EnergyStar is the quasi-governmental “non profit” agency that monitor the appliance industry and educates consumers. They have created materials for churches which can be found at http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=small_business.sb_congregations

Their webpage includes a pamphlet for congregations, cost analysis of various energy savings, educational materials, and material & technology suggestions.

Churches in the US spend over $3 Billion dollars a year in energy. Imagine the stewardship savings if every church saved just 20% of its costs!

Case in point:

Down here on St Croix, electricity is very expensive. So we were all very much intrigued by a “solar demo home” recently built down the road. Lots of energy efficient materials and appliances. Solar water heater, solar electric panels. They even painted the house green.

But…the house is a good example of “HALF-thinking through” a problem.

1. They built the house on the dry east-end of the island …down in a hot field with no shade and where it would be out of the wind. It’s windy down here…the trades are always blowing –if you build the house in the proper location to catch the wind. They did not, and they could have.

2. There is plenty of empty land down here to build a house. They choose a hot plain, but could have moved 400 yards up the hillside where it is on average 10 degrees cooler year-round.

3. The back of the house is exposed all day to the sun, which will mean they have to keep the windows shut and run the AC. You don’t want heated breezes coming into the house.

4.  They did, however, plant the front of the house which faces away from the sun and can be seen from the road. But rather than plant desert plants, they planted palm trees and bushes, –all of which need water from the ‘grey water’ collection system they built -but which also uses electricity to filter and pump the water.

Not thinking holistically about Green Solutions is part of the problem.

• We put out recycle bins for used bulletins, but continue to produce one for every person as if sharing wasn’t a better idea. (the point… first: reduce consumption!)
• We put in big windows in our churches, but most rarely open them when the weather turns nice, –running the AC instead so people can stay cool in their traditional church clothes.
• We build high ceiling sanctuaries that will cost a fortune to light, heat and cool.
• We put in fancy thermostats but don’t seal leaky air ducts.
• We tend to plant shade trees away from the building, rather than next to it where they can do some good. Then we plant asphalt right up to the building.
• We use recycled paper in the copier, but styrofoam cups in the fellowship hall.
• etc, etc….Read the rest of this “Green Jesus” topic are for more.

EXAMPLES:

The church we now attend here sits on a hill and has large louvered windows to let in the breeze. No AC needed and we’re in a tropical environment. People dress for the weather, rather than according to tradition. Even the pastor wears “Jesus sandals.”

They don’t asphalt the parking lot because it would just heat up crazy. Rather, we have gravel which stays cooler, and is soooo much easier on the church budget.

Of course, northern churches can’t do what warm weather churches can. But there’s a lot they CAN do if they are willing to think FULLY THROUGH their issues and not just HALF the way through. 

At a former church they just built a new sanctuary. The old sanctuary was bathed in natural light from large windows on three sides. The new sanctuary is an electric company’s dream. Aesthetically, they built it in a grove of beautiful large trees on the property, but the architecture and arrangement of windows mostly ignores them and the shaded sunshine which could have been brought in.  I understand that windows cost more than bricks and are less energy efficient, but.  They also chose a high-ceiling style sanctuary which is going to be a BEAR to heat and cool.  IMHO they needed a green design that would have saved future members a kaboodle, been more interesting and less conventional, took in the surroundings more, and made a green statement.

Read the rest of my “Green Jesus” topic here for some great ideas, then think in FULL measure, not half measure.

We in the church need to avoid being “Eco Tourists.”  I’m not talking about avoiding visits to the rainforests, *smile* …I’m talking about the church equivalent of “checkbook mission.”  I’m talking about the Attention Deficit Disorder many churches suffer from. Those with ”cause de jour” -ism.  (I love metaphors).

How can you tell if your church is an “Eco Tourist” ??

Here are some signs. I’ll bet you can come up with more….

