Energy Stewardship

Fall 2022-PRESENT| FAITH BAPTIST CHURCH

It started when a member asked if our church should get solar panels to reduce our utility bills and be more environmentally responsible. Two years later we don’t have solar panels, but we have reduced our energy consumption by 27%, reduced how much we spend yearly on utilities by 18%, and reduced our annual emissions by 15 metric tons of CO2 (24%).

In response to the solar question, we formed a group to consider energy efficiency and ways we might reduce our utility costs. They enlisted the help of a local with world-renowned expertise, Don Colliver, and started exploring what we could do. To this point, we have only engaged in low-cost efforts such as adjusting thermostats and installing motion sensor light switches and we’ve been able to achieve substantial financial and environmental savings. We are currently exploring financial resources for bigger projects like HVAC upgrades and those solar panels that started it all.

Additionally, we are in conversation with some regional and national groups on how we can share what we’ve learned with other churches so that congregations across the country can achieve easy energy savings. We’ve recently been recognized as a COOL Congregation by Interfaith Power and Light and are in the process of becoming an official Energy Star Building.