Green Features

A Stone Wall Inn is committed to protecting the environment, the health and safety of our employees, and the community in which we conduct our business. It is our policy to seek improvements throughout our business operations to lessen our impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water, and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and purchasing recycled products; and reducing our use of toxic materials. We are committed to pollution prevention, continual improvement and meeting or exceeding all environmental regulatory requirements.

•  Large areas of south-facing windows, augmented with stainless steel reflectors to collect additional light, provide the bulk of the energy input for space heating. Operable insulation greatly reduces heat loss at night

•  Four active hot-air collectors on the south are used to duct hot air to areas without southern exposure, and in some cases to remote thermal storage bins.

•  Back up heat during cloudy periods is by high efficiency wood stoves (stored solar energy), with warm air being ducted to all rooms.

•  Air-to-Air heat exchanged fresh air system provide fresh air to guest rooms with minimal energy loss, and assured thermal comfort in winter. Fresh air in summer enters through operable windows.

•  Thorough ventilation, in conjunction with fans, is the only cooling strategy required in summer at 1900 feet of altitude.

•  Extreme conservation measures have been built in to the structure to make the solar features effective and efficient

•  CFL or LED bulbs are used to lower energy consumption

•  Appliances used in the Long House are Energy Star rated.

•  The Buildings are largely constructed of wood, mostly from local mills, and some of it recycled. Exterior pine siding, removed from one building, has been re-fabricated and used as an interior finish in all three.

•  All detergents, soaps, shampoos, and other cleaners are biodegradable

•  Wood used for back-up heat is grown on site, with a large enough wood lot for perpetual replenishment.

•  New exterior siding is of cedar with all surfaces stained for longetivity, thereby obviating the need for frequent painting or replacement.

•  Herbs, Flowers, and fruits for jellies are grown on site.

•  Fabrics are of natural fibers

•  Recycling and composting programs are in place.

 

Preferences shall be given to suppliers whose products have environmentally friendly attributes that maximize Post Consumer recycled content, minimize toxicity and packaging, or have other environmentally preferrable attributes, with minimal sacrifice to price, quality, and delivery requirements. 

The majority of our cleaning products are Seventh Generation, a Vermont based company whose ideals mirror our own.