New York Landmarks Conservancy
Common Bond Volume 15, No. 1
Spring-Summer 1999

Fire and ICE:
A Talk with Andrew Rudin In 1980, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish denominational leaders created Philadelphia's Interfaith Coalition on Energy (ICE) to reduce energy costs for the area's 4,000 oil-price-shocked religious congregations. In 1982, they hired Andrew Rudin to coordinate the effort. Since then, ICE has analyzed the energy used by about 500 of these congregations, published 70 newsletters and dozens of other articles; a legacy for congregations to examine if they want to lower operating costs.

What is ICE's philosophy in working with congregations?
The ICE Advisory Board set the original philosophy which has two concepts — first, we draw conclusions from measured data, and second, we provide advice only in interest of the congregations. That means we don't sell anything except our publications and consulting time.

Why is there such interest in energy from congregations with historic houses of worship?
Very old worship spaces didn't use electricity, gas, or fuel oil. If you want to learn how to minimize their use, look at the design wisdom of these beautiful spaces — natural light and ventilation, ability to withstand cold temperatures, and all the grace of inefficient but beautiful craftsmanship... probably beautiful because it's inefficient.

After all your experience with energy and congregations, what is the key advice you can give our readers?
Well, the Amish worship inside their homes and don't use cars or electricity. So they are the winners. If you need a separate worship space, the most important advice is to turn things off, buy energy at the lowest cost, tune the energy systems to optimal performance, and to invest in more efficient replacement systems; in that order. "Very old worship spaces didn't use electricity, gas, or fuel oil. If you want to learn how to minimize their use, look at the design wisdom of these beautiful spaces; natural light and ventilation, ability to withstand cold temperatures, and all the grace of inefficient but beautiful craftsmanship."

Why don't you mention insulation and weather-stripping?
In intermittently-heated buildings, insulation, secondary glazings, and weather-stripping hold heat in empty buildings, which doesn't make a lot of sense. Insulation, improved glazings, and weather-stripping slow the rate of heat loss, and are very important when buildings are continually occupied. Intermittently-used buildings don't follow the same rules.

How can you be so sure?
Well, our data show that older worship spaces, which are huge testimonies to inefficiency, cost less to energize than the newer ones, mostly because of lighting and air conditioning. Second, we simulated a computer model of a church and changed parameters like secondary glazing, temperature controls, insulation, and zoning. Very simple temperature controls are the best investments. From an energy point of view, a three percent savings account was a better investment than adding rigid plastic over the stained glass windows. The simulation showed that a clock thermostat set at 52 degrees Fahrenheit for unoccupied periods had a return over 400 percent.

What type of savings is ICE achieving?
That's like asking how much a car costs; the question has too many variables. Let's go back to the priorities I listed above. First, turning things off. In one church, we found a ten-horsepower motor that ran all the time "because that's what the contractor said we needed to do." Well, by using the motor only when necessary, the savings was about $6,000 per year. Second, buying lower cost energy. For example, in Philadelphia, we are now able to purchase electricity competitively. With one phone call, we were able to save a synagogue over $3,500. Third, tuning systems. We test every boiler and furnace we can to find that the heating technicians are a bit sloppy. If we improve the combustion efficiency of a $8,000 per year heating bill by five percent, that's a sweet $400 into the collection plate, usually by just getting the technician to pay attention. Last, purchasing efficient replacements. Some congregations have reduced their lighting wattage by half with a payback of less than three years.

What do you see happening with energy deregulation?
It's happening now in Pennsylvania. The most important thing for a congregation to do is to pay attention to the details. Last week I was with members of one congregation who failed to send in one lousy postcard to be able to request proposals from electric suppliers. That little mistake cost them at least $4,000 next year. The next most important thing is to keep shopping right up to the deadlines. We found the best deals were made then.

What is the value of an energy survey?
If a utility or government person does them, they are worthless because the congregation is not going to get the specific advice it needs. ICE does not accept funding from governments, utilities, or foundations, so we can bring in specific contractors and vendors right at the start. There is nothing like a high-quality, competitively-priced proposal to start the ball rolling for the property committee. Generalizations slow down the process and make everyone fed up with energy consultants...rightly so. Sometimes, congregations merely need to read and act without any outside consultations. ICE has dozens of publications which are based in the real life activities of congregations.

Can your effort in Philadelphia be copied in New York State?
Absolutely. The denominations have to nurture a political will to cooperate together, and sometimes that's hard to do. The Landmarks Conservancy can help do this outside denominational politics. When you think of all that can happen, it's worth it. We have negotiated with the local utilities four times now, and we lost only once. Plus, we are able to gather and disseminate helpful information. Members of congregations are usually busy with other activities, much more important than shopping for the best deals on lamps, thermostats, and boilers.

What are your dreams for congregations?
I would like them to pay more attention to the people that actually run our buildings. I have met a lot of really fine custodians, and some real characters too. What good is a million dollar restoration if its maintenance is left to an underpaid, untrained, and unsupervised person in charge of purchasing and using destructive chemicals, for example? We need to nurture our building operators. We may have a deficit in preventive maintenance, but we have an even bigger arrearage with our building operators. After all, congregations are in the people business, right? Plus, I think New York ought to have its own interfaith coalition on energy. What do you think? Are they going to let Philadelphia have all the credit?