LED for You!
Recently, Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, with the help of a Power-Wise grant, converted 90+ percent of their building’s lighting to LED. The CreationWise Team also helped folks in the congregation, who had not yet converted their homes to LED lights, to also make the switch. They called their initiative “LED for You.”
“We are strongly motivated by the necessity and urgency of the need to reduce the production of greenhouse gases and we believe that small changes by many individuals do make a difference,” writes Kathy Hancock, a leader of the CreationWise Team.
They first offered the program to seniors and persons with disabilities, and then to all others in the congregation. They publicized the “LED for You” project in Oakhurst Presbyterian’s weekly eNews and in their monthly LOG newsletter. Ultimately they got eleven households to participate.
The CreationWise Team determined two home visits by a member of the group would be most effective. During the first visit, the lighting needs were evaluated. Questions such as how much light is needed and what color temperature is desired were answered. The type of bulb, appropriate to the fixture, was also noted. On the second visit, the LED bulbs were installed.
184 LED bulbs were purchased in total at a cost of $729.84. The GIPL Four Directions Grant provided $500 in funding. The additional $229.84 in funding was provided by the church’s Peacemaking and Justice Committee via the Gould Art Fund. The average cost per bulb was $3.97. The number of LED bulbs needed per household varied greatly, but the average was 17. “It’s a nice one-two punch; for the environment and for their wallets," Hancock exclaims.
All who participated in the initiative expressed their great appreciation. In many cases, they weren’t physically able to change overhead bulbs or other bulbs that were difficult to reach. “A lovely side-effect of this program was the visiting and companionship that occurred during the home visits,” Hancock writes.
If your faith community is interested in forming a Greem Team or planning an energy-savings initiative like Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, email our Program Team today at programs@gipl.org. GIPL would love to help!
And if you would like to support GIPL’s energy-efficiency programs in the future, consider donating today HERE.
