Seasonal Homes Research Articles

Energy Efficiency in Seasonal Homes: A Study on the Occupancy, Energy Use, and Renovation of Second Homes in Sweden

The escalating utilisation of second homes has led to an extension in heating periods and, to a certain degree, renovations to elevate the standard, resulting in augmented energy and resource consumption. A comprehensive survey was conducted in Sweden, examining user patterns across different seasons, heating systems, and implemented energy efficiency measures. The results indicate that second homes are occupied for extended periods during the summer season and intermittently throughout the year. Over half of the second homes are heated even when unoccupied, with 12% maintaining a temperature above 16 °C. The predominant heating method is direct electricity (32.2%), followed by heat pumps (29.5%) and stoves (17.5%). A variety of renovations are undertaken, primarily to enhance the standard and technical performance, but also to implement energy efficiency measures such as window replacement, additional insulation, or heat pump installation. Based on the reported user and heating patterns, and the energy renovations carried out, the potential energy savings with different energy renovation strategies were estimated for the Swedish second home stock. The results show that though lowering the temperature when a second home is unoccupied emerges as the most efficient measure, both in terms of cost-effectiveness and climate impact, it needs to be complemented with intermittent heating or dehumidification to ensure that the relative humidity is below critical levels, to avoid the risk of damages caused by, for example, mould growth. Installing a heat pump is the second most energy- and cost-effective measure and has the advantage that the indoor temperature can be maintained at rather high levels.

Specifics of seasonal settlements in Moscow region according to the results of the Moscow Mayor elections 2018

Most of seasonal second homes of Russians are located in gardeners’ associations being a component of modern urbanized settlement. Now in Russia there are about 14 million garden plots, which are used at least by 40 million people. The greatest number of gardeners’ associations (over 11.5 thousand) is registered in Moscow region. Their seasonal population can make up to 4 million people, and some of them live in summer homes most of the year, thus turning them actually into places of permanent residence. This trend is supported by new laws regulating registration of gardeners’ associations. An indirect indicator of this is the number of voters who took part in the Moscow Mayor elections in suburban areas in September 2018. The importance of summer residents increases with the distance from the capital, and more than half of the «suburban» polling stations were located in the middle and far suburbs, or even in neighboring regions. The very fact of the organization of suburban polling stations indicates a change in the role of gardeners’ associations, which become an impetus of socio-economic development in Moscow region. This is especially important for areas that have lost major industries. It is clearly seen on the example of the «gardeners’ conglomerates» that have emerged on the former peat mine lands in Moscow region, where seasonal population now exceeds the number of permanent residents of the surrounding settlements. «Gardeners’ conglomerates» can provide local population with jobs that is particularly important for marginal areas of the region.

Techno-economic analysis of off-grid PV/wind/fuel cell hybrid system combinations with a comparison of regularly and seasonally occupied households

In Turkey, it is common to move to seasonal vacation homes/second homes during summer months. Electrical energy demand of these homes, which are usually located in the coastal regions where solar radiation is high, can be met by renewable energy sources. In this study, meeting electrical energy demand of off-grid vacation homes via photovoltaic/wind/fuel cell hybrid energy systems is investigated from a techno-economical perspective. 24 different simulations were performed in the HOMER software under geographic and climatic conditions of Çeşme, İzmir that has relatively high solar and wind energy potential for Turkey conditions and is a place where seasonal vacation homes are located. Two occupancy scenarios (seasonal and regular) of the households were investigated under two storage options (hydrogen and battery) and each storage option consisted of six hybrid system configurations (three 100% renewable + three minimum 95% renewable). As a result, the levelized cost of electricity (COE) of off-grid renewable energy systems are found to be above the cost of grid electricity, however, a lot less when compared to previous years. The techno-economic analysis showed that, battery storage, which is a more mature technology, is still economically superior to hydrogen storage.

Assessment of Thermal Comfort in a Building Heated with a Tiled Fireplace with the Function of Heat Accumulation

Thermal comfort determines the state of satisfaction of a person or group of people with thermal conditions of the environment in which the person or group of persons is staying. This state of satisfaction depends on the balance between the amount of heat generated by the body’s metabolism, and the dissipation of heat from the body to the surrounding environment. Due to differences in body build, metabolism, clothing etc. individuals may feel the parameters of the environment in which they are staying differently. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure the thermal comfort of all users of the room. However, properly designed building systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) allow for creating optimal thermal conditions that will evaluated positively by the vast majority of users. Due to the fact that currently we spend even 100% of the day indoors, the subject becomes extremely important.The article presents the evaluation of thermal comfort in rooms heated with a tiled fireplace with the function of accumulation of heat using the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied) indices. It also presents the results of studies, on the quality of the micro-climate in such spaces. The system of heating premises described in the article is not a standard solution, but is now more and more commonly used as a supplement to the heating system, or even as a primary heating system in small objects, e.g. single-family houses, seasonal homes, etc. The studies comprised the measurements and analysis of typical internal micro-climate parameters: temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration. The results obtained did not raise any major reservations. In order to fully assess the conditions of use, the evaluation of thermal comfort of the analyzed rooms was made. Therefore, additionally the temperature of radiation of the surrounding areas, and the insulation of the users’ clothing was determined. Based on the data obtained, the PPD and PMV indices were determined according to EN ISO 7730: 2005 Ergonomics of the thermal environment - Analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria [1]. The obtained PMV values did not fit within the limits of thermal comfort, and the percentage of people dissatisfied reached almost 20%.

