In Thurmont, Maryland Denis and Brienne Superczynski have been working quietly for years on a remodel of their three bedroom home. The couple purchased the 1950’s bungalow style home in 2005. The house is located in a quiet neighborhood in Thurmont Maryland.
They gained 75% more space and, taking advantage of state and federal incentives, spent comparatively little money while massively reducing their energy usage through a variety of active and passive green energy technologies.
Thoughtfully designed, the remodel includes LED lights, clerestory windows and passive solar lighting. Windows are positioned to take best advantage of the sun’s natural heat in the winter months, while roof overhangs block direct sun and help to keep the home cooler in the summer.
On the roof of the house are six solar panels providing the household with heat and warm water. During the day, water is pumped through a closed system of water tubes that run through the panels, heating water from ground temperature, about 55 degrees, to 165 degrees.
At night the water drains back into a holding tank in the basement. The heated water circulates beneath the floors of the house, providing radiant heat in the winter. Though there is a gas-powered, high-efficiency backup water heater, its use is generally limited to the sunless, shortened days of mid-winter.
Every detail, down to positioning the air conditioning vents in the ceiling (because cool air falls while hot air rises), seems to have been taken in to consideration during the remodel.
Throughout the project the family tried to keep as much of the original hardwood flooring as possible. Some of what had to be removed became a butcher-block style kitchen countertop. Aluminum siding, copper wiring and old roofing shingles removed during construction were all recycled.
The Superczynskis have certainly accounted for nearly every detail. From the obvious solar panels on the roof, to the specifically chosen concrete driveway (asphalt driveways become massive heat islands in the summer), this family has interwoven their comfortable living with 21st century energy technology. [2011 Western MD Solar Tour]
In the countryside of Dickerson, Maryland there are almost as many wind turbines as there are horses. With 10 wind turbines generating about 36 kilowatts, Dr. Carlos Fernandez-Bueno’s farm might be the template for the Frederick County of the twenty first century.
The 1906 Aermotor Windmill, refurbished by Dr. Fernandez-Bueno, provides 2kW with a 10’ diameter and is almost identical to the 2007 Aermotor design. The 2007 Aermotor is larger, and produces more energy, but the form is unchanged in over one hundred years. This 19th century design is still producing energy in the 21st century at recent installations in Adamstown and Finksburg. These windmills wouldn’t look out of place grinding grain in a Hollywood western. The refurbished 1906 model creaks and groans in the wind, while the 2007 design produces little more than a low and gentle whisper.
Towering over the Aermotor windmills are turbines from ReDriven and SkyStream. The largest Redriven turbine on the farm sits atop an 80’ tall tower produces 20kW in the gentle breeze. It’s long, straight blades sprout from an extremely compact nacelle that blends pleasingly into the white clouds and blue sky over the farm. The SkyStream turbines are similar in form, but the fins have a sleek, futuristic curve.