Eco friendly homes and products

James250
Level 3
Cathedral City, CA

Eco friendly homes and products

I made the decission several years ago to have solar installed.

Other than the connection fee I have not paid an electric bill in several years. The utility usually pays me about $300 for my over production.

Today will be 109 F and I am not afraid to run the A/C.

Other interests

How to reduce my water usage.

Eco freindly cleaning products.

Reducing my carbpn footprint.

James

47 Replies 47

@ Lizzie,

Solar is really taking off here on the west coast of the US.  I have friends who generate enough power that they sell it to the local municipal electric provider for a profit!  You don't have to be located in the desert either.  Northern Washington/Seattle has a lot of precipitation and people are still making more than they need.

Communities can help each other tremendously by sharing these resources as well.  Very exciting and inspiring!

 

 

Anand5
Level 1
Thiruvananthapuram, India

Holistic rejuvenation therapies are definitly a catch these days. There are a huge number of people looking for these kinds of therapies.  As far as my knowledege goes, Kerala, India, is called the home of ayurveda. There are many properties offerring similar holistic wellbeing. It is possible because of the wide range of beaches or hill stations throught out the state. 

JoLynne0
Level 3
Syracuse, NY

James,

I would love to install solor panels but I live where we get a lot of snow! Not sure if it would ever help. It's pretty costly! Not sure how to get started. I'll have to Google it! Did you use a local company? My ECO part is composting!

JoLynne

@JoLynne0

I grew up in Syracuse, so I understand your concerns lol...

You can still do solar and not only eliminate those ridiculous NIMO bills, many folks who've gone solar generate enough energy so they sell it to the traditional providers! To address your concerns about the snowfall, if you have limited ground space (or just prefer to have it on the roof) it would just need to be set up to melt the snow with the power it generates.  If people in Montana and the Dakotas do it, so can you!

My other concern is the initial start up cost too. However that being said I still would want to have solor panels.

Willow3
Level 10
Coupeville, WA

In my space, I use and offer only compostable items if they are disposable. So all bin liners, coffee to go cups, spoons, etc. Considering the number of bin liners alone - I'm saving a lot of plastic usage. I intend to go solar in the future, but with a historic home, I have to wait for the tesla tiles - no panels allowed on my structures. But someday....

People near here have them ground mounted, much easier to get to and repair if needed and you can brush the snow off much easier. I would imagine much cheaper to install, installation seems to cost more than the equipment.

David
Amanda222
Level 2
United States

Hi James! Quick question as we are debating solar options for home electric use. We have the option to buy/finance, lease, or Power Purchase Agreement PPA's... and we may also have the option to have a solar panel in the backyard instead of on our roof... the benefits are clear to me, but which path to choose is murky...!

Amanda,

I can only tell you my experience at looking at solar

The solar panels only have a usable life of 15 to 20 years.

You need to look at when the break even point is.

These are some suggestions to help you find out.

1. Your average annual electric bill.

2. How many panels will you need to produce all of the power you need and then some.

3. Look at the cost of buying the solar panels outright.

4. Look at the cost of a lease. Does the payment escalate over the life of the lease.

5. Look at paying the total lease cost up front.

6. Now look at how many years it will take of solar production to break even with the cost of the system.

7. If you lease is the lease transferable to a potential new owner

8. Solar panels need to be cleaned at least four times per year. Does the Solar Company offer a cleaning service and how much will it cost?

9. If the solar panels are on the roof where you can easily access them perhaps you would want to clean them yourself.

10. Cleaning soalar panels is easy but it must be done when the air temp. is cool to stop the panels from cracking.

11. Look at the solar tile option as a way to reroof your home with a solar system that is better looking than solar panels

My system is a lease so at the end of the lease, they can give me the system, I can buy the system or they can remove it.

My option would be to replace the panels which should be a lower cost as I already have the framing and the inverter system.

I hope this helps.

Jim

Liga2
Level 5
Riga, Latvia

Thank you for reminding about how important is to keep your home Eco friendly 🙂 I try to use natural cleaning products and laundry detergent.

For my guest I try to offer natural handmade soaps and other toiletries I can find.

Lately I have been lucky to meet more thoughtful guests and they take good care about my home (turn off the lights, heaters whenever they are not home).

Definitely would be great idea to send a little list with Eco friendly reminders and hope that most of the guest will follow 🙂

 

I wish all the hosts and guests to become more Eco friendly 🙂

 

Happy & Sunny Regards from Riga 🙂

 

Liga

Lili69
Level 2
Nelson, New Zealand

Hi Eco lovers ! 

I am delighted to have found a group of like minded people that care about the environment and what our individual role is as both hosts and travellers to be environmentally friendly and help reduce our carbon footprint / waste . I have been hosting for 3 years at our 2 properties and I would love to see Air b n b bring out an ECO badge . This would be awarded to hosts that make every effort to be environmentally friendly - be that by using eco products and cleaners / provide recycling and composting facilities / solar / supporting charity with their profits / encouraging less use of plastic by providing alternatives ie reusable shopping bags / drinking bottles / water filters / providing organic food and drink / trying to make guests aware of water / electricity and power usage etc . We do all of these things at our properties 😀

We travel a lot around the world and I would love to have a filter to put in so only accomodation / hosts come up that are environmentally making an effort / have an ECO badge .I would only ever choose to book these as it’s blindling obvious every single one of us needs to wake up and start caring about this beautiful world we live in ( and take for granted ).

As travellers and as hosts a like we have a real opportunity to educate each other on how to help reduce our carbon foot print and use of daily resources .

I think recognising hosts that  care about the environment would be a HUGE step in the right direction . Lili , Nelson , NZ

Thanks, Lili,

I'd love to see an ECO badge. Besides all the stuff you mention, we use cold water for our washer, and though we have a dryer, I use a clothes line, and have an indoor drying rack which many guests choose to use. We have a wter cachment system attached to our gutters, and a rain garden.

When I get tips I send most of it on to a war orphan feeding and education project in South Sudan (contacts from when I volunteered as an English teacher there).

Wouldn't it be awesome if Airbnb subsidized ECO friendly hosts to add solar energy?

Peace,

Mary

John1080
Level 10
Westcliffe, CO

We have tried to be eco-friendly in two primary ways, which also help to save money on electricity: AC and water.

 

When we bought our cabin, there was a window AC unit in the downstairs bedroom. We removed the unit because we assumed many would run it in the summer months, when in reality in Colorado, particularly in the mountains, AC is not needed.  I very clearly state on my listing that, like almost all properties in the area, there is no AC and instruct potential guests how they can keep the cabin cool by opening windows at night, then closing all windows and shades during the day.  

 

We also state that the water heater does not supply endless water. It's actually an older water heater, which we were planning to replace, but have found that it is adequate for moderate showers and decided that helps.  This not only keeps our utility bills low but also helps to protect our well water. 

 

So far, no complaints and I think it can also attract a certain type of guest, who is interested in being more eco-friendly. 

Mary90
Level 4
Durham, NC

I have very nice guests who are clean etc, but do not recycle even though I make it easy, in their room and in the kitchen. I don't want to decrease their ratings, but do want an environmental rating...for hosts and guests.

 I have wonderful guests as well, I do encourage them all to recycle. People being people are going to do as they please even though we encourage them to think and do better.

 

So before I dump the trash I looked through the bag to see if there’s anything on the inside it’s recyclable and help them out by recycling it myself.

 

I don’t think we want to turn this into a bitch fight between the Airbnb host and guest!