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Insights > Historic New Orleans church sees cost savings with smart thermostats
Historic New Orleans church sees cost savings with smart thermostats
09/18/2024
During any given week, Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church in Uptown New Orleans hosts hundreds of people for different activities on its campus. Its buildings serve as gathering spaces and include a sanctuary, multipurpose rooms, commercial kitchen, year-round childcare and pre-k program classrooms, a residential home used for offices and missional housing, and a parsonage. Weekly activities include youth education, community meetings, food pantry outreach and more. All of this activity, while a blessing, means that maintenance and energy efficiency are always top of mind for the church staff.
That’s why Rev. Jay Hogewood was intrigued last year when congregation members told him about Energy Smart, an Entergy New Orleans program that provides guidance and resources to Orleans Parish entities to help them save money on utility bills. He invited an Energy Smart advisor to visit the church campus to receive free recommendations. The church installed 12 smart thermostats with the help of Energy Smart in different buildings on the property. Staff members can adjust them either on-site or remotely using an app on their phones, giving them round-the-clock control over building temperatures.
“In the month of April, we saved 25% on our energy bills because we can set the thermostats to higher temperatures when no one is here and turn them down before people arrive, no matter where we are,” Rev. Hogewood said. “The spaces are actually more comfortable, and at the same time, we’re finding substantial savings in the past year since partnering with Energy Smart.”
For example, Rev. Hogewood said that when a Rayne building needed to be cooler for an event this past spring, a facilities employee working off-site used an app to adjust the thermostat remotely and turn the air conditioner on, creating a pleasant environment for later that day.
“Our staff meets every Monday and we are able to compare our energy usage to the same months and weeks in previous years,” he said. “You can very clearly see the impacts of adjusting a thermostat up when a space is not being used. We would go through so much more energy, and therefore money, cooling the sanctuary during the week when nobody was in it. The same is true for some of our other buildings. It’s helping the staff see and understand our spaces as a whole. It’s exciting to see the savings and think about where we can make further improvements.”
Rev. Hogewood said he knows Rayne is only scratching the surface of energy efficiency. The church will soon embark on an extensive restoration and renewal project for the entire campus as it marks its 150th anniversary, and Rev. Hogewood said improving energy use and cost-saving measures will be a crucial part of that work.
“We are hopeful that our restoration and renewal will lead us to a better stewardship of our resources and doing a better job of honoring God’s work and serving the community around us,” he said.
Entergy New Orleans business customers can contact Energy Smart to schedule a free assessment with an energy advisor who can evaluate opportunities for energy savings.
For more information or to request a consultation with an energy advisor to discuss potential projects, visit energysmartnola.com/businesses, email info@energysmartnola.com or call 504-229-6868.
