Success Story: North Oxnard Methodist Church

Partner Information

Located in Oxnard, CA
Cash Savings: $2,600 annually
Energy Savings: 10,400 kWh per year
350,000 gallons of water per year
Prevented 13,000 pounds of CO₂ per year of pollution

Leading By Example

North Oxnard United Methodist Church (NOUMC) is a small but active congregation located in a coastal area of California noted for cool summer breezes and mild winters. The church provides various ministries including a full-time preschool, United Methodist Women, a youth group, and a Bible study. NOUMC also offers use of its facilities to a local Orthodox Presbyterian congregation. These facilities consist of a multi-use building built in the 1960s that houses a sanctuary, a fellowship area, a kitchen, classrooms, an office, and storage areas.

While seeking a solution to ongoing financial concerns, one member recognized an opportunity to both save money and help the environment by finding out about implementing energy-efficiency strategies. The idea grew from making several minor changes into performing a detailed energy audit that identified the most cost-effective options for upgrading and repairing facilities. (An energy audit is a fundamental tool in any energy-efficiency plan.) In NOUMC’s case, the audit revealed opportunities to improve lighting, heating, and plumbing systems. It served as a guide to implementing energy-efficiency and conservation measures in order of effectiveness as funds became available. In addition, the audit allowed the congregation to skip projects not justified by the benefits.

Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees

It’s sometimes very hard to find the money for an energy upgrade—even when you know it is the right thing to do—if there are other pressing needs. NOUMC overcame the problem initially by relying on targeted donations to fund enough of the work to convince decision makers of the benefits. Some of the savings from the early projects went to fund additional upgrades, thus yielding even greater environmental and economic benefits. This approach virtually eliminated any short-term impact on the congregation’s budget. Savings were almost immediate.

NOUMC has been implementing beneficial energy-efficiency upgrades since September 1997 and plans to continue.

Light My Way

Due to the mild climate, lighting enhancements became the major focus of the energy-efficiency strategy. Replacing inefficient incandescent lights with new fluorescent technologies is one of the best ways to move out of the costly and polluting darkness and into the low-cost and sustainable light! NOUMC began its lighting initiative by replacing 18 90-watt incandescent reflector-type lamps with 18 22-watt compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). When light output was reduced, the congregation slightly modified the fixtures to improve light distribution and enhance visual comfort.

The lighting upgrade also involved replacing various other incandescent lights with extremely efficient modular CFLs, plus an important conservation project that replaced 30 40-watt T-12 tubes with similar 25-watt fluorescent tubes. In addition to saving money, this approach also reduced the time spent replacing burned-out incandescent bulbs.

Saving Water Makes Sense

Water conservation not only protects one of our nation’s most precious resources, it also has a surprisingly beneficial impact on energy conservation. Using less water means less water pumped and less water heated, ultimately leading to less electricity purchased from inefficient power plants!

NOUMC set out to fix leaky faucets, replace a leaky old 7-gallon-per-flush toilet with a new, efficient 1.6-gallon-per-flush unit, and closely monitor leaks.

Parting With An Old Friend

In many cases, cranky old refrigerators are massive consumers of electricity. In many religious facilities, old refrigerators often become more like valued old friends than appliances. Their leaky old seals, inefficient compressors, and poor insulation do run up electricity and maintenance bills. You know you should let go, but you just can’t say goodbye. However, NOUMC did manage to replace two old inefficient refrigerators with much newer and more efficient models.

Encouraging Others

NOUMC’s ongoing water and energy-efficiency program has provided positive recognition for the congregation within the California-Pacific Conference of the United Methodist Church, which has allowed NOUMC to take a leadership role in encouraging other churches to do utility audits and upgrades.

In addition, the savings from the program have allowed the congregation to move forward with important new nurturing, outreach, and witness programs.

NOUMC already saves $2,600 annually on energy bills.

• Energy savings:
  10,400 kWh per year
  350,000 gallons of water per year
• Prevented 13,000 pounds of CO₂ per year

North Oxnard United Methodist Church
Vern Novstrup, member
1801 Joliet Place
Oxnard, CA 93030
(805) 485-0778

“Not moving ahead on energy conservation programs because you can’t afford it is a bit like refusing to swim because you are drowning.”

