Last week I wrote that “Green” facilities are not a fad…and I want to continue down that path for a while longer.

A couple months ago, there was an article on ONN (Ohio’s Channel for News) about a Dayton Ohio church that had adopted several “green” initiatives and the incredible payback they had received. Westminster Presbyterian Church has over 50,000 SF and was looking for ways to save operational costs.  The ONN report states -

The motors we had were 40 or 50 years old and we replaced them last year,” said church business manager Craig Showalter. “We already recovered on cost, with how much it cost to install them, based on savings in electric.”

“Over the past five years, church workers have also replaced around 400 light bulbs with more energy efficient ones.”

“Compact fluorescent light bulbs will put out the same light as an incandescent bulb for 25 percent energy less,” Showalter said.

The biggest savings came when they converted the old air conditioning and heating unit to a programmable energy management system.

You can read the entire article HERE:

In another article released by Boston.com, Thomas Nutt-Powell, president of Massachusetts Interfaith Power & Light was interviewed about his consulting with churches in the Northeast. Nutt-Powell said Interfaith Power & Light was formed after his home parish, All Saints Episcopal in Brookline, did a six-year-long, $180,000 renovation and reduced its utility consumption by 40 percent.

He goes on to say that if church leaders balk at investing $15,000 for a new furnace or energy management system, he’ll walk them into the church parking lot to survey the collection of Escalades, Lexuses, and minivans, and do a little on-the-spot reality check. “I ask them, ‘Did any of these cars cost you less than $15,000? Will they not only pay for themselves, but last you for the next 20 years?’ “

Finally, I found a great post in the Baptist Press about First Baptist Church in Springdale, AK.  This church was spending over $1 Million a year on utility costs between their 2 campuses and school.  The post further says:

In the ensuing year, the church didn’t do anything dramatic but simply tried to take common-sense approaches to saving energy: switching off lights when not in use, turning off computers when leaving for the day and paying close attention to thermostat settings, particularly Monday through Saturday. The church examined every point of energy consumption.

The result? The church estimates it saved $268,000 during the first year of its initiative, which ended in February. The figure is a “cost avoidance” calculation that uses, among other things, degree days.

The money saved is money that can be spent elsewhere, such as on missions.

“I think biblically, you’re called to be good stewards of what God blesses you with, and I think that’s the underlying reason why you do it,” Ben Mayes, the church’s executive leader of finance, told Baptist Press. “This has helped us focus on being good stewards. It’s a great program, and so far we’ve enjoyed it.”

I am so pleased to see Mr. Mayes us the word “stewardship” in his quote.  I have been on my soap box about Facility Stewardship…and it sounds like other are joining in with that battle cry.

What are you willing to do to “go green”…even if your motive is not the environment, but merely financial stewardship (which is OK in my book…it is still a win-win). Share your GREEN experiences with me.

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