Green B&Bs for Earth Day

Environmentally friendly bed & breakfasts are promoting their green credentials to attract customers who would prefer to stay at inns that are taking steps to conserve energy. With Earth Day (April 22) approaching, they’re touting their solar power, geothermal power, recycling, composting, locally grown food and other green measures.

Says Richmond energy analyst Klas Abrahamsson of Alfa Laval Inc.: “People feel good about living two or three nights in a place where they are consuming less energy. They like that people are doing the right thing.” Adds Amy Hager of the Bed & Breakfast Association of Virginia: “These measures not only help the environment but allow the B&Bs to save money.”

Oak Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast in South Boston Va., has installed photovoltaic solar panels as part of its new heating system. The inn also recycles, has a compost pile for vegetable scraps, extensive insulation and has installed “low-e” energy-efficient storm windows on the south side. Motorists who arrive in hybrids get a third night free. Rain barrels collect water. Sheets are hung on a clothesline. Says innkeeper Pickett Craddock, “Not only is it good business, it makes us feel doing our part to preserve the planet for future generations.” www.oakgroveplantation.com. The author is co-owner of Oak Grove.

Among other environmentally friendly inns in the area:

Harmony Hill Bed & Breakfast in Lovingston, Va., has saved 25% on heating and cooling with a geothermal system. The pipes for the geothermal system are buried under 6 feet of dirt in three trenches, each 300 feet long.  The water that runs through the pipes transfers heat to the house during the winter, and dissipates heat to the ground in the summer, resulting in air conditioning within the house. Says innkeeper Mark Norris: “We also have signs in each room, offering opportunities for the guests to participate in energy saving measures.”

Grey Swan Inn in Blackstone, Va., has installed LED lighting and provides guests soaps and shampoo wrapped in paper and printed with soy ink, to eliminate plastic bottles. “We use environmentally friendly cleaners and laundry products, we’ve added insulation to the attic and installed more energy efficient windows,” says innkeeper James Hasbrouck.

Asa Cline Bed & Breakfast in Yellow Spring, W.Va., has a geothermal system connected to a nearby stream and collects recycling in a county with no recycling pickups. Dead and downed wood on the property provides a great deal of the heat. Next up: Solar panels. Says owner John Hammond: "Our hope is that we've conveyed enough of what we've done to stimulate their thinking on some of the things they can do at home with their own properties.”

Beach Spa Bed & Breakfast in Virginia Beach has installed tankless water heaters, which don’t heat up and waste energy when water is not in use. The inn composts waste and collects rainwater in barrels. Walls have been insulated above standards.

The Big Mill B&B in Williamston, N.C. composts leftover food, puts all sheets on clotheslines and reuses all building supplies. “I send all of my used B&B soap to Clean the World, and they repurpose the soap and send it to third world country children,” says innkeeper Chloe Tuttle. “Being green is so natural that I don’t know how not to do it.”

Brightwood Vineyard and Farm, Brightwood, Va., serves breakfast with eggs laid at its own farm and buys food locally, often at farmers’ markets. A cottage room floor was built from 100-year-old chestnut boards from another building. Says owner Susan Vidal: “The guests tend to be interested in sustainable farming and healthy food as well as the eco-friendly character of the cottage.