Energy Security & Programs
Brooklyn Catholic Diocese Outreach
St. Jerome (1901) in Brooklyn
Brooklyn is known as the borough of churches because of the many beautiful religious facilities that serve its population of close to 3 million. The churches and schools add to the architectural flavor of the borough because they reflect the skills of the decorative arts of the period in which they were built. The 8 parishes that are of specific interest for this initiative are: Holy Cross (1851)*, Holy Innocents (1909), Our Lady of Refuge (1911), St. Catherine of Genoa (1911), St. Jerome (1901), St. Rose of Lima (1870), St. Therese of Lisieux (1926), St. Vincent Ferrer (1923) and are, on average, over one hundred years old.
Project Components
This has serious implications for the costs of maintenance and energy management because, as we know, the construction technologies of the past were less than concerned with energy efficiency. Add to this the natural loss of the original efficiency of material due to settling of insulation for example, incidental weather damage, etc. and we can understand the need to assess the energy efficiency of the above mentioned facilities in the light of modern energy management technology and with an eye to the advantages offered by exiting State sponsored financial incentives for energy efficiency.
The cluster of parishes listed above, and other institutions in the diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, can greatly benefit from a comprehensive approach to energy efficiency initiative that will look at:
- The institutional facilities and their energy efficiency through a thorough energy audit carried by qualified energy engineers. The purpose of this audit will be to identify areas where energy improvements and costs savings can be realized through either corrective measures (additional insulation, replacement of outdated equipment, etc. or the installation of alternative energy systems, photovoltaic solar panels, solar water heaters or pre-heaters, etc.
- A set of 4 educational workshops, lasting about 1 hour each, with time for questions and answers, will inform small building owners, tenants and homeowners who face similar energy issues in their own dwellings, albeit at a smaller scale, strategies that can reduced the costs of warming and cooling their properties while saving money. Property owners will also benefit from home energy audits where and as appropriate. Besides the energy efficiency issue for the homes we will also address the issue of indoor air quality and electrical safety.
- Small businesses in the community will be assisted in identifying NYSERDA programs that can help them address their energy needs and reduce operating costs. We will also work with parishioners and community residents to develop bulk buying initiatives and other community based initiatives that will work closely with neighborhood merchants to ensure that they have the opportunity to provide some of the goods and services that the initiative will identify.