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American Churches Can Now Earn EPA’s Energy Star Rating

wired_church370,000 American houses of worship can now earn Energy Star label

Featuring big rooms with high ceilings and strong drafts, churches are not generally known for their energy efficiency. But that may be a thing of the past as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has now extended its Energy Star ratings to American houses of worship. Joining the nation’s schools, hospitals, hotels, and other facilities in their efforts to fight climate change, save energy and reduce their carbon footprint, American churches can now earn the coveted Energy Star label.

Via the EPA’s Energy Star for Congregations, the estimated 370,000 American houses of worship can now access EPA’s energy tracking tool, Portfolio Manager, which allows facilities to track energy use and the associated greenhouse gas emissions, set targets for investment priorities and verify efficiency improvements.

Access to the Portfolio Manager means churches can receive an energy performance rating, and the most energy efficient among them can earn the Energy Star label.

According to the EPA, worship facilities in the United States spend more than $3 billion annually on energy costs. Improving the energy efficiency of America’s houses of worship by just 10 percent would save nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours each year, preventing more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and representing a cost savings of about $315 million annually.

Most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance, according to the EPA.

Image via Fabian Bromann

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This post was written by: Timothy B. Hurst

Timothy Hurst is the founder of ecopolitology and executive editor of LiveOAK Media. He mostly covers energy and environmental politics, clean tech and green business; but has a tendency to cover music festivals in the summer. When not reading, writing, or talking about environmental politics to anyone who will listen, Tim will ski, hike with his aging lab and get dirty in his Colorado veggie garden. Follow Tim on twitter at @ecopolitologist.

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  1. [...] that “the federal government is kicking in $300 million for states to disburse as part of the energy efficiency upgrade program, which came about after the Cash for Clunkers car rebate program,” and all [...]


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