In honor of the 15th anniversary of ENERGY STAR certified buildings and plants they’ve decided to pull out 15 of their favorite simple strategies to save energy in your buildings. There may be a few ideas here that you haven’t tried!
Here’s a fun one –
1. Visit your building late at night to find out what’s on after hours that shouldn’t be. Bring along your sweetie and a flashlight and turn it into a fun date.
Saving $300 a year with this measure sounds good –
5. Install vending machine misers to reduce annual operating costs by $300 per year. That’s payback of less than one year if you buy a new miser, and less if you buy one used on ebay.
Read the rest of the 15 steps here.
And scroll down their page to read great advice on getting support from your congregation for changes you’d like to make to your congregational facility. Here’s one that suits a congregation very well…
“Communicating the positive benefits of an energy management program to your target audience is a critical first step. Treating the program as an organizational priority and having the support and commitment of all levels of the organization is imperative. Once you have people on board, you’ve cleared a significant hurdle.”
-Des Moines Public Schools
And click here for some sample messaging for speaking to your congregation’s decision makers.
And don’t forget the ENERGY STAR Action Workbook for Congregations!
Tell us what you are doing to save energy in your congregational facility! Contact Sarah at programs@iowaipl.org.