They are concerned with cutting the church’s energy bill but not with exploring alternative energy sources for their building -such as solar. (The tithing of dill and cummin problem)

They adjust thermostats but choke on the cost of correcting heating and cooling loss problems (such as better insulation around the ductwork).  (The Straining at Gnats problem)

They choose parishioner comfort and tradition over changing the habit of what we wear to church during heating/cooling periods. (The Sabbath made/not made for man problem)

They fail to use the church’s need for change, and subsequent changes, -as an educational tool and role model for members and the entire community. (the Light under a Bushel problem)

They don’t address energy and environmental policy issues beyond their church building.  (the kill the prophets problem)

They don’t address how their facility and property is affecting the environment. They recycle their Sunday Bulletins, for example, but ignore the run-off of oil and chemicals from the church parking lot and lawns, and don’t pay attention to where their trash and compostible debris ends up.  (the blind guides problem)

They don’t do a lot of ‘green’ things because it will cost money, yet they seem to have money for everything else. (the Rich Man on the road to Jericho problem)

I’ve listed a LOT of ideas in this “Green Jesus” thread to make positive changes. But perhaps the BIGGEST CHANGE we in the church could make is learning to SURROUND and STICK WITH initiatives past their short-attention lifespan. Serious change comes through holistic thinking, courageous action, and dogged perseverance.

The cost of going to church has DOUBLED within the past 2 years because gas prices have doubled.

Imagine what that means for your members who don’t live close to the church. 

An example: Jane is spending close to $500 a year on gas to go to your church.

Here’s the breakdown: Jane lives 5 miles from your church and drives the family to church each Sunday in a minivan that gets 15 miles mpg in the city. Roundtrip = 10 miles.  Rounded for the sake of argument at today’s $4+ per gallon = $3 in gas.

But Jane also brings the kids to fellowship on Wednesday night ($3), PLUS, she comes to Thursday night choir practice ($3), once a month to the Mission meeting (another $3), and once or twice a month to drop off clothing or help with a project.  All totaled, Jane is driving about 150 “church miles” a month. At 15 miles to the gallon, and $4 a gallon for gas, that’s about $40 per month or $500 a year.

Now add Jane’s husband who goes to HIS OWN events and meetings, and Jane’s teenage son who goes to youth group every Sunday. They go to church together (except when the son wants to drive his own car). Now you’re in the neighborhood of $600+ a year in gasoline just to belong to your church.

If gas goes up another 10% this year, as many experts predict, Jane’s family will need $660 to get to your church. If it goes up another 20% to $5 a gallon as some predict, then Jane’s family will need $720 just to get to your church. Now imagine the cost of this for a member who lives 10 miles away!

Studies are showing that $4 gas prices are finally forcing people to cut back their driving. As they rise, will they also force people to re-evaluate which churches they belong too?  Time will tell.

If your church is a “regional” church, such as a downtown church, then gas prices are SURE to affect many of your member’s decisions, and perhaps even their decision to join.

Things you can do to help:

1. Carpool. Help members who live at a distance to connect with each other and carpool. Carpooling might just encourage their attendance too!  …as they will be calling to remind each other about meetings and events. One simple way is to post a large map with pushpins at your church. Another way is to “sort” names in your church directory by location, rather than by alphabet, and print copies of it (and post on your website). Appoint a ‘captain’ of each ‘precinct’ to contact members about carpooling.

2. Consolidate Meeting Schedules. Look at your schedule and try to have “meeting nights” so that husband and wife who volunteer can drive together. Hold adult Bible studies during kids fellowship events.

3. Encourage alternatives to “driving to Church.”  Publish bus schedules. Encourage “BIKE NIGHTS” or “Walk-in Nights.”  Not every one could do this, but it would get the message.

4. Reduce unnecessary meetings. ’nuff said.

5. Utilize technology. Explore virtual meeting tools, such as message boards and even video cam meetings. Use email to replace “report” meetings.

6. Create “Team Huddles” that piggyback on other events they are already coming to. A team huddle is a short meeting you hold after worship, or before Bible study. (See my notes about “team huddles” in my Advice for Church Staff blog thread.)

7. Discuss with members how the cost of driving to church can be dramatically affected by having a more fuel-efficient car, …or if they have two cars in the garage to choose from, -picking the more fuel efficient car to get to church.

Addendum: If my family is spending $700 next year driving to your church, that’s money I can’t spend GIVING to the church. Now multiply that by the number of OTHER families having to spend that.

In one small church I used to belong to, I know of MANY families who lived more than 5 miles from the church. 20 families in that small church were easily living 5+ miles away. Collectively, they were spending $14,000 a year just to get to church in 2007.  

Is it better to leave the AC ON when you’re not in the building, -or- turn it OFF/warmer while you are gone, then turn it back on/down/cooler when needed ? ? ? 

The conventional wisdom is that IF you turn it OFF or “UP” (a lot warmer), then it will take a longer time and more energy to get it cool again. Therefore, they say, “leave it on, and maybe just move the thermostat’s set point to 78 when you’re gone.” Don’t let it get too hot, they say. And it makes some sense.

