The 1,400-square-foot garage with screened porch cost $160,000. The Sills will get some of that investment back in federal and state tax breaks for the solar panels and energy-efficient doors.
Other sites on the tour included a green-certified building at a winery, imitation cedar shakes made from recycled rubber and plastic, and a rooftop solar pool heating system that allows a 1,000-square-foot pool to be heated about 10 degrees higher than usual at no extra cost, according to tour organizers.
In South Baltimore, the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center gets nearly all its electricity from solar panels, said Cheryl Miller, a building administrator. Miller said she likes that the lights automatically turn off because she sometimes forgets to switch them off when she leaves.
