Turalcat sustainable award.

Photovoltaic panels.

Our self-sufficient energy project has its raison d’être in our efforts to stimulate energy-saving and the reuse of resources to promote Eco-sustainable and Responsible Tourism, as well as contributing to preserving the health of the planet. Our eco-sustainable project results in savings and health for ourselves and for our environment. Sustainable rural tourism is the only viable form of tourism in the long term, both in ecological and economic terms. Our aim is to stimulate responsible tourism to protect the local natural resources and biodiversity. Our challenge is to stimulate Sustainable, Quality Tourism.

At Masia Spa Can Pascol the installation of a set of solar panels generates hot running water and heats the heated pool of the Spa in the spring and summer. In the cooler months, the water is heated with biomass, and biomass is also responsible for heating all the radiators in the house.

The biomass boiler maintains the temperature of the house by burning wood pellets, and during the cooler months the temperature is maintained at a maximum of 22 degrees on both floors, in order to save energy.

We have 28 solar panels of 320w each that provide us with the necessary solar energy so that we do not have to use network energy during the whole day. The contract signed with our current supplier of electra (HolaLuz) allows us to return to the network all the excess energy that we produce, so we get more profitable night hours.

With solar plates we can produce a maximum of 8,960w, so we have installed timer clocks to regulate the hours of all electrical appliances to make the most of solar energy and get the most out of it.

Rainwater is reused; it is collected from the drains on the roof and is redirected into the well, where it is used to irrigate the whole of the garden and the olive grove zone with a drip system, as well as to top up the outdoor pool when necessary. Both the water from the well, which is drinkable, and the running water is decalcified so that it arrives with less chlorine and heavy elements. The water collected from the dehumidifier in the Spa room is filtered and reused in the heated pool. The indoor plants on the rockery of the Spa form a little micro-climate that also helps to recuperate the humidity of the environment and ensure the optimum quality of the indoor air, due to the purifying effect of the vegetation.

The two pools, both the heated pool in the Spa and the outdoor summer pool, work through electrolysis and salt water, which means that the quantity of chlorine necessary for the maintenance of the water is kept to a minimum. Chlorine is a chemical product that is very harmful to nature.

In the restoration of the house we have respected the original elements of the building, such as the thick stone walls, excellent insulators from heat and cold, and the house is completely insulated to maintain the ideal temperature both in winter and summer, and also to save energy. Likewise, new elements have been incorporated into the building in order to take sustainability and energy saving into account: all the windows in the house (and the covered barbecue area) are double-glazed with an air chamber and ecological aluminium carpentry, while the interlocking timber floors provide warmth to the whole of the house. Light bulbs are low consumption LEDs; there are automatic shut-off installations in the external lighting and the switches in the Spa; in the Spa and the bathroom water recirculation switches have been introduced to save water that would otherwise be wasted while waiting for the water to emerge at the right temperature; all electronic appliances are low consumption Class A Eco and flow reducers have been installed in all of the taps in the house, along with all the WC cisterns.

There are ceiling fans in the living room and in the bedrooms to make the air flow in the summer. We do not have air conditioning: each kilowatt hour of energy consumed means the emission of more than 400 g CO2 into the atmosphere. A difference in temperature with external outside 12 degrees is not healthy.

The materials used in the house, wood and stone, as well as the quality furnishings, were chosen in order to have a long life, as the longer both the materials and the objects themselves last, the better for the environment. In the house, we encourage the use of cotton tablecloths and napkins as well as the use of glass and not plastic.

Thermosolar panels.

Pellet boiler.

Electrolysis of the Spa.

For the maximum exploitation of natural light, a skylight was installed on the top floor with sun tubes that transmit the maximum amount of sunlight throughout the day. In addition, the window in the bathroom on the first floor or the large south-facing arched window in the kitchen all help to create natural light. The large skylight in the ceiling of the Spa is also a resource to make the most of the sunshine, which makes this room a cheerful and highly luminous space. In the light-filled and well ventilated bedrooms we use fine cotton bedclothes, and the curtains are translucent so that guests awaken with the first rays of the sun, highly beneficial for our health. Wi-Fi, which is free, is disconnected at night for optimum rest conditions (unless our clients request the contrary).

The house has and anti-smoke system (it is forbidden to smoke inside the house), we recycle rubbish, and ecological and non-toxic products are used for house cleaning and for garden care; we also make compost from all the organic vegetable waste from the garden to obtain fertilizer for the plants. All the plants and trees in our garden are native varieties and dryland cultivations. At Masia Spa Can Pascol we offer a catering service for the times when our clients do not wish to cook. All of our products are organic and/or kilometre 0, we use local and regional products, and wines and cavas (sparkling wines) from the D.O Penedès, so creating synergies with local traders. Meals are cooked at Masia Can Pascol and served at the table of the country house at the desired time.

In 2015 MASIA SPA CAN PASCOL was granted by Turalcat the “Diploma de Cobre” to THE SUSTAINABLE RURAL ACCOMMODATIONS for the implementation of the Ecolabel. Ecological Label of the European Union in recognition of the effort to contribute to the conservation of our planet. The Diploma was given to us by Tomás Molina, also awarded for his program “Tierra” by TV3.

We have adhered to the European Biosphere Tourism Seal since 2018, and in November 2020 we were approved by the Biosphere Certificate of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism: We are a “BIOSPHERE CERTIFIED” Accommodation.

In Masia Spa Can Pascol we are very satisfied with all the work done so far, but our sustainable project has not yet finished, our challenge is self-consumption and we can reach many more travelers with our sustainable message.
While the stamps help us to certify our ecological commitment and reach our customers more quickly, they also keep us in constant movement of improvement so that our Sustainable project: “Love the Planet” is always kept up to date with good judgment.