However… If you want to really BE green and $AVE green, conventional wisdom needs to be challenged with a more holistic understanding of the problem, and better solutions.

THE PROBLEM with “conventional wisdom” regarding AC is that it assumes all facilities, temperatures, AC units and kilowatt-costs are the same. And they’re not. What works in one church (or home, or office), is just wishful thinking in another.

Moderating the thermostat is really the LAST THING you need to do.

Why? Because if your interior space is getting SO WARM that it’s “too warm” when your AC is off, or takes too long to get cool when your AC is on, then you have more important problems to address than the set points on your thermostat.

1. Building interiors HEAT UP more than they should due to poor insulation, old-technology windows, poor roof venting, and lack of shade and green space around the exterior walls.  If it’s 90 degrees outside, and 80 inside without the AC running, you need to address these other problems. Why? Because running the air conditioner to keep a “bad building” cool is throwing money out the window (or roof, or walls). Moderating the thermostat doesn’t address the issue.

Case in point: A church I know recently upgraded their AC and thermostats, but not their uninsulated metal air ducts which ran through an overheated roof so that the “cool” air could come out of the ceiling vents in the Sanctuary. By the time the air got to the vents, it wasn’t that cool anymore. So…they had to run their new units longer than needed. They had a roof problem that needed addressed. And they also needed to insulate their airducts to reduce energy loss.

2. AC Units over the past 10 to 15 years have become 30-35% more efficient. Therefore if you have an older system, or a poorly installed and maintained one, then just keeping the room ’somewhat warm’ while you’re gone -to save 10 to 20% costs, is an actual loss of 15 to 25% due to the inefficiency of your AC.

3. Uninsulated ductwork, poorly designed ductwork, or ductwork without routing controls can also waste a lot of money. Ductwork is NOT something most heating and cooling companies pay that much attention to. Turning ON (or “down”) the AC when you get to the church …and then letting it blow through the seams in the ductwork and into every unused room (during the summer months when parts of the facility are sometimes closed), is wasteful. 

Most air ducts leak like seives because they are hastily built. Sealing seams with special tape (not duct tape which will eventually rot) will improve the air pressure in the system. And insulating air vent puts more cold air where you want it, rather than leaking it into walls and attics.

4. Clean heat exchangers are CRICITAL to saving green and truly being green.

A quick refresher: The liquid coolant that moves the heat from your building must pass through two exchangers in the typical forced air system. There’s one outside surrounding the fan (aka what most people call “the AC unit”), and there’s a second heat exchanger in your furnace (yes, in the furnace).   These exchangers are nothing more than masses of copper tubing with heat fins and a fan that blows air over them to exchange hot for cold.

The same FAN that blows your hot furnace air through your ductwork, also blows the cool air through the ductwork. Actually, it sucks the air FROM the hot room, and blows it over the heat exchanger in the furnace where the coolant filled copper coils SUCK THE HEAT out of the air as it is being forced over the coils and keeps blowing it through the ducts -sending the cooled air into the room. 

IF your heat exchanger is DIRTY, or UNDERSIZED, or if your FAN is undersized, then your efficiencies can become GREATLY reduced. Less efficient heat-cool exchange = longer time to cool the air = more $$$. 

This is why your church needs to annually clean it’s heat exchangers, both inside the furnace, and outside in the unit (those ‘fins’ of metal that surround the fan and coils can get full of grime). 

If you have an industrial strength ‘water mist’ system, it still needs cleaned from build-up.

Furnace FILTERS are an important way to maintain the heat exchange efficiency in your system. They trap airborne dust before it can accumulate on the heat exchanger fins -which it can quite easily because water condenses around the fins -trapping the dirt. A clogged furnace filter is the quickest way to throw God’s money at the electric company.  Many large units use electronic filters and self-cleaning filters. They are worth the investment, as is semi-annual maintenance.

5. Zone controls. REALLY begin Green these days means adding some smart technology. PREMISE: Not every room needs the same amount of heat and air, yet in many churches the builder put a bunch of rooms on the same thermostat. And they have too few thermostat zones. This is often the result of ”old thinking” system design when energy costs were low.  Upgrading your system should include upgrading the number of zones, and the means to direct air WITHIN the zone as needed. (It really depends on your layout and a number of other factors. This post is simply encouraging the idea!)

