Continuing on with the church energy series, the next step in reducing your church’s energy usage and costs is automation.  Automation is the process by which things occur automatically.  A simple example of automation is the alarm clock.  When you set your alarm clock to wake you up at 7am, it’s set.  You walk away, or lay your head down, and you don’t think about it again until the alarm goes off.  On top of that, if you wake up at the same time every morning, you only have to set the alarm clock once, and it will wake you at 7am everyday right on the dot.  We rarely rely on our own internal clocks to wake us up anymore.  We’ve given this task over to computers because they don’t forget.  People forget.  People also forget to turn off the lights, TV’s, and computers.  People leave the AC running, even when no one is home.

It’s not just our sleep that we trust automatic to handle.  We now trust automatic to handle the task of fire response.  Electronic devices use sensors to detect fires and trigger alarms, sprinklers, and even alert the local fire and rescue department with detailed information about the fire’s location and status.  That’s the power of automation.

The same technology that we rely on for fire safety can also be used to manage the energy usage of any facility.  Corporations large and small have benefited from energy management technology for years now.  Think about how much energy is wasted when humans simply forget to turn something off.  If a worker goes home at the end of a workday at the office and leaves a light on, it’s likely it will stay on until they return in the morning.  It could be on for an addition 15-16 hours overnight.  That’s almost twice the average workday.  That one light bulb is just a drop in the ocean compared to all of the devices left on every night.  Corporations that cut-down wasted energy reduce their operating energy bills while increasing their facility efficiency.  This has a direct impact on potential profit margins.

Churches stand to benefit greatly from automation.  If a church implements an energy management system that has automation built in, they could achieve a significant amount of energy savings and cost savings.

How you ask?  An energy management system gives church facility managers the power of automation in four smart ways.

1.  Scheduled Events:
Managers and users can program regularly occurring events (like worship services) and special events.  You can tell the systems when to kick on and even give an automatic shut down time if anything is left on after the event is well over.  If your church uses a room scheduling system like Planning Center Resources, the facility manager will know exactly when and where to schedule events.  A complete energy management solution could automatically turn on the lights, wall outlets, AV, and HVAC systems.  By the time the event planner walks in, everything is on, and they don’t have to spend time looking for remotes and switches (or breaker boxes, God forbid).  They do the event and the room shuts it’s self down afterwards.

2.  Smart Sensors:

Room sensors can detect when a room is occupied.  If no one is present, the energy management system will shut off any lights, outlets, or other equipment as previously specified by the facility manager.  This feature is one of the single best failsafes for energy conservation. If someone uses a room unexpectedly, the smart sensor will turn off the lights after they leave, even if the users forget to do it themselves.

2.  Overnight switching:

If you know that there are certain hours or days when no one will be in the building, a management system can shut down everything except any emergency equipment and 24hr devices such as IT servers and networks.

4.  Manual Override:  I know what you are thinking.  Yes, sometime we do forget to set our alarms. What if a manager forgets to schedule a room, or what if there is a room change (humans right)? If there is an unscheduled event, most operations can be activated through physical wall panels or through a user based web app.  In some cases, areas of the church could be activated by a mobile app before arrival.  All of these options can be password protected or activated when the alarm system is turned off.  Rooms could be activated with many of the key card systems that churches use now for privileged work areas around the church.

5.  Emergency Situation Integration:  Emergency light paths and exits can all be programed to activate when a facility emergency system is activated.  This will really help with emergency planning and preparedness.  Some systems can even provide AV override capability to alert large gatherings of the emergency situation and give automated instructions.  Facility managers can program lighting that is required to be on 24/7/365.

Automation can really make a difference not only with your facilities staff and event planners, but it will also be a silent force towards reducing wasted energy.  This could translate into tens of thousand of dollars in energy savings on your churches energy bill and good vibes for being a church that values good energy stewardship.  With savings that great, the energy management system will pay for itself over time, putting more money back into the budget to be used for kingdom building.

An energy management system in most cases will be a custom solution designed by an experienced systems designer.  If you have questions about how automation could help your church, leave a comment or contact me anytime.