A simple process to guide decisions

Use a self-guided questionnaire to review all the areas that could be making your buildings leak energy (and money). Along the way, provide us with information about the equipment you have that uses the most energy (heating, cooling, lighting, and kitchen equipment). Then we’ll help you to calculate your building’s area and volume pretty painlessly.

Review your energy bills and enter how much energy you used and what it cost you. (Soon we hope to automate this and import data you download from your energy providers). With this data, we can calculate your buildings GHG footprint, so you can see how it improves over time. (Sample Report)

We can also tally the total energy savings that would be possible with proper government investment through grants for non-polluting mechanical systems. We hope this will encourage rapid action on their part!

On a cold day, a person with some expertise will go through your whole building(s) to take thermal images and see exactly where, and how badly, your building lets heat escape, so you can know where to best focus your attention. (Notice the bright yellow in the image above? That is heat going straight through the cement foundation…)

We are gathering a decision-tree of “standard solutions for standard churches”, taking into account the model or type of church, its age, its provincial energy structure and the surrounding climate. We are working on case studies for unique situations, and we are exploring non-traditional solutions where there is potential for community hubs or local energy hubs.

Our university partners will develop spreadsheets to help you estimate the costs and paybacks of converting your mechanical systems (in your province, with your climate and your building type). In some jurisdictions, even with low grant amounts, it can make sense to spend money up front in order to save money over the longer term. This may be an attractive investment for diocesan “bond-type” investments. In other situations, when government funders seem the potential for rapid conversions of multiple buildings to low or zero GHG emissions, they may well provide special funding to congregations showing leadership.

Congregations are made up of people, some of whom own their dwellings (houses or condos). They also want to know how to help the planet, and together, we can show them how! We can also equip them to share the good news of GHG savings with their neighbours, building relationships and creating societal cohesion.