The new St. John’s Presbyterian Church, located on 10 Sideroad in Bradford, is only 15 years old – but that doesn’t mean that it was designed with energy efficiency in mind.
The church was fitted with a mix of fluorescent and even incandescent lighting – “which is the least efficient,” said Facility Manager Ron Glendenning – and hydro costs were high.
In particular, the hanging lights in the sanctuary were 500 Watt incandescent bulbs, which not only gobbled up electricity but generated heat, leading to higher air conditioning costs.
Glendenning, who started as facility manager about a year and a half ago, recommended switching to energy-efficient LED lighting as a way to improve efficiency and cut energy costs.
He also did some research to find out if there was any kind of incentive program that could help offset the initial costs of switching over to LEDs. Glendenning and church member Jim Van Hemert, a retired electrician, were advised to contact Hydro One, and take advantage of the Save On Energy retrofit incentives.
The result was Phase 1 of a lighting conversion program, that saw all the lights in the sanctuary and youth lounge, and the pot lights in the foyer, switched to LED lighting back in March of this year.
The result has been remarkable. Phase 1 represented only 30 percent of the lighting in the church, but has already resulted in nearly 50 percent savings in the hydro bill.
“It was better than I thought,” said Glendenning. In the five months from April to August 2019, the cost of hydro for St. John’s dropped $994.16, compared to the same period the previous year – a saving of $162.60 per month.
In fact, a chart comparing energy use on March 17 (just before the project began), and March 24 (after the new lighting was installed) showed a nearly 50 percent drop in use.
The sanctuary was also noticeably cooler this summer after LED bulbs replaced the 500 Watt incandescents.
The icing on the cake? In June, the church received a Save On Energy incentive grant of $1,191.30.
It’s not a huge chunk of money, amounting to about 10 percent of the cost of the conversion, Glendenning said, but it does “give you a bit of money back” – and the main benefit is the fact that since the LED lights were installed, “each day you’re saving more money.”
The Save On Energy program is now administered by the Independent Energy System Operator (IESO), and projects must be pre-approved to get funding. St. John’s Presbyterian “just got approval for Phase 2” this week, said Glendenning: the replacement of the fluorescents in the gym, classrooms, kitchen, storage area and bathroom.
The fluorescents are all 32 Watt bulbs. They will be replaced with 15 Watt LEDs, which produce the same amount of illumination using only half the energy.
It means, said Glendenning, “The savings have just begun. It’s going to get better.”
The initial cost of the LED lighting is higher, Glendenning acknowledged, “but you have to look at the long term. Every day you are saving money.”
And the church will be getting a Save on Energy grant of $982, once the work is completed.
There is also a Phase 3 of the retrofit at the Church, which will look at replacing the lights in the parking lot. “They’re high, high wattage,” said Glendenning, “so that will be another saving.”
And when the work is done, “We should be in pretty good shape.”
