Can a vacation home be green?
The question is similar to the ones we've asked about homes with larger-than-life square footage. And, to be honest, it probably varies on a case-by-case basis. Take Cass Calder Smith's vacation home on Stinson Beach for example: The house actually feeds the grid.
The house is used about 4 days a week -- it has PV panels, a solar hot water system, and lots of natural heating and cooling elements (overhangs, glass doors, etc).
We like Calder Smith's forward-thinking design sensibility: "It’s nice to know that in the future, my children and their children will be treading gently on nature—and won’t have to pay any utility bills!”
Read the whole story of Calder Smith's Stinson beach house.
image via dwell.com
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This is a beautiful house, but honestly, by the time her grandkids grow up it will probably be mostly under water.
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I love the theme of this post! Last year I wrote a piece for the Tampa Tribune inspired by the truly fabulous prefab homes I spotted at the International Builders Show. I was really impressed with what I saw and wanted to learn more, both for my IBS coverage and for my own personal use. Prefabs make great vacation homes, especially in hard-to-access areas like mountain and island regions. They're more resource-efficient and some are more energy-efficient, as well.
I just blogged on this topic this week, too, because reinforced concrete construction is ideal for hurricane (and earthquake) survival. Here's a link to that post:
http://jgkitchens.blogspot.com/2008/08/hurricane-helpers.html
Scroll to the New Construction paragraph to find out more. You may opt for a pre-fab vacation (or first) home, too.
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