Glebe Report, Oct. 17, 2008

An independent energy audit completed recently for St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in the Glebe found scads of potential for the church to be more energy efficient. Its listing of ways in which total annual energy costs could be reduced by about one third will likely interest other churches in the area.

The report by the City of Ottawa’s EnviroCentre came up with several specific recommendations on how St. Matthew’s could save on its electricity and heating bills (which recently were around $28,000 on an annual basis). These included more efficient heating equipment, insulation upgrades and other energy-saving improvements.

A lot of heat is being lost at the beautiful neo-gothic stone building through air leaks and inefficient ventilation, especially involving its main walls and basement walls. The EnviroCentre report said better insulation and ventilation, using thermostat setback devices (to lower or turn off heating when not needed) and upgrading single-pane windows would make a difference. Even replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent ones could save about $400 a year.

The audit also recommended upgrading the church’s 21-year-old boiler. “We knew we would have to replace the boiler some time soon,” says Jim Lynes, St. Matthew’s People’s Warden. “But simply installing a high efficiency boiler in an inefficient building didn’t make much sense.”

Total cost of implementing all the report’s recommendations would be around $53,000 (with $29,000 for a boiler upgrade). But as Mr. Lynes points out, some of the measures would pay for themselves in savings in less than one year and in around six years overall. The report also emphasized that reinvesting savings in additional energy efficiency upgrades would save even more money in the future.

The $4,000 cost of the audit was subsidized by $1,500 from the Faith & the Common Good network’s Ottawa branch. A parishioner committed to “greening” the church donated the balance. A parishioner-based working group has been set up to help implement the audit recommendations. Its members will work with the church’s Building and Finance committees on establishing priorities.

The audit report noted that some funding for energy-saving building upgrades could be available through government programs such as the federal government’s ecoEnergy Retrofit Incentive. It also included a list of useful energy saving pointers for building managers.

Mr. Nankivell is a member of St. Matthew’s Parish Council and chair person of its Communications Committee.