CT houses of worship tackle rising utility costs through energy efficiency

It’s not hard to find a Connecticut church that dates back to the 19th or even the 18th century. But finding a way to heat and cool these old buildings as utility costs rise and congregations shrink is a timely challenge.

Rev. Albert Bailey is the pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church, one of Hartford’s oldest Black churches, which dates back to the early 1900s.

The church can seat up to 500 people, but a good turnout nowadays is about 100 people. Still, the place needs to be heated and cooled, even if fewer people are turning up.

In order to keep the bills down, the church reduced its number of open days. It also holds most of its meetings and choir rehearsals during the day to save money and avoid keeping the lights on at night. But that only keeps costs down so much.

But boosting energy efficiency is not just about saving costs, it’s also about faith. Pastor Bailey said the new lights lower their bills by about $90 a month, which goes back to the soup kitchen and food pantry when donations run low.