May 19, 2010
Couple have energy to spare
Monthly utility bill runs less than $4 at eco-friendly 2,500 square-foot home
Cumberland Times-News
OLDTOWN — It could be very easily said that Henry and Nancy Maier are a couple with a lot of energy.
In fact, they have energy to spare. And Saturday they are hosting a unique event at their private residence perched at the top of Warrior Mountain to teach others how to have and keep the energy they have in abundance.
When the Maiers built their “dream house” on 100 acres of land that had been in the family for 40 years, being in the heating and air conditioning business, the couple decided to make their house as ecologically friendly as they could.
The result has been a plethora of stored energy on their property. All of it comes from nature. The Maiers have so much energy to spare, their only utility bill last month was $3.98.
“I was just as surprised as anyone when I got the bill in the mail,” Henry said. “I called the electric company to ask about it and the man on the other end actually said, ‘Yeah, that’s got to be a mistake’ and he looked up my account and said, ‘Nope, that’s right. It’s four dollars.’ Then he told me not only that but when my account caught up, I had a credit of hundreds of dollars.”
The Maiers intend to welcome more than 200 visitors to their Oldtown property — located on Scarlett O’Hara drive. Through a series of personal and political connections, the couple sent out e-mailed invitations. But they stress that the public is also welcome. They are expecting all sorts of people — from environmental activists to energy experts to the plain downright curious.
“We will be demonstrating several viable and operational renewable energy systems, including small wind, solar thermal and wood gasification,” Nancy said. “We will be joined by several manufacturers like Bergey Wind Power, Alternate Heating Systems, Stiebel Eltron, Mahoning Outdoor Furnace and ESP Insulation. It will be a great opportunity to get answers to questions and give insights to possibilities and limitations. Qualified installation contractors knowledgeable about equipment installs will be on hand.”
“What we want to do is educate people about alternative forms of energy,” Henry said. “We want to show people that their homes can benefit from these types of energies, too.”
Maier believes the timing for such an event could not be better. With gas prices on the rise and the recent devastating BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana, alternative energies are not only coming into the spotlight but could very well become a public focus.
“I think we are in the middle of the perfect storm,” he said. “I think the interest is there in energy now and seeing as how we are doing this right here in the Maryland mountains, I think people are interested. We can’t even begin to tap all the energy from the sun and the wind.”
The Maiers generate energy on their property three alternative ways. They have solar panels and a neutral carbon woodburning furnace. The most imposing piece of equipment, however, could be the private windmill that harnesses what is called “short wind” energy. But it’s all enough to power a 2,500-square-foot country home.
The Maiers have no gas or oil bill. They do have central air with electric heat pumps for summer comfort but then again those pumps are controlled by solar and wind energy. If all of those systems should happen to fail, the traditional electric power kicks in. Hence, why the couple continues to receive a bill for $4.
And how efficient does everything run in their “green” dream farmhouse?
“I’m surprised that I’m so surprised,” Henry said. “We experience very few outages here. And we have been way under our projections.”
So impressed with how well his home is run on natural resources, Maier has spoken at Senate committee hearings regarding energy and has given guest lectures at Frostburg State University.
“If the country had been doing this 30 years ago, we would have no energy crisis. This is the way houses should have been built going back 30 years. For people who say this isn’t the answer and this isn’t the future, hey, take note, this is already happening.”
The open house energy event at their property this weekend is designed to educate visitors on how options for traditional oil, gas or electric exist and function. To register and for directions, e-mail lnhent01@gmail.com.
The working farm property will feature 15 different booths with alternative energy ex-perts offering everything from advice to equipment.
“We will have people here from the University of Maryland, as well as the Maryland Forest Service and Soil Conservation and professors from Frostburg State University’s physics and engineering de-partment,” Nancy said. “It should prove to be a very interesting, fun and educational event.”
Not all options will be for everyone, Henry is quick to point out. But he said the smallest change can make a difference not only in consumer spending but also on the environment.
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