— Vern Novstrup
Member
North Oxnard United Methodist Church

Success Story: First Christian Church

Partner Information

Located in Des Moines, IA
72,000 sq. ft. church
Annual Cash Savings: $6,000
Annual Energy Savings: 87,114 kWh
Payback period: 3–4 years
Prevented 120,000 lbs. of pollution

“Go for it! Compact fluorescents and motion sensors will pay back quickly, and T-8s with electronic ballasts are the way to go. Do maintenance on a regular basis.” — Mike Henderson Building Engineer

Church Equates Energy Efficiency with Stewardship

The First Christian Church in Des Moines, IA, knows that good stewardship not only means tending to a congregation, but also reducing energy use so that the pollution caused by generating electricity is lessened - thus helping ensure a better environment for everyone.

Because of its extensive efforts to lower its energy consumption while maintaining a comfortable atmosphere for its congregation, the First Christian Church received a year 2000 ENERGY STAR for Congregations Award.

Lighting the Way

Mike Henderson, the building engineer for the church, says the church took a number of steps to lower its energy consumption. Not only did it install highly efficient equipment, but it also set up a maintenance schedule to ensure that everything continues to run smoothly. Henderson has a bit of advice for anyone considering improving the energy efficiency for their congregation’s facilities: “Go for it!” Although some congregations might be resistant to change, Henderson says that once they learn the benefits of implementing energy saving measures, they will embrace the idea enthusiastically.

The first step the church took was to upgrade to high efficiency lighting. Compact fluorescent lamps, which are designed to fit into standard incandescent lamp fixtures, and T-8 fluorescent lamps with electronic ballasts were installed throughout the church to save energy and improve the overall quality of the church’s lighting. In addition, the church installed occupancy sensors to automatically turn off lamps when not needed, highly efficient light emitting diode (LED) exit signs, and timers on outdoor lights. Not only do the lighting improvements save energy dollars, but since the fluorescent and LED lights have a life span much greater than standard incandescent lamps, they save money on maintenance.

Saving Energy = Effective Stewardship

To save energy dollars and improve the comfort of the building, the church plans to install variable speed drives on its air-handling units to increase energy efficiency.

In addition, the church has improved building insulation, thus ensuring that energy isn’t unnecessarily lost through the building’s walls and ceilings.

A Star in the Firmament

Installing highly efficient equipment saves energy, but Henderson knows that proper maintenance also affects energy costs. As part of its efforts, the church has tuned up its heating equipment, upgraded its boiler controls, and set up a maintenance schedule.

Henderson says there are several benefits the church has received through its energy saving efforts. The church is saving approximately $6,000 annually — money the church can use for its own church and community programs. The church saves on the time required for maintenance, especially the time required to replace lights. And, safety and security in the church have been improved because of the installation of occupancy sensors, which automatically turn on lights when a person enters a darkened section of the building.

Because of its many efforts to save energy and reduce the production of pollution caused by generating electricity while maintaining and even improving the comfort and safety of its building, the First Christian Church received a year 2000 ENERGY STAR for Congregations Award.

Success Story: Hebron Baptist Church

Partner Information

Hebron Baptist Church, Dacula, Georgia
Annual cash savings: $32,000
Annual kWh savings: 450,000
Prevented 1 million pounds of CO2 emmission

Service and Product Provider

U.S. Energy Capital Corporation 
1540 Highway 138, Suite 3D
Conyers, GA 30013
Jim Borland, President
Phone: 1-800-562-1659

The Hebron Baptist church in Dacula, Georgia is illuminated not only by its bright and cheerful congregation, but by a new and improved energy-efficient lighting system! The Hebron Baptist church cares about the stewardship of creation, and understands how important it is not to waste energy or their operating budget. That is why they completed an energy-efficient lighting upgrade project that will ensure energy and dollar savings, and prevent pollution for many years to come. Hebron Baptist’s efforts can be appreciated by all who care about the environment and want clean air for future generations.

Hebron Baptist’s lighting upgrade was managed by Jim Borland’s U.S. Energy Capital, which provides innovative financing and management for energy efficiency upgrade projects all across the country. According to U.S. Energy Capitol, most financing packages can be structured to always produce positive cash flow for the end user. In the case of Hebron Baptist, after receiving almost a thousand new high quality energy-efficient lamps, their monthly loan payment was approximately $1,300 but their utility bill savings were over $2,700 per month! That’s $1,400 a month savings for the life of the equipment that goes directly to Hebron Baptist. Now that’s a good deal.

