After 17 such installations in Howard County last year, Chesapeake Wind and Solar of Jessup has done 14 in the first half of this year, said Richard Deutschmann, the company's chief executive.
"I think people are looking for energy solutions," Deutschmann said. "They're looking for something to hedge against not only their utility prices, but they're realizing their energy choices tie directly into the environment."
The county tax credit program "helps put them over the top" in making a decision, he said.
Roger and Jennifer Stott installed a solar water heating system in their Columbia home after getting federal, state and county credits and grants that whittled the cost from $5,000 to $3,200. Solar hot water systems have the highest cost-benefit ratio, Stott said, and he expects that what they save on energy costs will pay for the system in five to seven years.
"It was partly environmental concerns and partly an interest in doing something different," he said. "Just frustration with the ever-increasing BGE cost. If I could get off the grid completely, I'd like to."
Glenwood resident Wayne Killebrew built his 4,000-square-foot home with an in-law apartment in 1994. Two levels used to be heated by an oil furnace, and an electric heat pump near the end of its life span warmed the rest.
"My heating and air conditioning bill would have eventually been as much as my mortgage," he said.
In March, Killebrew, a county housing inspector, used a home equity loan to pay for conversion to a geothermal system, which taps the year-round underground temperature of about 50 degrees Fahrenheit to provide heating in winter and cooling in summer. A network with about 8,000 feet of pipe is buried 5 feet underground, and the aging heat pump is gone.
Killebrew received a $5,000 property tax credit from Howard County, plus a $1,000 state grant, and figures that he will break even in seven years - maybe sooner if the cost of fuel oil keeps rising.
"That was a big decision point for me," he said of the subsidies. "That helped."
Brandenburg, who works for an affordable-housing nonprofit, said the environmental benefits are as important as the savings.
"I love it," he said. "I feel good that we're making a contribution."
larry.carson@baltsun.com
