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Maryland’s premier designer & builder of custom homes,
renovations, additions, and energy efficiency
improvements since 1979.

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LCBI Goes Solar & Energy Independent!

Mark Lancaster really wants your home to be energy efficient and he’s leading by example.  His office in Middletown is a pre-Civil War built residence converted into office space.  In 2007 Lancaster installed a geothermal system for heating and cooling the property, hoping to cut down on his annual utility costs of nine thousand dollars.  The geothermal system helped, but bills were still high.  To find out why switching to geothermal wasn’t enough, Lancaster had an energy audit performed on the property.  Using sophisticated thermal imaging equipment he was able to pinpoint exactly why his utility costs were so high and took corrective actions, including installing spray foam insulation to the attic and the basement.

The latest improvement to the property in Middletown is the installation of a 30kW solar array.  The energy created will essentially make the business net zero in energy usage.  The solar array is in a field next to the office.  “Adding them to the roof didn’t make sense because the office orientation is not facing southward, plus we have a tree canopy that would shade the panels” said Lancaster.

Lancaster said tax credits of thirty percent from the federal government and renewable energy credits from the state make the solar panels viable.