Advanced heating and air companies can provide you with POWERED LOUVERS inside your ductwork to control the flow of air based on temperature readings in all your rooms. It sounds expensive, but really isn’t. Now a thermostat located in the nursery and CONNECTED to the louvers can automatically direct more cold air or heat AS IT NEEDS IT, without blasting the other rooms/zones. Powered booster fans. The tech is cheap, simple to retrofit, and saves money and energy.

With a little bit of thinking and technology, in the summer you can have the office set to 73, the hallway at 76, and the bathrooms at 78. You just need thermostatically controlled vents inside your ductwork. 

While we’re on the subject of “zones” … installing doors at specific locations to keep cool or heated air in the right place is another way to create and manage zones in your facility.  In one former church, the single door to the outside near the fellowship hall SUCKED the expensive and nicely cool air out of Fellowship Hall every time the outside door was opened, which was frequently as kids came in and out.  They had the same problem during the winter… this old-tech single metal door sucked the heat out of the hallway in the winter, -which triggered all the thermostats to call for more heat. That single door was literally sucking money out of the church.

5. Other Tips   Metal roofs reflect more heat than shingle roofs, and last longer. Add a thermostatically controlled attic fan to the church’s attic. Lighter shade church building materials reflect more sunlight/heat. Ceiling fans actually do work because they improve the distribution of cool/hot air in the room if you have the fan blades circulating in the right direction. And if you have a standard forced air system, don’t put your AC units up on a flat roof or next to the parking lot. The radiant heat from the tar roof and asphalt will kill your efficiency and equipment life expectancy.

Going the extra “audit” mile…

Most churches are not designed to be green. Most were built in an era of cheap energy. Thus, congregations today have to be smart and holistic in going green and saving money.  Most could benefit from an energy audit. Some heating and cooling companies provide such expert service. All the others will claim to, though the “audit” may be little more than a sales checklist. If the energy auditor doesn’t record ACTUAL temperatures, and address the REASONS why a building doesn’t stay cool, it isn’t much of an audit. 

You also want to see some MATH… The auditor needs to calculate the total amount of air mass that needs moved over the heat exchanger (measured in “tons”) in order to properly SIZE the capacity of the units that need to be installed, AND to size the ductwork. Big units with improperly sized ductwork or exchangers are just another way to waste money. There IS an art and science to all this.

Yes, it will cost more to have a trained energy expert to do the study, but it will pay for itself, and allow you to keep your principles in truth, rather than just lipservice.  

An energy expert will also be able to share with you many other things particular to your building that will help you get green-er, and keep more of your green.

Speaking of “green” …don’t forget the greenspace around your building. Shade trees are God’s own air conditioners (see my post about this in this Green Jesus blog thread).

…..So yes, turn “up” or “down” the thermostat when your not in the building, but make it the LAST energy efficient thing you do, not the “only.”

Humans and churches have a habit of getting all fired up about the “cause de jour.”  These days that includes the environment. We talk in SAINTLY TERMS about saving the environment, and being good stewards of creation, but let’s be honest: what motivates MOST change is not altruism. It’s the fear of pain, loss, even death that usually motivates people. Prius sales are going up not because they are cool eco-friendlier cars, but because gas prices are rising. (Maybe some day ugly cars will be cool, but this is America for now).

Worldwide Fact:  When something gets expensive, people tend to use LESS of it, or figure out ways to conserve it.  This is why Hilary and McCain’s Federal Gas Rebate stump pledge is RIDICULOUS. Making it cheaper will just mean people will use more of it. Not very environmentally sound of them.  

Reality Check: Yes, gas prices are hard on working people, but is carpooling such a bad idea?  Higher energy prices are here to stay. For 90% of Americans, it simply means less money to spend on expensive cell phones, ipods, and eating out.  Time to stop the whining and start changing our wasteful habits.

Thomas Friedman is one of my favorite columnists, and perhaps one of the finest global thinkers of our generation.  He’s a bit of a contrarian too, which suits me fine.  For years he has been advocating making gasoline MORE expensive to GOAD consumers and car makers into more efficient behaviors. He continues to talk about it and it’s well worth reading pretty much everything he writes. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/opinion/14friedman.html   

The Apostle Paul would agree.

He wrote in Romans that “the wages of sin is death.”  God has designed a world that assumes we need NEGATIVE consequences to curb our bad behaviors. 

