Power-Wise Case Study: Immaculate Heart of Mary
Written by Ayesha Abid. Graphic Design by Jay Horton.
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light (GIPL) works with faith communities across Georgia to help uplift the principles of caring for Sacred Earth in not just programming but also facility maintenance and growth. One of the ways GIPL does this is through our Power-Wise program.
Through the Power-Wise program, GIPL examines 13 months of utility bills from a congregation to evaluate average utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Using this information as a baseline, we then send an engineer to tour a congregation’s facilities and take a closer at the congregation’s energy practices. The engineer then comes up with a list of recommended energy conservation measures (ECM) to maximize energy efficiency.
Congregations take the information they learn from the audit and with the support of GIPL staff are able to make changes to lower energy usage. This not only helps congregations save money it also reduces their impact on the climate. To support this project work, GIPL provides congregations the opportunity to apply for matching grant funds of up to $7,000 annually for 5 years after receiving the energy audit.
One congregation GIPL helped through the Power-Wise Program is the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Catholic Church in Atlanta. IHM has been steadfastly dedicated to embracing eco-conscious practices for years and has received a few grants along the way.
In 2019, IHM enrolled in the Power-Wise program for their Sanctuary building and received a grant in 2020 to do an LED retrofit. Comparing pre and post-COVID energy consumption, the Sanctuary building’s energy use reduced by 35 percent which in turn reduced GHG emissions for the building by 41 percent. In easier-to-visualize terms, this is the equivalent of taking 17 vehicles off the road for a whole year.
The savings from the reduced energy consumption at IHM are impressive. IHM saved around $1,500/month or $18,000 annually on their energy costs from 2019 to 2023. As expected, variations in monthly energy usage influence the exact amount of savings they see month to month, but the overall trend is a remarkable decrease in their utility costs.
The journey toward sustainability is ongoing for IHM and other congregations. Marked by the success of their participation in the Power-Wise Program, IHM’s experience stands as a testament to the effect that GIPL’s work creates. When environmental consciousness meets tangible actions positive climate impact is possible!
Immaculate Heart of Mary will be continuing their work to reduce the environmental impact of their campus by installing solar on their rectory building in the near future.
