‘We’ve done everything’: lower attendance and higher power bills become problems for small churches read a recent headline from WYMT, a news outlet covering 20 counties in Eastern Kentucky.
In recent years, many small churches and other faith based groups have approached MACED looking for relief from high utility bills. We have been able to work with several Eastern Kentucky faith-based groups to find ways to save. Below are just some examples:
- Red Bird Christian High School (Leslie County) – saving $13,800/year through lighting, occupancy sensors and behavioral changes
- Bethany Christian Mission (Wolfe County) – saving $1,470/year through utility rate class change
- St. Vincent Mission (Floyd County) – saving $1,450/year through solar
- Union Church (Madison County) – saving $2,890/year through lighting, water heating, and solar
- Methodist Mountain Mission (Breathitt County) – saving $7,300 through utility rate class change and lighting
- Campton Baptist Church & Parsonage (Wolfe County) – saving $4,435/year through solar, air sealing, geothermal & insulation
Additionally, through our free utility bill reviewing service, we have helped many discover that they were paying sales tax on their utility bills even though they are tax exempt. For example, Kentucky Power refunded the David School in Floyd County $9,275, Methodist Mountain Mission $2,741, and Red Bird Mission $396. Cumberland Valley refunded divisions of Meridzo Ministries over $1,600.
There are many big and small ways to save on energy bills. Let’s take Methodist Mountain Mission as a case study.
They recently invested $2,060 in switching to LED lighting. With a savings of $1,160 per year, this will pay for itself in two years. In addition to their sales tax refund, we helped them change one of their accounts to the correct utility rate class which will save them an additional $1,950 per year.
Now, let’s look at Campton Baptist’s savings. In 2017, the church switched to solar energy after a donation of panels from SonLight Power. Since adding solar, they have also added three new geothermal units and completed efficiency upgrades, including air sealing and insulation under the church and in the attics. The church is paying for these upgrades through our How$martKY™ program, which adds a monthly charge to their energy bills averaging less than the monthly savings created by the retrofit, so they save money while paying for their upgrades.
Campton Baptist’s Pastor, Gary Conner, and his family live in the church’s parsonage house. After an audit, the How$mart team recommended a number of improvements that are now saving the Conners $825 a year — and they report their allergies have greatly improved.
Another way for churches to save big is through behavioral changes.
Many utility companies charge churches and missions a “demand rate” in addition to your actual energy use. You can find this line on your bill – for KU and co-op customers, it’s clearly stated, but for Kentucky Power customers, it’s grouped in with the monthly fee and the usage (kWh) charge and called “Rate Billing.” These demand charges can be hundreds of dollars per month. (We can help you determine how much you’re paying with a free utility bill review.) While usage is the total amount of kilowatt hours you use, demand is how fast you use them and is measured in kilowatts. To calculate demand, the utility company meters how much energy you use in 15 minute periods. The highest amount of energy you pulled through your meter in any 15-minute period is how much your demand will be. So when you are opening up your church or building for the day, try to time out when you start things up to span more than 15 minutes. For example, turn on the lights, wait several minutes, then turn up the heat two degrees, wait several minutes and then turn on your coffee pot, computer, etc.
Note: Heat pumps in the winter can really drive up your demand charge (as well as your usage charge!), so be sure not to turn your thermostat up more than two degrees at a time.
At MACED, we are also seeing faith communities start movements on how they can be better steward earth’s resources. For example, First Christian Church in Morehead is working to become a Certified Green Chalice congregation, a national program which provides sustainability guidance for faith-based groups. MACED recently conducted an energy audit of their church to provide recommendations on this journey. Another group, Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light, offers a solar program for churches, and we recently partnered with them to hold workshops in Floyd and Harlan Counties for faith based groups to learn about these opportunities to save and steward.
We are passionate about helping Eastern Kentuckians save on energy. We offer free utility bill reviews for Eastern Kentucky based churches, non-profits, businesses, local governments, and more. We also offer free energy audits in many Eastern Kentucky counties. Apply for an audit here.
Please contact us if you have any questions or if you would like to discuss a billing review.
