Sustainability at Polmone

2023: When we took over Polmone, various sustainable provisions had already been made. The house is equipped with a heat pump and solar panels. This heats the floor and the shower water. Drinking water is scarce in this area, so there are still many locations where there is water, but only for the garden, toilet and shower. For drinking water, water is still often purchased in environmentally harmful plastic bottles. A well of over 120m deep has been dug on Polmone, and what I was told by Nico was found by a man from the water company with a dowsing rod! This man indicated exactly how deep and how much yield the found well had before the first shovel was put into the ground. It turned out to be exactly right. It's beyond my sober cap! This spring water goes through a filter and then through a softening installation. Before it is pushed to your tap by an electric pump, the water passes a strong UV lamp to kill any bacteria that may be present. the water on Polmone is wonderful. Due to the varying water pressure and the self-cleaning water softener with salt, small air bubbles may occasionally be present in the water. These will disappear after a few seconds and are completely harmless.

The apartments have been kept authentic as much as possible during the restoration and are therefore not equipped with underfloor heating, plastic frames with triple glazing and modern roof insulation. Double glazing can be found in various places and there is also roof insulation, but then of the kind that has been used in Italy for centuries; between the roof decking and the tiles is a layer of volcanic granules. Kind of like gravel but very light. This layer keeps the heat in and the cold out in winter. In the summer, the stuff works the other way around. There is also a wood-burning stove in each apartment. We get deadwood or have wood come from the local forest manager.

Last year we received various questions about whether there are charging options in the area for an electric car. Unfortunately, Italy is still lagging considerably behind the Netherlands. The infrastructure is more difficult here and the distances are greater, which means that petrol, but certainly also LPG, are still very popular here. That certainly means that the less populated part of Italy is still avoided by EV drivers. If you have to go to the next village where hopefully there is a functioning charging station, that is rather inconvenient. We have solved that problem for EV owners at Polmone Turismo Verde.
We responded to this emerging need by investing in our own charging station at Polmone Turismo Verde. Last week it was connected to the electricity grid by the electrician. The charging station of the popular Wallbox brand is universal. It fits type 1 and type 2 plugs. A smart box ensures that all other users of the available electricity have priority over the pole. It would be inconvenient if the washing machine or the pool pump turned off to load a car. This makes the loading time variable but guaranteed. It is not the first charging station in Umbria, but it is one of the first stations on the site of your holiday apartment!