of the economic stimulus package, said Jon Kinstad, of High Country Conservation Center, who talked about home energy audits and ratings the local nonprofit provides to homeowners.