First Presbyterian Church, Conway, is one of 15 houses of worship nationwide and the first in Arkansas to achieve Cool Congregation certification from Interfaith Power & Light by making permanent energy efficiency changes to facilities to reduce environmental impact.
Over a three-year period, First Presbyterian installed a new water heater in 2019, a new HVAC system in 2021, a new furnace in 2021, and a lighting retrofit in 2022. The result is a 9.4% overall reduction in electricity use, when comparing 2019 utility bills to 2022 utility bills. Improvements resulted in a reduction of 22,000 kWh per year and a reduction of 36 tons per year of greenhouse gas emissions.
First Presbyterian Church is one of 292 Presbyterian USA Earth Care Congregations who have committed to the “Earth Care Pledge” and accomplished a specific number of actions toward caring for God’s earth in four categories: worship, education, facilities, and outreach. Read the entire story at FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, CONWAY.
Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas also has been certified as a 2022 Cool Congregation. Over the past 33 years, Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas has built or improved 233 homes, and construction continues. Starting in 2011, Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas made a commitment to provide energy efficient homes for low-wealth residents. Since then, Habitat has built or improved approximately 75 homes to meet Energy Star 2 standards. Starting in 2023, newer homes will be built to Energy Star 3 standards. Standards will include EPA-recognized HVAC Quality training, installation, and oversight. Standards also will include efficiency measures for insulation levels, insulation installation quality, window performance, and duct leakage prevention. Habitat for Humanity of Central Arkansas (in zone 3) will meet Energy Star 3 SEER ratings for cooling equipment, radiant barrier requirements, insulation levels, window U-values, door U-values, and water heater efficiency levels. All new homes will include programmable thermostats, Energy Star appliances, heat pumps where appropriate, and Energy Star light bulbs in all fixtures. Read the entire story HERE.
new home.
Collectively, the 15 certified Cool Congregations nationwide reduced 8,000 tons of climate change pollution, according to IPL, cutting their carbon emissions by 40%.