In this past week I have heard from two congregations about their lighting changes. One of them, First Presbyterian in Bloomington, was listed in the November newsletter:
Here's what one Indiana congregation is planning to complete this fall, for a savings of 80% of the previous electrical use in these areas:
- Replace
34 bulbs in the sanctuary with LED bulbs. The 150w incandescent bulbs will
be replaced by LEDs rated at 23w.
- Replace
47 troffers in the administrative office area, two hallways, two
classrooms, and four restrooms, changing from fluorescent bulbs to LEDs.
The old troffers that are rated at 170w will be replaced by LED units
rated at 30w. Office lights will get dimmable switches.
- Install motion detector switches in the hallway
Another congregation, Kern Road Mennonite in South Bend, has also been very busy. Vic Myers (who also convenes the Using Energy Prudently group in South Bend) says:
"Last Saturday, November 15, ten of us at Kern Road Mennonite Church in South Bend replaced all 46 of the T-12 fluorescent ballasts and tubes in our fellowship hall to 28 W T-8 fluorescents in an astonishing three hours. No one yet has complained, and some think that the light may even be brighter. Of course, in the process of the work, we also cleaned off all of the lens covers. That may be contributing to the extra brightness. We were amazed to learn firsthand how warm to the touch many of the old ballasts were. I have estimated a savings of 44% or close to $200 annually based on our usage of the room.
"We also started checking the other light fixtures and have identified some concealed incandescent bulbs that we plan to replace with LED bulbs. We also found at least four more T-12 fixtures. Some of us are thinking we could use another work day in January."
Vic Myers also created a very helpful energy savings calculating tool that can be downloaded from the Fluorescent and LED Troffers page. I've linked to it here as well.
