Ascension finds funding to boost greening efforts

Church of the Ascension’s participation in the Ottawa Faith Community Capacity Building Program, co-sponsored by Greening Sacred Spaces and Watersheds Canada (Crosstalk, April 2023), which gave us a grant and advice, had two important outcomes. First, it led us to be ready with a greener solution for hot water when our large old hot water heater failed in mid-March. Second, advice from the program led us to apply to the Save on Energy Small Business Program for lighting.

The lighting program paid $2000 of the $2400 cost to convert the approximately 30 fluorescent tube fixtures on the lower level of our building to LED tube fixtures. The new tubes use half the electricity of the old tubes. Our annual savings are close to the $400 net cost of the conversion.

To help us decide on the next greening steps to take, we recently enrolled in Greening Sacred Spaces’ Energy Benchmarking Program. This is integrated with the City of Ottawa’s Better Buildings Ottawa Benchmarking and Auditing Program. These programs not only provide data to compare our building’s energy use with similar buildings but also give free advice on reducing energy use and may also provide grants.

Taking advantage of these programs can help faith communities reduce their carbon footprints.

Dave Longworth is Deputy Warden, Church of the Ascension, Ottawa