After reviewing the previous year’s heating costs, the First UU Church of Dexter realized that it had to tighten its belt. Mini grant funding was used to insulate the church office and vestry with fiberglass and the stained glass windows with interior Plexiglass panels. They also employed non-traditional methods such as creating insulating panels out of fabric-covered, 1inch foam-core screwed to the wall and hanging home-made insulating shades. They are taking full advantage of the newly insulated vestry by using it for winter services.
St. Luke’s—Wilton
St. Luke’s received a professional energy audit in 2007. The auditor uncovered severe energy loss due to a lack of insulation in the daylight basement walls, the ceiling in the rector’s office, and the sacristy. In addition to recommending insulation for these areas, the auditor recommended the installation of three programmable thermostats. These improvements are the first step on the journey of energy conservation for St. Luke’s which includes the eventual replacement of their heating system.
Unitarian Universalist of Saco-Biddeford
The UU church of Saco-Biddeford has long been committed to energy conservation and environmental stewardship. They are a "Green Sanctuary", a UU designation awarded to a congregation that connects its spiritual practices with environmental consciousness. They began their journey in 2003 with a professional energy audit and have worked to implement all the recommended measures. The mini grant was used to construct an enclosure with double doors at the base of a staircase to block heat from escaping upstairs into the little used second floor rooms. The double doors not only keep the heat from escaping upstairs, they also look elegant! This winter their Green Committee met on three Saturdays to make inside poly film storm windows as learned at an earlier ME Interfaith Power and Light workshop. A total of 43 windows were made for the church and church members.
First Universalist Church of Yarmouth
The First Universalist Church of Yarmouth took a two phase approach to the mini grant challenge. First, improve the building envelope of the church by installing a programmable thermostat, sealing door and window leaks, and installing a door closure to consistently isolate heating zones. Second, replace old exit signs with super efficient LED lit signs. As improvements are made, the savings generated by the energy conservation methods are intended to make up for the cost difference between Standard Offer and Maine Clean Power, at which time the church intends to switch to Maine Clean Power. Each improvement is marked with a "green dot" to identify a step in the right direction. The green dots can be included in "scavenger hunts", one of many activities for the children.
Trinity Church of Lewiston
Trinity Church wanted to find a solution for keeping the heat down and well distributed in their 30ft tall sanctuary. They used the mini grant award to help offset the cost of three Airius Thermal Equalizers; special fans that move air from the ceiling in a directed column to the floor. Trinity expects to realize a 25% reduction in natural gas usage and a potential savings of $1000 (based on last years natural gas prices). The Airius fans were installed in October and the new air movement has been found to be excellent. The sanctuary comes up to temperature twice as fast as it did before the fans were installed. Trinity also looks forward to using the fans in the summer to help keep things cool and ventilated. According to Rev. Crowson “We are very happy with the fans and recommend them as an all year round aid for comfort and energy savings."
P.O. Box 4834 - Portland, ME 04112-4834 / (207) 721-0444 / info@meipl.org
