Great new website!

Planting Carroll Creek with 1,000 plants to mitigate algae growth in lieu of algaecides or expensive power hungry pump systems has been under way for two years. Join us at Color on the creek.com

It's great that Potomac Edison bills are down to about $35 since installing solar panels, down from over $100 before solar. Our insulation upgrade has been worth doing. both for comfort and energy savings. However, we did not receive the rebate from Potomac Edison for insulation and sealing retrofits in over a year since we applied, and nothing from the Maryland Energy Administration Residential Clean Energy grant program for solar in over 6 months, since we applied. :)

Upgraded electrical system from 100 Amps to 200 Amps; replaced wall A/C unit with central A/C; added 8" additional attic insulation; added attic exhaust fan to roof which makes attic much cooler in summer and lowers A/C costs; replaced wooden windows which had lead paint sashes with double-glazed aluminum windows; replaced back door and back storm door; added heavy living room drapes which keeps both heat and cold outside; thanks to Frederick County Refrigerator Exchange Program and am in the midst of replacing 1986 fridge with a much more energy efficient refrigerator

I,m delighted to find this site. There are plenty of energy saving tips I can start on now and maybe next winter I won,t need to wear 3 layers clotclothing in the house

Recent I completed construction on a new home for my daughter. We intentionally spent nearly $10,000 on energy improvement to reduce the monthly reoccurring cost of operating the house. Comparing there new home to the previous home, they are saving $130 a month. The saving will pay for the improvements in 6.5 years. The nice thing is this house is so much more comfortable without any hot spots in the summer or cold rooms in the winter.

Installed a 10.3KWp solar system during July 21014

We have reduced our annual energy use by more than 42% (compared to our 2005 baseline) and we have saved more than 2.5 years of energy!

When living in a home owners association not all green ideas are allowed. I focused on things that I could do to improve my townhouse. I have installed new .055" vinyl siding with a rain drop system and 2" fit insulation behind the vinyl siding. The builders had nothing but junk vinyl siding attached to the exterior particle board. I then replaced the steel entry door with an energy star fiberglass entry door. I then had new energy star vinyl windows installed including slider for the entire house. The soffit was replaced with vinyl soffit along with new gutter for the house. Next project with replacing the 20 year old roof with new CertainTeed Landmark Pro shingles as part of the roofing system. The roofing system included the starter, WinterGuard, DiamondDeck and ShingleVent II hip and ridge. The projects continued and then I put 15"-18" of blown insulation in the attic with a solar panel to run an attic fan. All the appliances were upgraded to Energy Star including the HVAC. All the lighting in the house was changed to CFL lighting over time. When this was done the power company actually called and requested and inspection of the property due to the savings within one year. They could not believe the amount of savings that occurred within the first year. So it does take some money and time to correct inadequate builders materials. In the big picture the power companies will adjust the pricing to keep up with all the new materials being used to conserve energy. Just set small project goals and knock them out one at a time.

After making energy improvements we put in aprox $14,000 of solar electric (after gov incentives) and we are now net zero with no electric bill. Our house is all electric so with the sale of the energy certificates earned by the solar our home actually pays us to live there!

So excited to see how the small decisions we make everyday can add up and make you feel proud of your lifestyle!

Getting ready for tonight's Green Home Challenge recognition event! I am looking forward to seeing our certified households and recognizing them for their accomplishments- including an estimated $840,000 savings per year in utility costs! Plus we are able to give out some great prizes thanks to our event sponsors.

We are currently in the process of building a "near zero" home in Brunswick, MD. Modular pieces have been built and will be placed on the land beginning of May, with a move in date of July 1st. Action Items in this challenge was a nice check list for us when planning and designing this house. Instead of updating and retrofitting an older home, we are making sure everything is done from start to finish of this home build. It is being built as a passive solar home.

We collect our shower water in a 5 gallon bucket as it's warming and then use it to flush the toilet, water plants and as water for our cats.

Two down, one to go! Our household has completed the Power Saver and Green Leader Challenges, and we are really excited to be participating in the Solarize initiative. We are going to be installing solar hot water heating. This action alone will certify us for Renewable Star! I am also really excited to get our hot water off of the main fuel oil burner because it is costing us about $133 every month- the solar will save us a lot of money. It's incredible that the system adds value to the house equivalent to what we will pay after federal and state incentives, plus we get the monthly savings. We are also going to get more insulation work done on our home this summer after having the rim joists in the basement done earlier in the year. These projects are going to save us a lot of money down the line and have made our home a lot more comfortable.