Classification of watersheds into integrated social and biophysical indicators with clustering analysis

In this work, we classify watersheds in the US portion of the Great Lakes basin according to a wide range of social and environmental characteristics. Classified watershed indicators serve to provide organizing principles for prescribing effective management strategies and for developing regional scale monitoring and modeling efforts. Classifications also provide a means for synthesizing seemingly disparate ecological attributes into powerful indicators. We use a robust watershed classification scheme based on cluster analysis that integrates a set of 12 social and environmental factors chosen to reflect the state of water resources in the Great Lakes basin. We found five statistically distinct classified watershed indicators: Urban Centers, Intensive Agriculture, Cultivated Rural, Northwoods, and Lakes Destinations. Within these classifications, we distinguished relationships between impacts on water resources and biophysical, demographic, land-use, and social characteristics of the landscape. We found that agricultural areas can be divided into those with high and low water impact, and that watersheds with considerable influence of seasonal homes are further distinguished into watersheds with inland lakes and relatively high socioeconomic status, contrasted with watersheds with wetlands and relatively low socioeconomic status.

Seasonal variation and homes: understanding the social experiences of older adults.

There has been limited research on the importance of seasons in the lives of older adults. Previous research has highlighted seasonal fluctuations in physical functioning--including limb strength, range of motion, and cardiac death--the spread of influenza in seasonal migration patterns. In addition, older adults experience isolation for various reasons, such as decline of physical and cognitive ability, lack of transportation, and lack of opportunities for social interaction. There has been much attention paid to the social isolation of older adults, yet little analysis about how the isolation changes throughout the year. Based on findings from an ethnographic study of older adults (n = 81), their family members (n = 49), and supportive professionals (n = 46) as they embark on relocation from their homes, this study analyzes the processes of moving for older adults. It examines the seasonal fluctuations of social isolation because of the effect of the environment on the social experiences of older adults. Isolation occurs because of the difficulty inclement weather causes on social interactions and mobility. The article concludes with discussion of the ways that research and practice can be designed and implemented to account for seasonal variation.

Consumption-led mobilized urbanism: socio-spatial separation in the second-home city of Sanya

Tourism and recreational second-home development has increased rapidly in peripheral and lower tier cities of China in recent years. While tourism-led real estate development has been widely accepted as an effective investment opportunity, it can increase urban segregation and stratification. This pattern is seen in the resort city of Sanya on Hainan Island, China. Sanya’s recreational second homes vary in form and can be categorized into (1) elite-vacation second homes (short stay, private homes), (2) lifestyle-migration second homes (short stay, commercial homes), and (3) retirement-migration second homes (longer term, seasonal homes). Unlike the segregated cities formed by displaced labor migrants in many of China’s cities, seasonal recreational migrants are both economically better-off and are emerging as a dominant political force. The segregated residential spaces created by Sanya’s second-home development landscape further limits interaction and social network building between indigenous local residents and part-time recreational migrants. The perceived home space and feelings of place attachment towards Sanya is under drastic change, with locals feeling increasingly displaced. The new mosaic of consumption-led amenity cities in developing economies is one where traditional models of migration-based segregation are reversed. Wealthier second-home migrants have the capacity for more political power than local residents, as well as relying more on non-localized social networks and multi-nodal home spaces. Consumption-led mobility is an important determinant in building explanations of socio-spatial segregation and stratification in global cities that are undergoing dramatic development change.

Sexual Minority Adults at a Seasonal Home Campground: An Examination of Common, Unique, and Diverse Leisure Motivations

We examined the motivations of sexual minority adults to vacation at a sexual minority-focused campground and how sexual orientation identity management was associated with leisure motivations. Twenty-nine men and 12 women who owned seasonal homes participated. In responses to open-ended questions, participants expressed many of the motivations typically associated with seasonal home leisure (e.g., socializing, escape, relax). The most frequently mentioned motivation was the sexual minority focus of the campground. The more participants were “out” in everyday life, the less likely they were to mention the sexual minority focus of the campground as a motivation for being there.