So how can we use Paul’s “wages of sin” principle to help the church get “greener” ?  

… We do it by programming some “negative consequences” into our schedule and habits. We hit ourselves  where it hurts AND where we can save money, AND where the change will be HIGHLY VISIBLE so that it might also inspire others.

Example #1
What if we turned off our air-conditioning on Sunday morning? What would be “the consequences” ?

• People might dress lighter in the summer.
• Services might shorten up a bit (never a bad thing)
• Might serve lemonade during worship (that would be friendly!)
• People might think of ways to turn down/up at home.

Too crazy for you? … what is you simply instituted and “AC FREE JUNE.”

Example #2
What if we CLOSED the church during the heat of the day each summer?

• The office staff might actually go out and visit people (in their air-conditioned homes)
• We might find that summer office hours are a ridiculous expense anyway, and staff can work from home for two months out of the year, half the day.
• We might plan more evening events/hours

Example #3

What is we instituted a “February is Carpool for Jesus Month” as part of our Lenten Practice

“Give up driving half empty for Lent.”

• Imagine the ACTUAL FELLOWSHIP that would rise up from members actually having to contact each other, go to each other’s homes in order to get to church!  And imagine the degree to which it would encourage ATTENDANCE because people were calling each other to ask for a ride to something.  A new kind of “Global Warming” could be the side effect

(And I’m going to put the youth group at the front door of the church with a donation box. It costs you $5 to drive up with fewer than 3 people in your car. )

My point: Like Friedman and Paul note, we need to APPLY SOME PAIN to make some gains.

And the odd thing is, “some pain” might actually be quite fun. Lemonade in the pews = TASTY.

Just scratching the surface here. Your ideas welcome….

Once upon a time, the cost of energy was so cheap churches could afford inefficient thinking and design when it came to their heating and cooling needs at churches

My former church was a perfect example of poor design. The thermostats for the Sunday School classrooms were in the HALLWAYS.  The doors to the outside were also in the hallway. On winter mornings, cold air blasted through the doors with each student arrival. And of course, the thermostats felt that blast of air and hallway temp, and thought it needed to trigger the furnace, which only made the classrooms HOT. 

Question: What’s worse?   a) Wasted money, b) Wasted energy, c) Or Hot grumpy kids and teachers?
Answer:  Not realizing you can cure all three problems!

The teachers (and I) complained, and the response was to close some of the vents in the classrooms, -which of course didn’t stop the furnace from blazing away. For 5 years I pointed out that MOVING the thermostats was the only reasonable solution. The year I left that church, they had moved ONE of the thermostats –the one which controlled the adult classroom.

I guess that’s better than what other churches do: they put a lock box on the thermostat. And the way we worked around that (other than with a screwdriver) was to open windows in the middle of winter. It was a cheap solution in the days of cheap energy. But these days, we need to be SMARTER, not only to conserve energy and save money, but to HONOR volunteers and students by helping them be comfortable.

But even properly located thermostats can be IMPROPERLY USED. 

Every Sunday morning in my former church, a designated gentleman arrived early to turn up the heat in the sanctuary to 70 degrees. But by the time 140 people got in there, the room temp was well above 70 degrees. Up front under the lights, it could be 76/78.  So they’d turn it back down sometime during the first part of the service when people were complaining. What was WASTED was the energy used to get the temp to 70. The temp should have been set to 66/67, taking into account the 5 or 6 additional degrees of heat the WORSHIPPERS would bring to the sanctuary.  This small mistake cost the church hundreds of dollars a year in wasted energy, and quite a bit of lack of attention created by the sleepy heat.

Part of the problem is the ridiculously ARCHAIC design of most heating/air/duct systems. For example, most furnaces sold today still only have ONE speed for their fan, and ONE setting for heat –on or off.  That’s Crazy. But so is the duct work. You’d think BY NOW they’d realize that the air will be less hot and less cool when it reaches the FARTHEST vent in the system –and that means the people in the “far room” want more heat. So the people closest to the furnace boil, or turn off their vent. And most of the air ducts are leaky sieves. Some of the hot and cool (read: expensive) air you push through the pipes gets wasted in the walls, basement and attic. Such an inefficient system was overlooked when gas cost 50 cents a gallon, and natural gas was pennies a cubic foot.  It’s inefficient, expensive, wasteful and theologically unacceptable today.

