For the second year in a row, Chuck Miller of Miller Custom Homes is promising extraordinary energy savings for whoever buys his Homearama showcase home. And this year his home, designated The Mothership, is taking those savings to a new level.

Miller has upped the ante with this home, promising it will only cost the homeowners $115 a month for heating and air conditioning for the 6,571 square foot home. Additionally, with the photovoltaic solar panels providing a substantial portion of the home’s energy, the homeowners will actually be able to sell energy back to the power company, decreasing their overall energy costs by an estimated $100 a month, bringing the cost down to about $15.

And the solar panels are just the beginning of all the energy efficient products and green building practices being incorporated into this home. As with Miller’s 2007 Homearama entry, The Mothership is an EarthCraft House certified home. EarthCraft House is a green building program that provides homebuilders with a set of guidelines to construct energy-efficient and environmentally friendly homes.

The entire house is blanketed with a PolySteel insulated concrete form made from cement, sand and gravel. This insulated concrete form conserves lumber, saves energy and is not made from, nor does it emit chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) into the environment.

The Energy Star certified concrete form results in much tighter construction of the home and conserves heating and cooling energy better than traditional wood frame houses, reducing energy bills and allowing for the use of smaller sized heating and cooling equipment.

Lumber is also being conserved in a number of other different ways throughout the home. Wood finger joints were created using scrap pieces of wood, a wood-look resin molding is used throughout the house and the home will also utilize reclaimed cabinetry salvaged from an old barn.

The home also has a gray water recycling system, which reuses water from the home’s sinks, showers and laundry facilities to flush the toilets. This lowers both fresh water use and wastewater flow, resulting in less strain on municipal water treatment systems.

Other energy saving features that were found in Miller’s 2007 Homearama showcase home have also been incorporated into The Mothership, such as the geo-thermal HVAC system which uses natural energy from the Earth to heat and cool the home, and the tankless hot water heater, which provides an endless supply of hot water and saves energy by using gas only when needed to heat the water.

All of these energy efficient features are topped off by a simulated slate shingled roof made from recycled rubber. It carries a 50-year warranty, which, in effect, means the home’s roof is guaranteed to last throughout the typical 30-year mortgage and far beyond.

True to form, Miller is again merging the practicality of green building with the traditionally gracious lifestyle setting of the annual Homearama event. The five bedroom, four and-a-half bathroom Georgian style home is adorned with an all brick exterior and has front and rear porches. The kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room are equipped with granite countertops and all of the windows throughout the entire home sport marble windowsills.

The home also has a large entertainment room equipped with both pool and poker tables, a 120 square foot butler’s pantry with built-in shelving, and an elegant wine room finished with rustic old country field stone walls. The outdoor living area includes an in-ground swimming pool, an outdoor cooking center and a unique stone meditation labyrinth sponsored by the Edgar Cayce Association.

For information about the EarthCraft House program, visit www.earthcrafthouse.com.

The Mothership is one of seven showcase homes on display at Homearama 2008, Oct. 3 - 19 at Ashville Park in Virginia Beach. The event is open from noon until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Admission is $10 for adults and free for children 12 and under. More information is available at www.homearama.tv.