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Sun Provides Energy for Pre-Civil War Office of LCBI

Frederick News-Post 07/01/2012, Page T10

GREEN BUSINESS

SUN PROVIDES ENERGY FOR

PRE-CIVIL WAR HOUSE

By Ed Waters Jr.

News-Post Staff [email protected]

MARK LANCASTER HAS been interested in advanced energy-saving techniques since he began his business in 1979.

His 19th-century office of Lancaster Craftsmen Builders at 3120 Old National Pike in Middletown looks much the same as it did when horse-drawn wagons passed by, headed over the mountain.

But the office has geothermal heating and a substantial amount of energy-saving features such as LED lighting, better insulation, timers on bath fans and more.

The latest change, however, is quite visible.

Lancaster had 14 solar arrays placed beside the historic house, with 112 panels supplying 28 kilowatts of power.

“We didn’t want to put the panels on the roof,” said Lancaster during an interview at the office.

“This house was here prior to the Civil War. Troops were by here for the Battle of South Mountain,” Lancaster said.

He has continued to keep the historic architecture of the building as a priority.

Lancaster, president of the firm, credits project manager Mike Moran with help in the proper placement of the solar panel array. Moran, who uses computer-aided design to create virtual designs for customers of their homes, used his skills to show what the array would look like before it was in place.

“The panels are placed so that they don’t block the sun from each other,” Moran said. The placement also took into account shade patterns from the trees at the office, ensuring the most sun.

Lancaster said about 50 percent of the homes he has built in recent years, as well as those in the planning or construction stages, are using geothermal energy.

“We didn’t want to put anything into a house for a customer until we tried it ourselves,” Lancaster said.

Lancaster, who teaches a continuing education course at Frederick Community College in green building, is also on the Frederick County Sustainability Commission.

His company was one of the first to extensively use recycled materials in construction, as well as recycling materials on site, according to Lancaster.

“All of the homes we build exceed the minimum energy code requirements,” Lancaster said, adding that the energy certification is performed by a third party, such as the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Council or other authorized approval organization.

At the former Ingall’s Lumber Co.

in Middletown, Lancaster is renovating the property for an electronics component company. The 6,000-square-foot building will have a solar array on the roof and energy efficient features from lighting to insulation.

“You may not be able to control some costs of a home, such as taxes, insurance, mortgage, but you can help control energy costs,” Lancaster said.

“I’ve seen some large homes where the energy costs exceeded the mortgage and taxes.”

Green homes cost more up front than “cookie cutter” homes, Lancaster said, but when owners consider the return on investment for energy savings, it can be substantial. “And the resale value of the home is much higher,” with energy saving features, Lancaster said.

“We are all getting older; we like it warmer in the house,” Lancaster said.

With energy saving design and features, that still means a savings in cost to the owner.

On a computer, Moran can show a client not just the basic blueprints or a rendering of the house but exactly what it will look like, inside and out, on the land site.

“We can change a wall here or there, add or leave something out before we start to build,” Moran said.

That saves time and money for the buyer and the builder.

The solar array at Lancaster’s office doesn’t use batteries, he said, but goes directly to the power grid. In some cases instead of the electric meter flowing forward, there is a supply of power that is put back into the grid, giving users even more of a payback on energy costs.

Courtesy photo

Mark Lancaster has blended the use of solar technology at his construction business in Middletown without disrupting the historic architecture of his office. Lancaster Craftsmen Builders is a leader in using solar and geothermal energy in home construction in the area.