with energy efficient measures

By Deborah White

Want to save $2,000 or more annually on your church utility bill? Then pay attention to tips from the Rev. Cory Sparks, who directs an energy conservation initiative in New Orleans.

“The money you would be sending to the electric company you can send to the church,” says Sparks, pastor of Faith Community United Methodist Church in Youngsville. La., a new church start near Lafayette.

Sparks is the founding director of Sustainable Churches for South Louisiana, an initiative of the Louisiana Inter-Church Conference that helps churches rebuild in the most energy efficient way possible.

When Hurricane Katrina hit, Sparks served Parker Memorial United Methodist Church and Carrollton United Methodist Church in New Orleans. Carrollton’s parsonage was right on the border of flood waters.

Energy-efficient windows installed at St. John the Baptist Church in New Orleans, cut the church's utility bills considerably. Photo courtesy of Cassandra Carmichael.

“We want to rebuild stronger. We want to build greener and more in harmony with creation,” said Sparks, who received a $13,000 grant from Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors to help run the initiative. A $5,000 grant from the Louisiana Conference also supports the project.

Four AmeriCorps volunteers have conducted energy reviews of nine churches in New Orleans since 2006. “We found at least $2,000 annual savings in these congregations,” Sparks said.

For example, an energy review of Carrollton Church in 2006 pointed to a significant problem with draft. Caulking made a major impact. The church also replaced its air conditioner with a high-efficiency model and paid $2,500 to replace old fluorescent lighting with new energy-efficient fluorescent lights.

Parker Memorial UMC paid about $2,000 for higher-efficiency lighting. “They have great results in terms of saving energy,” Sparks said.

Churches can save 25 percent on lighting costs if they switch to new fluorescent lights, he said. “Not only will you save energy, but you will have higher quality light. That humming sound goes away, too.

“This is my number one recommendation to pastors. Go ahead, and bite the bullet and do it. You will recoup your cost in less than three years.”

Sparks also offers these money-saving tips:

• Shut down computers when not in use. Don’t leave the screen-saver on. Set the computer to hibernate or sleep mode. Use the energy-saving setting on equipment such as copiers.

• Turn off lights in unused parts of the building. Make sure the outside lights are off during the day. 

• Check your thermostat. “The ideal is to recognize that we can survive without it always being 72,” he said.

Switching to energy-efficient light bulbs is a big money-saver.

• Collect your energy bills. Discuss them at the church council meeting. What percentage of the budget goes to energy? “I guarantee folks will be shocked,” Sparks said.

• Consider hiring a professional energy auditor. “They can really save you cash,” he said. 

When considering the additional cost for energy-efficient equipment, look at how long it will take to pay back, Sparks advised. “We often just try to get by for the moment. As leaders of the church, we should be thinking 5 or 10 years ahead.”

A report from the National Council of Churches in Washington, D.C., concluded that a church can cut utility costs by 25 to 30 percent by utilizing energy efficiency and clean energy technologies. At www.nccecojustice.org, the NCC provides a Green Building Toolkit filled with tips and details for conserving energy in churches. It can be downloaded. A free print version is also available by calling (202) 544-2350 or e-mailing info@nccecojustice.org.

“If every congregation reduced energy costs by 25 percent, collectively we would save $500 million, which we could use on other priorities,” said Cassandra Carmichael, director of Eco-Justice Programs at the National Council of Churches. “We would also be preventing 5 million tons of carbon emissions from going into the atmosphere.

“The church can make a tremendous impact and a tremendous difference.”

For more detailed information from the Environmental Protection Agency, check out the “Energy Stewardship Action List,” a guide for congregations. It can be downloaded at www.energystar.gov.

--Deborah White is associate editor of Interpreter and Interpreter OnLine.