Like all of you, we have had many friends affected by the earthquake, hurricane and flooding that has occurred in our region over the last few weeks.   

It was tough, but we manged to perform audits and conduct site visits for customers who had power. And our wonderfully adaptable staff dispersed to homes and internet cafes for email and computer work to keep things running as much as possible. 

We even had a bit of an adventure setting up a Gypsy Office at our old haunt, the Emerging Technology Center on 33rd Street. We used our big red wagon for the move. Thanks so much to Neil Davis and Lynn Slone for taking us in when we needed a place to work.

In retrospect, TerraLogos had it relatively easy. We did lose a week and a half of work due to the power outage. But, we suffered no damage to our building, and when power was finally restored, all of our office equipment came back on-line with no problems.  

Now we're just playing catch up for the lost time. We thank all of our customers and partners for their patience and understanding as we get things back to normal.

Our energy bill will be lower for the month. However, we would certainly recommend an energy audit and energy improvements as a much more sensible and less painful way to reduce energy use.

We have heard many stories from friends with much more difficult situations. Our thoughts go out to all of those who are still picking up the pieces. We hope that things get back to normal for you very soon.

Perhaps all of us have become a little more humble about our relationship with Mother Nature.  

If you have ever considered performing energy improvements on your home, NOW is the time. TerraLogos can help you take advantage of all the available incentive programs to prepare your home for winter. You'll be much more comfortable while spending LESS money on energy bills! 

This year, the Home Performance process has taken off in Maryland. To date, over 1,200 homeowners have invested over $5 million in Home Performance energy improvement projects. They are completing projects that will reduce their energy bills while making their homes more comfortable and healthy. Plus, they are improving the value of their homes and reducing their impact on the environment.

And the same process and benefits apply for commercial properties. See related article below titled, "Breaking New Ground.." 

TerraLogos has secured over $300,000 in rebates for our customers to undertake projects that have saved them almost $5 million in energy costs. With our 5-step process, we make it easy by guiding you from start to finish.  

1. We comprehensively collect data during the Audit to accurately diagnose the energy issues of your home or building;
2. We create a cost-effective, prioritized treatment plan specific to your property;
3. We properly perform your recommended improvements following the whole-building approach;
4. We perform follow-up testing to ensure that the work was performed safely and completely;
5. We assist you with filing for available incentives.

• save money on utility bills,
• make homes and buildings more comfortable and healthy, and
• reduce our impact on the environment.

If financing would be helpful, the MEA also funds the related Home Energy Loan Program administered by the MD Clean Energy Center. See the article below titled, "Easy Low Interest Financing" for more details.

The first step is to schedule your TerraLogos Home Energy Audit by calling us at 410-225-5040. Or click here to start the process on-line by completing and submitting this quick form.

Our Building Analysts make it easy by handling the whole process from the Audit through the recommended contracting to filing for the rebates upon completion. Read more about the TerraLogos 5 Step process here. 

Call or click today so that you can get it while you can. 410-225-5040 or submit the on-line form here. 

TerraLogos is a participating contractor in the MD Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program. See our listing and reviews here.

We are very excited to announce that a TerraLogos customer has secured approval from BGE to fund 50% of the cost of the envelope improvements to their building. The rebate totals over $35,000 as part of the BGE Smart Energy Savers Program for Businesses.

In August 2009, TerraLogos conducted the initial audit of the Osler Medical Center in Towson, MD, a cooperatively-owned property of 48 suites of medical offices. The resulting Energy Efficiency Report recommended air sealing as one of the most cost-effective energy improvement projects, and identified an estimated 150 to 200 square feet of air leaks to be sealed in the building.

The owner/tenants developed and considered plans for the recommended improvements over 2010, and, in March of 2011, they decided to move forward. We worked with the Mount Airy-based engineering firm of GFS to quantify and confirm the energy savings that the project would generate. This engineering analysis is required by the BGE Rebate Program for custom projects like this.

