Last time we discussed how the Church Energy Audit can help you track down the biggest energy wasters at your church facility.  Now that you have a better idea of where you power is going (or not going) the next step in restoring your church’s use of energy is to set some energy savings goals.

Unless you plan on taking your church off the grid it is unrealistic to think you will be able to reach 100% energy efficient.  It is mighty noble to say “we want to reduce our church’s energy consumption by 30%,” but you have to determine where you will find savings.  Be specific.  Look at each system and get estimates on energy savings and initial costs for upgrades/replacements.  Start with the smallest culprits and work your way up.

Here are three ways you can set reasonable goals for church energy savings:

House Lighting: Expect to save 75%-80% when switching from traditional incandescents to CFL’s or LED’s.  Changing out old school gym lights (400W metal halides) will give you the biggest bang for your buck at 50%-70% if you switch to LEP (light emitting plasma).  Depending on the size of your facility, upgrading your lighting fixtures could be your least expensive expenditure.  If it looks like it would be too costly to upgrade all lighting at once, consider doing it in phases.  Upgrading one zone per year or 6 months as you are able until the whole building is done.  Consider that the savings cost you can achieve in just a few months may amount to thousands of dollars. Upgrading might just pay for itself!

AV & Stage Lighting: One of the biggest energy culprits in AV are likely to be audio amplifiers.  If you still have a few remnants from last century’s workhorse amps in your AV rack it’s likely they not very energy efficient.  For example the CROWN MICROTECH amplifiers produced in the 90’s and early 2000’s needed 11-26 amps where as a modern day Crown iTech amplifiers requires just 5-8 amps during a program or as little as 0.8amps in sleep mode (sleep mode is actually a recent addition to pro audio applications).  That upgrade alone is a savings of 45%-70%.  93% savings when in sleep mode.  Large format projectors also require a lot of power.  Dimmer units are also big energy consumers.  If your AV upgrade schedule includes audio amplifiers, projectors, or conversion to LED stage lighting fixtures, or LED Video walls, make sure you include considerations for energy efficiency in your specifications.  There is significant energy savings to be had with upgrades.  If replacing these AVL components all at once isn’t practical for your church, consider phasing the old workhorses out over time.

HVAC/Water:  As you pinpoint your largest consumers within your facility by reviewing your church energy audit, the HVAC and water systems will likely be one of your biggest energy offenders.  Your discussions with facility managers, leaders and consultants may tend to start here.  Upgrading or replacing HVAC and Water systems can be quite a daunting task especially if your systems are 30+ years old.  Unless it’s a matter of a smart thermostat or installing a digital water heater manager, you will probably be talking MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE changes.  The high costs associated with this level of upgrades can send sticker shock through your leadership.  Still, there are energy savings to be had with upgrades to HVAC and water.  Talk through this process with a qualified consultant to set an appropriate energy savings goal here.

Next time we will take a look at how churches can use automation for more smart energy savings.