ENERGY
                                   Energy & Climate Change in New England
                           CONGREGATIONS
    ENERGY STAR8  Congregations
      U.S.  EPA  |  ENERGY  OUTREACH  AT  EPA  NEW  ENG
                                                         THE ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
                                                          efforts  or EPA  New England include working with
                                                          businesses, federal,  state,  and local  organizations  and
                                                          New England citizens to reduce energy use by providing tools, guidance
                                                          and technical assistance for energy efficiency, cleaner fuels and renewable
                                                          sources of energy.  The goal  of these efforts  is to  reduce greenhouse
                                                          gas emissions and impacts of climate change.
INTRO:
New England has some of the highest energy costs in the nation and many Houses of Worship (HOW) are trying
to find ways to reduce their energy use and costs for their congregations. In 2009, ENERGY STAR added Houses of
Worship as a building type that can be benchmarked using the portfolio manager tool. Benchmarking your facility will
give you information on the energy efficiency of your building as it compares to other HOW across the United States.
The ENERGY STAR tools and resources will help you better manage your utility bills and help your facility become
more energy efficient
ENERGY fc WORSHIP
New England's estimated 11,000 houses of worship spend
more than $116 million on energy each year. The ENERGY
STAR Congregations program helps HOW improve their
facility's energy performance while reducing energy costs.
It is expected that HOW could reduce their energy use
from 10%-30%byimplementing energy effitient measures.
If the New England HOW reduced their energy use byjust
by 10%, these are the estimated impacts:
• Approximately $11.6 million in energy costs would
  be saved and could be used for the congregation's
  mission and other priorities.
• In addition to natural gas and fuel oil savings, over
  23 million kilowatt-hours of electricity would be
  reduced.
• Over 48,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions
  would be eliminated.

BENCHMARKING ENERGY USE
The EPA and DOE jointly administer the ENERGY STAR
program  that was started in 1992 as a market-based-
partnership  to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through
energy efficiency. Today, the ENERGY STAR label can be
found on more than 60 different kinds of products as well
as new homes and commercial and Industrial buildings that
meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the EPA.
For HOW, the ENERGY STAR portfolio manager bench-
marking tool is designed to assist the facility in determining
its energy efficiency. When the energy use data is entered
into the portfolio manager tool for a HOW, it will give
a rating for the building from 1-100. Those facilities that
score 75 or better are in the top 25% of all HOW for
energy efficiency nationally and therefore are eligible for
an ENERGY STAR label. This rating helps individual build-
ing operators accurately assess the energy performance
of their buildings; make more informed budgetary, invest-
ment and management decisions; and enables them to
calculate and communicate their environmental steward-
ship achievements to dergy and congregants, as well as to
the larger community. An ENERGY STAR labeled worship
facility typically uses  30% less energy than an average
house of worship. To sign up for a free Portfolio Manager
Account and get started, please visit www.energystar.gov/
benchmark.
ENERGY STAR LABELS
EPA New England is working with HOW and faith-based
organizations to provide technical assistance on how to
benchmark these buildings. As of 2011, there are over
30 HOW that have benchmarked their facilities and two
houses of worship that have earned the ENERGY STAR
label in New England.
   First Parish, Needham, MA
   Winchester Unitarian Society, Winchester, MA
KEY CONTACTS:


WADI MUHAMMAD
EPA New England
Energy and Climate Unit
(617) 918-1807
muhammad .wad i@e pa.gov

CYNTHIA GREENE
EPA New England
Manager, Energy and
Climate Unit
(617)918-1813
gre en e . cy nthia@epa.gov


GENERAL  INFO:


EPA  NEW ENGLAND
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Suite 100
Boston, MA 021 09-3912
(617) 918-1111
www. epa.gov/region1/

TOLL-FREE
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1-888-EPA-7341

LEARN MORE ATl
www.epa.gov/rqjion 1/ervergykit
k              United States
              Environmental Protection
              Agency
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                                                            EPA-901-F-11-017
                                                                  April 2011

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