ENERGY STAR for Congregations

Most Congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% by investing strategically in efficient equipment and facility upgrades, and improving building maintenance. The ENERGY STAR Program provides free information and technical support to help manage energy and water use and save energy costs. ENERGY STAR also offers national and local recognition, technical support and resources, public relations materials, marketing resources and ENERGY STAR labeled products. Learn more about the ENERGY STAR program.

Congregations can use ENERGY STAR’s Portfolio Manager, a free and interactive energy management tool used to track and assess (benchmark) energy and water consumption for an individual building, or across an entire portfolio of buildings, in a secure and confidential online environment. Portfolio Manager can help set investment priorities, identify under-performing buildings and verify efficiency improvements. As of December 2012, over 300,000 buildings in the United States benchmarked using Portfolio Manager.

By using Portfolio Manager, Houses of Worship are eligible to receive an Energy Performance Score, which compares facility performance to similar buildings across the country. The Energy Performance Score indicates how efficiently buildings use energy on a 1 – 100 scale; a score of 50 indicates average energy performance, while a score of 75 or better indicates top performance. A Performance Score of 75 or greater and verification by a certified energy rater, makes a building eligible for ENERGY STAR recognition for superior energy performance.

The ENERGY STAR’s Benchmarking Starter Kit includes a self-guided training, worksheets to assist with data collection and a quick reference guide for using Portfolio Manager. Find more information on how to benchmark your House of Worship with Portfolio Manager at: www.energystar.gov/benchmark.

QUESTIONS: Help is available from the EPA, Region 10, ENERGY STAR personnel:

Jim Borthen
206-553-1467
borthen.jim@epa.gov

Barbara Larson
206-553-1981
larson.barbara@epa.gov

Colleen Quinn
206-553-1648
quinn.colleen@epa.gov