Houses Of Worship Often Overlooked When Discussing Energy Efficiency
By Scott Kriner, Green Metal Consulting
Energy efficiency is the rage with building owners these days. This is especially the case with the unrest in the Middle East creating uncertainty over the supply and cost of oil. Many programs, incentives, mandates, and codes take aim at commercial and residential buildings. And rightfully so. One type of building that is often overlooked when it comes to energy efficiency is the Religious Building category.
In non-residential construction, Religious Buildings make up only 2.3% of the market. However, there are an estimated 450,000 houses of worship in the United States. And most of us know that many of these buildings are poorly insulated, drafty and energy guzzlers.
These types of buildings are certainly not high occupancy or heavy use buildings. But they are certainly multi-use buildings with large open spaces, sanctuaries, offices, classrooms, recreation halls, large kitchens and restrooms. This poses a challenge to improving energy efficiency and making other sustainable improvements.
But have faith! All of the major religions in this country have already embraced the notion that stewardship of our resources is a core principle of our beliefs. In fact, books on Ecology and Religion have been published for all faiths. In the US, the Interfaith Power and Light organization is promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and conservation in over 10,000 congregations across 30 states. Similar efforts are taking place in the Jewish, Islamic, Catholic, and Evangelical denominations across this country.
In Pennsylvania, the Interfaith Coalition on Energy has been working with houses of worship on highly technical efforts to lower their energy consumption. In my corner of the world, I’ve been promoting a program called the “Genesis Project” to raise the awareness of houses of worship about the opportunities to lower their energy consumption, water usage, solid waste stream and emissions.
Just like in any other type of building, a church, synagogue or mosque can make an impact on the triple bottom line, as the USGBC often refers to – the People, the Planet, and the Profit. The people that worship, study and work in houses of worship can have their experiences greatly enhanced with improvements to the indoor environment. Most of us probably agree that changes to air quality, acoustics, and overall thermal comfort could be made in our houses of worship. Religious buildings have an impact on the planet just like other types of buildings. Efforts to reduce energy, water, and waste, combined with the use of more sustainable products and systems have a positive impact on our environment. And despite the fact that houses of worship are for non-profit activity, there are many costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the facilities. With limited revenue in many cases, finding ways to reduce these costs and lower life cycle costs of all systems, can be just as good as increased revenue in the offering plates.
In most cases, if we treated our houses of worship just like our homes, some of these improvements would take place. Turning off lights when leaving a room, fixing leaky faucets, caulking drafty windows or door openings, printing on two sides of paper, and replacing old appliances with Energy Star products can be applied anywhere. It is often a mind set of a congregation that has to be changed in order to realize the benefits.
In my home church we have adopted the Genesis Project concepts. To date we have replaced all inefficient lighting with CFL bulbs, T-8 fluorescent bulbs, and LED Exit signs. In addition, we have replaced conventional light switching with occupancy sensors in the office and certain restrooms. This year we are focused on more recycling programs within the church. Our local trash hauler can convert one of our dumpsters into a container used for anything recyclable. Items placed in that dumpster are hauled away and sorted at an outside facility into specific recycling streams.
We are also taking aim at the waste that occurs in the office. The use, and cost, of wasted paper, toner, inkjet cartridges, and other supplies are under the microscope. Through the use of more electronic communications with the members, such as email notices, website information, and announcement monitors throughout the building, we are already seeing a drop in the amount of paper needed. Something as simple as changing the default setting on a printer to “two-sided” can have a significant impact as well.
The bold change now under consideration at my church is the use of compostable utensils, plates and cups for coffee hours, and light lunch servings. This will take more education and demonstrations to convince our members that a compostable coffee cup will not disintegrate in your hands. But if successful with this effort, we will significantly reduce our solid waste stream going to landfills.
Our challenge in today’s world of sustainability and energy savings is to look for opportunities in all types of buildings. Religious buildings can benefit from utility rebates, insurance incentives, and state/local benefits just as well as other types of buildings. But most importantly, the Good Book tells us that we are to be good stewards of the Earth and “… to dress it and to keep it”. We are today’s stewards of the next generation.
Scott Kriner is the president and founder of Green Metal Consulting Inc. He is a LEED Accredited Professional who began his career in the metal construction industry in 1981. His company is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the California Association of Building Energy Consultants and the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET). Scott can be reached by email at skriner1@verizon.net or by phone at (610) 966-2430. You can also visit him on the web at www.greenmetalconsulting.com.
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