Bill and Carol are “old dogs” learning “new tricks” regarding energy conservation at The River Nest
- Our building project included:Geothermal heating and cooling.
- Individual climate control in guest rooms.
- Ceiling fans for air circulation and cooling.
- A “preheat” water tank that pulls excess heat from the geothermal system, requiring less energy for hot water.
- Low-flow plumbing fixtures.
- Energy Star appliances and water heater.
- Six-inch insulated walls.
- Roof water run-off channels to geothermal ground system.
- Solar powered landscape path lighting.
- Daily practices include:
- Reusing paper and containers whenever possible.
- Recycling newspapers, magazines, cardboard, tin, glass, aluminum, and #’s 1 and 2 plastics.
- Shunning paper and plastic disposables in favor of cloth, glass, and silver.
- Transitioning to low-wattage, compact fluorescent lighting.
- Seasonal practices include:
- Air drying laundry.
- Raising garden produce, strawberries, raspberries, and apples for guest consumption.
- Composting.
- Energy Conservation:
- Compact Fluorescent Lighting (CFL bulbs)
- Energy-star appliances and computers
- Timed lighting
- Individual climate control in guest roomsÂ
- Watershed Protection and Water Conservation:
- Environmentally-friendly cleaners and detergents
- High-Efficiency Energy-Star laundry equipment
- Only hypoallergenic soaps and natural shampoos
- Implementing processes and equipment to reduce water usage
- Waste Reduction:
- We recycle
- No disposable tableware
- We use recycled paper products
- One set of newspapers for the entire house, as opposed to room copies
- Two-sided copy and printing policy
- Extensive use of electronic documents and records, including online banking and online advertising
- We donate all towels, robes and linens that are no longer usable to the local animal shelter.
- Limited use of disposable cleaning products
In addition we buy as much produce, meats and cheeses as we can from local producers and the farmer’s market. Most of our food comes from within a 100-mile radius of our bed and breakfast. Our coffee is single source fair trade and locally roasted.