Seasonal Homes and the Local Property Tax: Evidence from New York State

AbstractThis study examines the growth of seasonal (i.e., second or vacation) homes and their impact on local property tax rates using evidence from towns and villages in New York State between 1990 and 2000. We find that a greater concentration of seasonal homes in a municipality is associated with a lower effective property tax rate in towns, and a higher rate in small and rural villages. An alternative measure of tax burden, property taxes as a percentage of median household income, is not related to the presence of seasonal homes in towns but is positively related in small and rural villages. Our findings for towns contradict the findings of an earlier study by Fritz (1982) that found that an increase in town property allocated to vacation homes was significantly associated with an increasing property tax rate, although our findings for villages supports his findings.

Problems in Place: Using Discursive Social Psychology to Investigate the Meanings of Seasonal Homes

Researchers continue to explore the nature of place meanings and especially how these meanings are created, disseminated and contested. This paper uses the conceptual framework of discursive social psychology to identify varying interpretive frames homeowners use to characterize the meaning and significance of their seasonal homes as vacation and recreation residences. Among the frames are refuge from modern life, the importance or centrality of seasonal homes in people's lives, obligations and burdens entailed by maintaining dual residences and interactions within a community. The paper advocates for an approach to place meaning that acknowledges the social basis of meaning yet recognizes and focuses on how individuals appropriate and use interpretive frames to explain their relationships to place.

Mechanisms of animal global navigation: comparative perspectives and enduring challenges

Animals navigate over a range of distances, but it has been the global navigation of species migrating among spatially restricted, seasonal homes separated by thousands of kilometers that continues to defy a thorough mechanistic explanation. We survey the navigational behavior of migratory salmon, whales, sea turtles, and birds, as well as dispersing monarch butterflies, to promote the idea that an explicitly comparative approach to global navigation can provide insight into the evolution and properties of navigational mechanisms. The navigational abilities of migrant birds and sea turtles are used to illustrate the concepts of true navigation and vector navigation, leading us to consider the selective forces that might shape the evolution of navigational mechanisms. We propose that different navigational mechanisms, with different scales of accuracy, are likely employed during the course of migration. Furthermore, superficially similar global migratory behavior in different taxonomic groups is likely characterized by different sensory, representational and neural mechanisms reflective of groupspecific adaptation to the physical properties of a migratory environment.

A Comparison of Seasonal Homeowners and Permanent Residents on their Attitudes Toward Wildlife Management on Public Lands

With the widespread migration of urban residents to rural areas, the rural rebound of the past three decades has created dramatic demographic changes throughout rural America. This is particularly true in rural regions rich in natural amenities such as lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests. To date, the literature on the rural rebound and amenities has largely ignored one aspect of the rebound—the growth in seasonal and recreational homes in amenity regions. This article compares seasonal and permanent residential landowners on their attitudes toward wildlife management goals for public lands in amenity-rich northwestern Wisconsin. Although rural–urban differences in attitudes toward hunting persist, views of preservationist-oriented wildlife management goals are nearly identical. Support for this research project was provided by United States Department of Agriculture McIntire-Stennis grant number 142-4682, National Science Foundation IGERT grant number 9870703, University of Wisconsin Department of Forest Ecology and Management, University of Wisconsin Extension, and University of Wisconsin School of Natural Resources.

Using Neural Nets to Model the Spatial Distribution of Seasonal Homes

Seasonal and second homes are important aspects of recreational tourism. Owning a summer cottage, time-share condominium, hunting cabin, or a part-time residence in a location away from home affects development patterns in significant ways. This paper presents the results of using an artificial neural network and a geographic information systems-based approach to identify and quantify the principal predictors of seasonal home distribution within the Lake States region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Representative variables, such as proximity and spatial configuration of lakes, proximity to the Great Lakes shore, surrounding forest acreage, and public land access have been quantified using geographic information systems at the minor civil division (MCD) scale for the three states. The GIS data have then been fed into artificial neural networks to enable these pattern recognition tools to identify the principal predictors of seasonal home distribution in the Upper Great Lakes States.

Regional Flows of Recreational Boater Expenditures on Trips in Michigan

This study estimated the regional flows of boater spending on trips by four boat storage categories to provide information useful to regional marketing and planning efforts for boating agencies and industries. Data were collected through sample surveys of 1998 Michigan registered boat owners. The questionnaire was designed for boaters to specify their spending between origin and destination to avoid potentially erroneous assumptions on the allocation of spending among regions. Owners of 652,000 registered boats logged 18.4 million days of boating and spent $635 million on trips within Michigan in 1998. All northern regions were net gainers from boater trip spending and earned a net gain of $120 million in 1998. The south inland region showed the biggest net loss of boater dollars, as resident boaters in this region spent $78 million more outside the region than the region received. Out-of-state boaters spent $35 million in Michigan, mostly involving use of seasonal homes in the state.

