While it might not be evident - with one trophy home after another being built around the county - more and more people are considering methods of energy conservation in building and home improvements. There is a greater variety of such products available. According to Don Sather, owner and general manager of Big Horn Materials, some of the more obvious things that people can do to increase their energy savings are to install double- and triple-pane windows, use foundation, wall, ceiling and roof insulation, and to caulk and weatherstrip drafty areas.

"Caulk has improved progressively over the past 20 years," Sather explained. The caulk available now will expand and contract with varying temperatures while still continuing to seal.

Other energy-saving products include compact florescent bulbs, which replace standard incandescent bulbs. They can be used for lamps, chandeliers, and other light fixtures.

Three-way switches and dimming options also can decrease the energy used by light fixtures. These are only a few of the actions people can take to decrease their energy bills and their impact on natural resources. Meanwhile, designers and builders have a variety of alternatives to consider in constructing new buildings.

The term "green homes" brings to mind images of straw bale and earthship homes - in which walls are insulated with straw bale or made of old tires.

"My impression is that most people think of those people as freaks," said Julie Huyler, director of Summit Recycling Project. "It shouldn't be that way." There are ways to make a home "green" without using old ti/es. Summit County and Frisco each offer green programs to motivate builders to use energy-conservation and lower-impact methods when building. According to Gary Pringey, a building official for the Town of Frisco, a homeowner can save up to 10 percent of permit fees - with a $250 maximum - if they meet the green building checklist.

The checklist includes such actions as using recycled materials, wood-alternatives or reused wood, saving trees on a lot, recycling job waste, and xeriscaping, which is a way of landscaping using natural plants that require less water.

With the new year, the Town of Frisco will adopt a new edition of building code that includes the International Energy Conservation Code, Pringey said. "It's part of a national effort to address energy conservation in construction," Pringey explained.

Some of the resulting energy criteria also are on the green building checklist. People who meet those new code criteria will be helping themselves toward the green program, Pringey said. Hopefully, that will give them the motivation to use other conservation methods suggested by the green program to earn the rebate.

According to Pringey, however, there is not a lot of interest in green building among designers and builders because it is not very convenient.

Most people recognize there could be a use for leftover scraps of wood at a job site, but there is no readily available end use at this time, Pringey explained. Big Horn Materials took the initiative to build a sustainable development when they moved from Frisco to Silverthorne.

"We felt that energy costs would continue to increase," Sather explained. "So by saving electricity and natural gas costs, the building itself becomes more sustainable. This translates into financial savings - the cheaper it is to operate, the more affordable it is for the tenant -and the appreciated property value would reflect the reduced operating costs of the building."

Energy-saving methods used in the Big Horn development include clerestory windows which allow more natural light - which saves electricity and is more comfortable to employees and customers - and photovolteics, which convert sunlight into electricity. They also used computer-controlled heating and lighting. With this, a computer determines how much electric light is needed. Similarly, heat is adjusted according to the temperature.

Big Horn has received several awards - both national and state - for the sustainability of a commercial building.

For more information on sustainable building ideas and products, join the Summit Daily News and Summit Recycling Project for their Sustainability Forum this Saturday, from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Silverthorne Pavilion.

(reprinted by permission of The Ten Mile Times, Jim Pokrandt, Publisher 10/1/01)