One answer for the 21st Century Green Jesus Church is to install a fully sensor-equipped, computer controlled, motorized vent, variable speed HVAC system. Yes, it will cost more to install. But it will save money every year, and create more COMFORT in all your spaces. It will also educate your parishioners about how THEY can conserve energy at home.

The government’s ENERGY STAR initiative has an excellent website that includes numerous helpful articles for churches:  http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=congregations_guidebook.congregations_guidebook_hvac

Short of replacing your system, you CAN retrofit vents with inexpensive motorized dampers which respond to relatively inexpensive retrofitted thermostats/control panels.  Booster fans can also be easily added to “longrun” vents –improving the distribution of your GOLD …which is to say, your cold or warm air.

You can also RELOCATE thermostats to their proper locations (not in hallways!), and remember to adjust vents in classrooms in the fall and in the spring to “balance” the distribution of heat and air-conditioning.

Consult a local energy/hvac expert for help in winning your church’s thermostat war.  And remember, it’s not just MONEY you want to save… you want to redeem everyone’s attitude towards wasting resources.

<>< Neil

PS… Remember to read my other post here in this blog about SHADE TREES near your building. Blocking intense sunlight on your church roof, blocking heat distribution from your large asphalt parking lot, and blocking cold winter winds will help your HVAC system work more efficiently and SAVE YOU MONEY, while conserving precious resources.

Anyone who has stood in the church parking lot at noon after worship during the summer knows that black asphalt slabs are energy monsters They store massive amounts of heat, and raise the temperature of the air around your church as much as 20 degrees above what a grassy area would. In conservation and meteorological studies, they are referred to as “heat islands.” On a micro scale -they hold heat near your building –fighting with your air-conditioning, raising your energy bills, and drying out grass and gardens.

Parking lots STORE heat and dissipate it right into your building -even after the sun goes down.  And the closer the lot is to your building, the great the heat transfer. It’s made even worse by the typical brick and stone materials which many churches are made out of. In one church I used to go to, the asphalt parking lot was just six feet from the brick wall of the church …and this proximity ran for 200 feet down the building without a single tree shading the area. (Yet the church had dozens of mature trees on the opposite side of the building where there was no parking lot). 

This all costs you money because the AC inside the church has to work overtime battling your asphalt slab. Money in energy, and money in the eventual wear and tear on the equipment.

Two fixes are regularly touted by conservation groups, city planners and landscape architects:

1. Plant trees!
2. Consider alternative materials to black asphalt.

For most churches, TREES are a very good answer.

“The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten room-size air conditioners operating 20 hours a day.”

 - U.S. Department of Agriculture

“Trees properly placed around buildings can reduce air conditioning needs by 30 percent and can save 20 – 50 percent in energy used for heating.” 

-  USDA Forest Service

We all know that planting trees improves the environment. Trees suck carbon dioxide and provide habitat. But they can also shade your parking lot, which in turn reduces the amount of heated air next to your buildling. that means your air conditioning bills and the ac mechanicals get a break. It will also require less water for your church gardens and grass.

For more technical help, consult the Federal Urban Foresty website design recommendations at http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/uf/techguide/toc.htm  Or visit numerous “Urban Forestry” websites for advice, including http://www.milliontrees.slco.org/html/rightTree/TreesForEnergyWind.html

TIPS:

== Don’t put parking lots right next to your building. Keep your heat island away from the building.

== Plant the CORRECT KIND of trees in islands in the parking lot. You don’t want the kind that will bust up the pavement. Pick local varieties that grow slow, have deep roots (typically that means non-flowering, but ask an arborist), and grow upwards rather than horizontally.

== Border your parking lot with heat tolerant grassy strips, native grass plants, and TALL shade producing trees.

== Do not ”plant” air conditioning units near the asphalt. Put them in a cool shady spot. This will improve their efficiency. (work easier = more $ savings, plus fewer repairs, and better cooling when it’s really hot)

== Ornamental trees are nice to look at, but they don’t produce as much shade as a taller tree. They also require more maintenance, are more prone to bugs and fungus (and thus need chemicals), and don’t last as long in the landscape. Oak trees, by contrast, live to be 100, don’t bust up pavement (they send their roots deep) and are a better symbol of your contribution to the FUTURE.

== Plant drought resistant native grasses and perennials plants and native perennial flowers near your parking lot (anywhere for that matter), RATHER THAN ANNUALS which require water (and money every year).  Save your “good looking” floral budget for the front door area.