In August, we received the great news that the project was approved by the BGE reviewers. The work will start at the end of this month and should be completed by early November.

After the BGE Rebate, the property owners' portion of the project (including the engineering analysis) will be about $35,000, and we project that this investment will be paid back in energy savings within 2 years. Thereafter, the property owners should realize a yearly savings of $19,000+ on their energy bills, or more as energy prices rise.

Click here to read more about this exciting project. Look for photos of the commercial air sealing process in a future issue of TerraLogos Green News.

Recently, TerraLogos was selected to participate in two exciting and innovative Energy Auditing Programs, one in Annapolis and one in Howard County.

The City of Annapolis Planning Department chose TerraLogos to perform energy audits on 11 homes in the city's Historic District this summer. This ARRA-funded project focused on providing best practices for energy efficiency improvements to owners of older homes.

We invite you to join us as we present our findings to the Historic Preservation Commission on Thursday, September 22 from 7:30 to 8:30 PM in Annapolis City Council Chambers, 160 Duke of Gloucester Street. Parking is available in the Hillman Garage, next door. Come learn how to cost-effectively improve the energy efficiency and comfort of your old home.

TerraLogos was also selected as one of the 4 Home Performance Companies participating in the Howard County Home Energy Audit Program (HEAP) that was also funded with ARRA funds. This program is providing FREE Home Energy Audits to lucky Howard County homeowners who apply and win the weekly lottery. Approximately 1,500 homes will be audited as part of the program.

Again, the concept is similar to the Annapolis program, as we hope to generate a body of best practices for recommended energy upgrades on the wide variety of Howard County homes.

Click here for more information on
Howard's Home Energy Audit Program. 

Those lucky Howard residents who win a free audit in the lottery can request TerraLogos as their auditor by emailing the County at: Energyaudit@howardcountymd.gov. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you. 

In May, the Business Performance Makeover Contest selected TerraLogos Energy Group as one of the two winners. This nationwide competition was organized by Efficiency First, the Building Performance Institute and EGIA, along with manufacturers and business service companies interested in supporting the energy efficiency industry.`

From hundreds of entries by Home Performance companies across the U.S., TerraLogos and Virginia-based Home Energy Detective were selected based on our companies' commitment to energy efficiency and our demonstrated ability to grow our businesses over the next 12 months.

Twenty-five sponsor organizations will work with our 2 companies through March 2012 to provide a prize package of in-kind products and services worth up to $50,000. We are honored to be involved in this exciting makeover process.

 Read the press release here. 

 See the contest website here.

Terra + Logos, Latin + Greek:   

1) knowledge of the earth,  

2) a Baltimore-based, locally-owned energy efficiency company working to combine that knowledge of the earth with state-of-the-art building science to transform home and workplace environments into the most advanced models of energy efficiency, comfort, and sustainable living.

In short, we are on a mission to evolve the environments in which people live, work and play to the highest standards of sustainability and comfort. Our customer focus, the depth of our experience, and our creative, expert approach enable us to integrate the technical world of building science and the personal needs and values of our customers. We bring our passion, expertise and commitment to every project to ensure its success.

As a pioneer and respected leader in the building performance industry, we approach each project individually and work with home and business owners as an active and involved partner to develop comprehensive solutions. We guide, mentor and educate, sharing the most up-to-date knowledge and insights to help make wise, informed and cost-effective decisions for both the short and long term.

Powered by Wind 

TerraLogos has been buying Green Tags for years to offset our carbon emissions and operate as a carbon neutral company.

In 2010, we took the next very easy step and started purchasing 100% wind power for all our electrical needs.  

Clean Currents  

made it so easy, we kick ourselves that we didn't

do it ages ago.

Clean Currents, a local MD based company, offers competitively priced wind power through the grid to residents and businesses in DC, MD, DE, and PA.  

We encourage you to  make the switch for yourself.