The Influence of Natural Resource Characteristics on Property Value: A Case Study

The analysis and results discussed in this article were developed as part of a study of landed property and home owners (including seasonal homes) in three representative counties of Michigan's northern lower peninsula. A model similar to the hedonic price method was used to isolate certain natural resource characteristics and detennine if property value fluctuated with respect to location. This study attempted to measure the intrinsic worth of one's property and relate it to the existence and location of certain natural resource characteristics. Although the study areas were heavily endowed with natural resources, making generalization to other areas problematic, the use of a hedonic price type model appears to show promise in identifying specific locations where accelerated development might occur if the seasonal home market enters a new growth cycle.

Tourism patterns and determinants in the Great Lakes Region: populations, resources, roads, and perceptions

The Great Lakes Region of North America is attractive to tourists because of its vast areas of water, thousands of kilometers of shorelines, huge public forests, numerous parks, extensive commercial tourist facilities, interesting cities, and good highways. Most of the region's 65 million residents live in the southern industrial and agricultural portion so summer recreational travel is largely in a northerly direction to the lakes, shorelines, forests, and privately owned seasonal homes known as “cottages”. This travel involves international border crossings as Americans travel to rural and urban tourism destinations in Ontario, Canadians visit cities in the United States, and residents of both nations take circular tours around the Great Lakes. Each year, Ontario and neighboring American states spend a total of more than 20 million on tourism publicity trying to capture a larger share of the 40 billion spent in the region annually by tourists. However, the amount, nature, and patterns of tourist travel across the border are not well documented because of the lack of exit surveys.

Environmental impacts of recreational home developments

The growth of recreational home developments in many areas can be directly traced to tourism. Attractive areas with recreational amenities and inexpensive land become prime locations for new home developments. Many times these locations are in environmentally sensitive areas. The literature has assessed seasonal or second homes and the impact they have on the environment, but little investigation has been conducted for other segments associated with home development. In this study, permanent homeowners, seasonal homeowners, and recreational lot owners in Michigan were surveyed. Information on location preferences, reasons for property purchase, frequency of visitation, attitudes and knowledge concerning future development, and land use controls were analyzed. Results indicated the property owner segments had many differences, which helped explain why environmental impacts occured and the potential for future impacts remains high.

PERCEIVED WATER QUALITY AND THE VALUE OF SEASONAL HOMES1

ABSTRACT: The impact of degraded water quality on the value of seasonal homes adjacent to St. Albans Bay on Lake Champaign in northern Vermont is estimated using hedonic price functions. The Value of properties located adjacent to the bay are depressed by about 20 percent, or $4,500 on average, compared with similar nearby properties on the larger but cleaner lake. Water quality degradation resulted in decressed property values of approximately two million dollars in the area surrounding the Bay.

Drain Valve Controls Meters in Seasonal Homes

One‐time installation of a brass drain valve in the meters of seasonal (summer) homes eliminates yearly service calls and allows winterization without removing meters. Installation procedures are provided here.

Environmental Effects of Rural Land Use

ECONOMIC growth in the United generates various phenomena, one of which is its urbanizing effect on the entire society. This urbanization process likewise affects rural communities and the use of land resources in rural areas. National attention has been focused recently on social and economic conditions in rural America [11]. Economic growth brought also much greater interdependence of people, regions and resources. The economic hinterland of fundamental community of 1968 is about 50 miles and its area is about 5,000 square miles ... the functional economic areas of 1968 include from 100,000 to 200,000 or more people [5, p. 1139]. The term rural land use, might be subject to different interpretations because the differentiation between urban and rural land use has recently become blurred, especially when analyzed from sociological and economic point of view [1]. The use of land resources is frequently associated with the resource oriented industries such as agriculture, forestry, mining, and, in coastal areas, the fishing industry. Rural land use is sometimes used as synonym for sparsely populated areas of the United States. I wish to define rural land use as the physical and economic supply of natural resources in non-urban areas, where urban is to include the urban fringe area. Rural land use, or somewhat rephrased, the use of the open country, currently receives national attention as by-product of the emphasis placed on the quality of environment. Several trends are affecting the current use of land resources in rural areas. Clawson observed in this respect that a major but unplanned and unguided redistribution pattern of the population on land is underway in the United States [4, p. 65]. Rising disposable income generated an increase in demand for large number of outdoor recreation opportunities, as well as for seasonal (or second) homes. The location of these homes has an impact on the land use pattern in rural areas. The interstate highway system provides easy access to rural areas and connects these areas with metropolitan regions. It, too, is major factor affecting the use of land resources in these areas.