YOU TOO CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE
at Your House-Of-Worship
Houses-of-Worship are among the absolute worst sources of waste and inefficiency imaginable. But there is hope. Read these stories of houses-of-worship that made huge strides in reducing energy use and offsetting remaining use and prompting environmental responsibility in their community.
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Energy conservation capital and Management actions |
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Reductions in CO2 emissions and energy costs |
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On December 5, 2009 congregation members, MIP&L volunteers, and professionals from Next Step Living interior "storm" windows, and insulated walls and the basement door. They installed CFLs, lowered water use via faucet aerators and lo-flow showerheads, and adjusted the hot water temperature to "just right" to lower cost of gas to heat the water. |
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Houses-Of-Worship are being greened. And the members are taking it to heart and making it happen in their homes. Read about their efforts: Temple Beth Shalom's switch to high-efficiency boilers is resulting in about $3,500 reduction in heating cost. The Congregational Church of Needham is projecting a 15% saving on the electric bill just from the "low-hanging" fruit, the installation of CFL light bulbs. And consider First Parish (UU), which did a huge amount of work on its building. New heating, major reconstruction, lots and lots of insulation, and high-efficiency boiler and domestic hot water is bringing costs down as much as 50%, and that with a building that is 25% bigger and better!!! And the community — as well as the HOWs — are being helped by the Green Needham Collaborative. Its 10% Energy Challenge encourages households to sign up to reduce their household energy consumption by at least 10%. Click here to learn more about the collaborative. |
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During 2009 Boston Synagogue reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by 70 %, from over 200,000 lbs to just over 80,000 lbs. Their annual energy costs decreased by 57 % during this period, to about $6,800 as compared to about $15,750. Also, their annual repair and maintenance bills dropped significantly. As a result,the estimated payback time on their capital investment is approximately 5 years. |
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In-floor radiant heating puts heat where the people are, with their feet on the floor. To make things better, the congregation upgraded to high-efficiency boilers, with a 40% drop in cost for heating! |
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Click here to see the clip. Click here for a PDF of the report. |
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Cathedral of St. Paul/Episcopal Diocese
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40% reduction in energy use by change from steam to hydronic heating. |
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Address heating and lighting |
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Cost/benefit analysis of boilers |
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Solar energy works! Sun Power for the Town of Westwood has shown that a community can pull resources together to create a sustainable future for their residents. |
