GREENING SYNAGOGUES RESOURCES

HVAC (heat-vent-air-conditioning) system

The heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system is often a building’s single biggest user of energy. That also makes it the single best place to start trimming utility bills, energy use, and environmental impact. This is obviously an issue of financial and ecological importance; it is also eminently a Jewish concern, as explained here. Most helpful actions fall under three basic categories:

• Turn it off, when not needed;
• Run it less, employing more efficient settings via a programmable thermostat;
• Make it more efficient in the first place.

The first category is simple -- avoid using the system altogether, whenever possible. Often the desired temperature can be reached by opening windows, using shades or blinds, or other simple, non-energy-consuming approaches. When the weather is nicer outside than in, use the vent rather than the heat or air conditioning; it’s far more efficient. Ceiling fans are an efficient, economical way to distribute heat in the winter, and provide a cooling breeze in the summer. If you do have a manual thermostat, turn it to its overnight setting a half-hour or hour before the last person leaves, to take advantage of the residual heat or coolness. But on/off is too simple of a choice for your HVAC system, given today’s remarkable opportunities.

Running it less involves programmable thermostats, the best of which bear the Energy Star seal. Most single-unit thermostats cost under $100, though building-wide arrays across various zones will cost much more. In either case, they quickly pay for themselves in reduced energy bills, and after the short initial payback period, they save the synagogue money, month in and month out. Just reminding staff and volunteers to switch the settings on a typical old manual thermostat is inefficient and often ineffective. This is one upgrade you’ll never regret.

Of course, simply installing such a thermostat will do nothing; the challenge is to program it well. When it’s cold outside, be unafraid to let the building cool off overnight (or for days on end in the case of a social hall or education wing which may be mostly unused except on weekends), down to just the point where you protect the pipes from freezing. When it’s warm out, let the unoccupied building (or wing/s) heat up a bit. Set the thermostat to move to a desired temperature just a few hours before folks get there. Then educate the community to wear seasonally-appropriate dress. There’s nothing wrong with praying at 75 degrees in the summer, or 67 degrees in the winter -- every degree by which you tell the thermostat not to run the system saves an average of three percent on utility bills, and concomitant greenhouse gas emissions.

So it’s important to use your HVAC system for the fewest possible amount of time. But the efficiency of the system itself is just as important. New technologies enable the same amount of heating or cooling with the input of much less energy, but you have to look carefully (on the ubiquitous yellow EnergyGuide label) at each component of the system, to ensure that you are getting one of the most efficient units for its class and size. Round down the amount of square footage that a particular unit will cover, and get the smallest possible unit for the area. Consider heat pumps and other supporting systems which can further reduce your energy use (and electric bills). And no matter what, be sure your system is well-maintained -- filters changed often, coils and blowers cleaned, duct leaks plugged, registers adjusted, thermometers calibrated, and so on.

All these steps will make an enormous difference. Of course, there are other vital steps that work in tandem with the HVAC system. Incandescent bulbs waste electricity as heat, so it’s a two-in-one savings during warmer months (or year-round in warmer climes) to switch them to compact fluorescents or other more efficient bulbs. And no step is more basic than simply sealing up leaks around doors and windows, and insulating well. You can get more energy-saving ideas -- and perhaps even rebates, peak-hour pricing arrangements, or other incentives -- from your local electric utility (parts of this webpage were based on How to Reduce Your Energy Costs, a booklet produced and distributed by a consortium of utilities).

A few further tips follow:

10 Ways to Save Energy

1. Turn off lights when not needed.
2. Remove unneeded light bulbs.
3. When replacing bulbs, use lower watt- age or more efficient ones.
4. Lower your heating settings.
5. Raise your air conditioning settings.
6. Reduce heating and air conditioning during unoccupied hours.
7. Turn off heating and air conditioning somewhat before the end of your operating hours.
8. Have your heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems serviced and adjusted.
9. Turn off machines and equipment when not needed.
10. Make sure all automatic controls are in good working condition and are set properly.

3 Ways to Save Lighting Energy

1. Reduce light levels whenever there is more light than needed.
2. Install more efficient lighting or controls.
3. Do proper maintenance to minimize

2 Ways to Waste Lighting Energy

1. Transmission losses- when dirt or some other obstruction blocks some of the light; or when the light source is too far away from what you want illuminated.
2. Over lighting- when more light is used than is needed or when a "free" light source such as daylight is not used.

Some Recommended Lighting Levels
(in footcandles)

• 1-5    Outdoor walkways
• 5-10    Cafeteria dining areas
• 10-20    Reception areas, lightly used office areas
• 20-50    Typical office work
• 50-100    More demanding visual tasks (office or shop)
• 100-200    Especially difficult visual tasks - low contrast

Tips for Operating your HVAC Efficiently

• For heating, set thermostats lower and higher for cooling.
• Eliminate unnecessary use of your HVAC system during unoccupied hours.
• Have someone test, clean, and adjust your boiler or furnace.
• Have your air conditioner, heat pump, and chiller properly maintained.
• Reduce fan speeds.

Hot Water: Major Ways to Save

• Reduce the heat loss in the system.
• Reduce the temperature of the hot water; it is often much hotter than necessary.
• Reduce the amount of hot water used.
• Reduce the time the water heater operates.
• Maintenance.

Maintenance of your Envelope System

1. Seal cracks with caulking or other materials.
2. Tighten up window and door frames.
3. Replace broken glass.
4. Fix doors and windows to operate properly.
5. Adjust, replace, or install automatic door closers.
6. Cover window air conditioners in cold weather.

12 Basic Rules for Reducing Energy Consumption by Machines

1. Turn it off whenever possible.
2. Don't forget the "hidden" machines and equipment, such as computers and photocopiers.
3. Adjust controls to a temperature, speed, or other setting that uses less energy by still does the job properly.
4. Use your equipment more efficiently.
5. Clean, tune and adjust, lubricate, replace worn parts, and otherwise maintain the equipment.
6. Don't create unnecessary problems.
7. Manage your electricity use to avoid high demand charges.
8. When equipment that is worn out must be replaced, choose the most energy-efficient replacement.
9. If cost-justified, do a major overhaul to make equipment more energy efficient.
10. If cost justified, replace equipment that still operates, with more energy-efficient equipment.
11. Install new automatic controls.
12. Consider using waste heat to advantage.