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Beth El-Keser Israel Temple

Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel certainly understands the value of “energy efficient stewardship for the earth.” Temple Beth El-Keser saves $600 annually on their utility bill and has prevented 11,000 pounds of CO2 emissions by upgrading inefficient exterior and interior lighting. Broken and cracked windows were replaced, old window air conditioners and computers were replaced with ENERGY STAR models, and regular HVAC maintenance is underway. And for the future? Their architect has designed an aggressive, comprehensive upgrade plan for further savings.

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Trinity Lutheran Church

Stewardship is the primary reason that Trinity Lutheran Church got involved in an energy efficiency program. A successful fundraiser enabled Trinity Lutheran to obtain the money necessary to implement an intelligent project -ultimately leading to a reduction in pollution and savings on utility bills. In addition to a major heating system upgrade, Trinity installed new insulation, zone thermostats, and compact fluorescent lights. They even purchased a copier bearing the ENERGY STAR label. Trinity Lutheran is making use of the money they are saving on energy costs by transferring those dollars into their benevolent stewardship programs. Now that is efficient and responsible use of our world’s resources. Thank you.

Settlement Lutheran Church

Dedication to environmental stewardship has transformed the Settlement Lutheran Church of Gowen, Michigan into a model of energy efficiency. Settlement Lutheran’s efficiency program entailed the use of new high-efficiency furnace and air conditioning units in conjunction with an extra six inches of insulation in the roof. The Congregation also saved on lighting costs by changing over to electronic ballast’s on inside lighting, and using high-pressure sodium lights on the outside - all contributing to a reduction in the usage of natural gas and electric power. Dennis J. Dombkowski, The Settlement Lutheran Church, and its constituents have a lot to be proud of - We at ENERGY STAR salute you.

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First Christian Church

Marshall Henderson of the First Christian Church in Des Moines, Iowa is ecstatic about saving energy. A comprehensive energy upgrade resulted in the installation of new T-8’s and compact fluorescent lamps; timer circuits for outdoor lights; LED Exit signs; motion detectors in various rooms; and new boiler controls. And the future looks even brighter - First Christian plans to save even more energy by installing variable-speed drives on the air-handling systems. We at ENERGY STAR for congregations applaud their efforts in conserving energy and reducing pollution. Just imagine the good programs First Christian can undertake now by putting those extra energy dollars into stewardship instead of paying the local utility companies!

Solana Beach Presbyterian Church

The Environmental Task Force at Solana Beach Presbyterian Church in California decided to make energy-efficient changes because they are convinced that energy conservation is an important part of their responsibility to care for God’s creation. The church worked with recommendations provided by the San Diego Gas and Electric Company after they performed a conservation survey of the premises. Solana Presbyterian also took advantage of a substantial rebate offered by San Diego Gas & Electric as an incentive to implement the program. Their efforts have really paid off by a reduction in energy costs as well as a lower monthly billing rate after consolidating four separate energy bills into a single bill.

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St. John’s Episcopal Parish

The excitement of conserving energy at St. John’s Episcopal Parish located in Clayton, California has spread to the congregation members! This church has converted to a “Green Energy” utility provider and convinced 33 households in the congregation to join them. St. John’s has also installed zoned HVAC units with high-efficiency fan and pump motors along with new fluorescent fixtures and controlled dimmers. The energy cost savings have allowed the church to better utilize facilities by offering more meeting rooms for community service based programs. St John’s Episcopal certainly understands the value of “Putting Energy Into Stewardship.”

Cheney United Methodist Church

Cheney United is a beautiful Methodist church located in the great state of Washington. Cheney Methodists was recently offered a helping hand (in the form of a low interest loan) from the City of Cheney. It was this low interest loan that enabled the congregation to implement a variety of cost effective energy saving measures. Some of these measures included the purchase of new air-conditioning units as well as T-8 fluorescent lights and LED exit signs. Further savings were achieved with the use of computerized thermostats to maintain efficient heating and cooling temperatures throughout the day. Cheney Methodist has not only saved energy and reduced pollution by their energy efficiency efforts, but they were also pleasantly surprised to see that it has added to the security of staff and congregation members. Congregants notice a vast improvement in light quality from the installation of high-pressure sodium lights on the outside porches - Nicely done!

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Special Awards

Hazon Cross-USA Jewish Environmental Bike Ride

In the first-ever Cross-USA Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, twelve cyclists, riding from Seattle, WA to Washington, DC to raise environmental awareness in Jewish and other faith communities, helped spread the word about ENERGY STAR for congregations. By handing out ENERGY STAR brochures at stops along their route, Hazon has helped faith-based organizations across the country learn how to save energy, which prevents pollution and saves money. The ride began in Seattle June 11th, and ended August 28th at the White House in Washington, DC after 11 weeks and over 3,600 miles. The parent organization of the bike ride project is Hazon (which means “vision” in Hebrew). The organization’s founder, Nigel Savage, was glad to have the opportunity to educate the people he met along the way about ENERGY STAR for congregations.

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