Over 900 fixtures were enhanced during the lighting upgrade project at Hebron Baptist. Older, inefficient lights were replaced by new T8 flourescent lights with electronic ballasts, reflectors were installed to improve light output, and 300 exit signs were converted to energy-efficient LED lamps. In addition to the energy and pullution savings provided by the new and more efficient lights, the overall quality of lighting was improved throughout the church.

The lighting project at Hebron Baptist is saving approximately $32,000 a year in church expenses, 450,000 kilowatt hours of energy, and preventing the release of more than 1 million pounds of CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from entering the air we breath.

The best part is that Hebron Baptist Church achieved savings and prevented tons of extraordinary energy pollution with no out of pocket expenses. This is a great example of creation stewardship benefiting the earth and a congregation’s budget.

Let light shine with better bulbs

Published: Thu, August 21, 2008 @ 12:00 a.m.

By Linda M. Linonis
Sixty of 95 churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio have already changed light bulbs.


Genesis 1:3 reads, “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Sunlight and moonlight are free. Man-made lighting costs money.


That’s why the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is promoting good stewardship of resources in the face of rising utility costs. The diocese has started a program to reduce its carbon footprint by exchanging incandescent bulbs in its churches for compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).


The Right Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr., bishop of the diocese, challenged the 95 Episcopal churches in the diocese, covering the northern part of the state, to replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs. He also asked parishioners to try CFLs in the five most-used light bulbs in their homes.


Martha Wright, diocese communications officer, said the communications office used a light-hearted approach with press releases titled, “The Bishop Sees the Light,” and information explaining CFLs with the question, “How many light bulbs does it take to change an Episcopalian?”


Wright said the diocese is helping churches meet the bishop’s challenge. Technical Control Products provided the diocese with bulbs at a discount. The CFL manufacturer, based in Aurora, produces the bulbs in China.


So far, 60 churches have changed 5,431 bulbs, and the process is continuing. Wright said the exchange will result in an estimated savings of more than $298,700 to the Episcopal Church over the next nine years.


Wright explained that CFLs use 75 percent less electricity than incandescents and release 75 percent less mercury by reducing the amount of coal needed to power incandescent bulbs. Use of the CFLs also will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3,640,000 pounds and mercury emissions by some 41,000 milligrams in the next nine years, she added.


Mercury in the CFL bulbs is protected by a ceramic case so that breaking a bulb will not release mercury into the atmosphere, Wright said. If the ceramic case is broken, the amount of mercury that escapes is about 4 to 5 milligrams, or about 1,000 times less than the exposure to mercury from a broken thermostat, she said.
Since it saved money when it bought the CFLs, Wright said, the diocese was able to provide 50 extra bulbs to each church to give to members for home use. The diocese also is distributing recycling boxes to churches for burned-out CFLs.
St. John’s Episcopal Church, 323 Wick Ave., is among the churches involved. The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson, curate (assistant priest) at the church, said the diocese project is an outgrowth of the United Nations Millenium Development Goals, specifically the one that addresses environmental sustainability.


The Rev. Mr. Williamson said for individual churches it comes down to two aspects — “It saves money that can be used to support other ministries, such as feeding the hungry, and missions.


“God gave us creation and it’s up to us to work with the planet,” he said.
On a world scale, there are other considerations.


“Our wastefulness affects other people,” he said. “We hear news about climate changes and how the amount of fossil fuel might be affecting that. In Africa, it’s called ‘desertification.’ It’s getting dryer and water is scarcer,” he said, noting poor people there are being pushed further into poverty and facing more threats to their survival.


“We’re one church, but if all the churches in the Episcopal diocese participate and lessen the carbon footprint, we’ll make a small dent,” he said. “But it will make an impact over time.”


He emphasized the idea of good stewardship of the resources God has bestowed on the earth. “God blessed us with the earth. As God’s creatures, God gave us the responsibility and duty to pass on to the next generation a good earth.”


St. John’s has changed many of its 60- to 100-watt light bulbs so far, but ones in the sanctuary pose a challenge because of their sizes, Mr. Williamson said. He also noted the church is conserving energy with improvements in its boiler system and is looking into use of solar energy.


St. John’s is involved in other good stewardship efforts by partnering with Mahoning County Green Team. The church recycles paper, bottles, cans and household batteries. Mr. Williamson said recycling containers at the church are picked up regularly at no cost because it’s a nonprofit.


From 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Sept. 21, an adult forum on energy stewardship is planned at St. John’s.


This article is courtesy of Vindy.com