== Pour cool concrete near the doors, and shade the entry. The main church door is a major point of loss for your expensive energy dollars.   If you’re remodeling, install a set of double doors (an airlock) to conserve energy.

== Change your “Door Use Strategy.” Doors that get constant use allow heating and cooling (money) to escape. Most churches have several doors which members use to enter and exit to the parking lot. During the summer and winter months talk to your members, and put a sign on your doors CLOSEST the parking lot asking members not to use them, or not to leave them open. Stop the transfer of money out of your building. 

== Look at the windows facing the parking lot or exposed to the sun. An inexpensive reflective film on those windows will dramatically reduce the radiant energy coming in from the asphalt and sunlight. “Films” have come a long way and aren’t just the ‘mirrored’ type you might be thinking of.

== Place Evergreens on the windward side of your building to block winter wind chills from raising your heating bills.

BTW: Where does your church parking lot drain to? 
While not the subject of this particular thread, it’s worth looking into. Water runoff is a problem in most cities. Contact your local water/sewer or environmental department about what you can do to plant a retainment area into your property. Such retainment areas can not only help reduce flooding, they can help CLEAN the water running off the lot -which usually had a higher degree of petroleum biproducts from all the cars.

Additionally, there are several new pourous asphalt technologies being used across the country which allow water to percolate through the parking lot and replenish the surrounding aquifer rather than being carried off. For more info, visit http://www.pavegreen.com/

Other suggestons welcome!

<>< Neil

1.  Install Motion Switches in Church Bathrooms. This idea comes from raising three daughters, none of whom could turn off a bathroom light to save their life. I replaced the standard switch with a rotary timer switch they could turn to get up to 45 minutes. GE smarthome products, among others, sell motion sensor switches that replace your regular wall switches. Typically, they can be set to keep the lights on up to 20 minutes at a time.

2.  Get your church out of Hot Water
When was the last time you needed hot water at the church? Exactly. Yet there sits the church hot water heater wasting money. You don’t need it in the bathrooms (and scientifically speaking, you’d burn people’s hands if you turned it up hot enough to actually disinfect something. The only place you might need really hot water is in the kitchen. So do this: replace that heater with an “instant-on” “hot water on demand” style heater. Or, get a much smaller water heater for the kitchen (you probably have a big 40 gallon tank in there now).

According to the US Department of Energy website, newer flourescent fixtures have newer technology in them that is more energy efficient.

Quote: There are new, even more efficient lamps that use better electrodes and coatings than do older fluorescent lamps. These lamps produce about the same lumen output with substantially lower wattage.

Common 40-watt and 75-watt lamps can be replaced with energy-saving lamps of 34 watts and 60 watts, respectively. Energy-saving lamps for less-common fluorescent fixtures are also available.

If you need to replace the ballasts in your fluorescent fixtures, consider using one of the improved varieties. These fluorescent ballasts, called improved electromagnetic ballasts and electronic ballasts, raise the efficiency of the fixture 12%–30%.

Newer electromagnetic ballasts reduce ballast losses, fixture temperature, and system wattage. Because they operate at cooler temperatures, they last longer than standard electromagnetic ballasts.

Electronic ballasts operate at a very high frequency that eliminates flickering and noise. They are even more efficient than improved electromagnetic ballasts. Some electronic ballasts even allow you to operate the fluorescent lamp on a dimmer switch, which usually is not recommended with most fluorescents.

http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/lighting_daylighting/index.cfm/mytopic=12260

Replacing your out-dated fixtures could save you big money in the long run, and help the environment. I know most of the classrooms and church offices I’ve been in have OLD fixtures on the ceilings.

Maybe you could get individual members to “Adopt a Fixture for the Future”  and make a donation to replace “their light” so that they can “let their light shine before others.”  Catchy, huh?

Disposal Note: Old tubes have trace amounts of MERCURY in them. The electrical ballasts in the fixtures should also be disposed of properly, and the fixture should be recycled if possible. Contact your local waste management company for information and the location where you should take them.

Your church facility and programming not only impacts the environment negatively, it spends money doing it. Going green-er and saving money is a good thing. The church’s facility and programming can also be a FLOURESCENT LIGHT ON A HILL to individual members and their own Green efforts.

I’ll be sharing ideas, and collecting Green Jesus resource links and notes here. I INVITE your comments and suggestions as well. Please!

<>< Neil 

April 2008