Faith-based activism is certainly in vogue these days so it should be no surprise that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that houses of worship can now earn the Energy Star label.

There are an estimated 370,000 houses of worship across the United States which now can use Portfolio Manager to receive an energy performance rating, and the most energy efficient among them can earn the Energy Star label.

According to the US EPA website, most congregations can cut energy costs by up to 30% just by investing strategically in efficient equipment, facility upgrades and maintenance.  Worship facilities in the United States spend more than $3 billion annually on energy costs. Improving the energy efficiency of America’s houses of worship by just 10 percent would save nearly 2 billion kilowatt-hours each year, preventing more than 1 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and representing a cost savings of about $315 million annually.

US EPA says that if America’s more than 300,000 houses of worship cut energy use by 10 percent nearly $200 million would be saved for congregations’ missions and other priorities. Think that’s all? They also say that more than 5.4 billion kWh of electricity would be available without additional cost and pollution and if that were not enough, more than 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions would be prevented, equivalent to the emissions of about 400,000 cars, or to planting over a half million acres of trees.

Don’t waste another minute reaching out to your house of worship and helping reduce the congregation’s carbon footprint. US EPA has a guide to help members work with their church, synagogue, mosque or any other religious building. With your help, your congregation could be the next to be awarded the Energy Star Congregation label and would be well on your way to reducing greenhouse gases.

Yesterday, we talked about installing motion detectors to help reduce your power bills while saving precious energy and reducing your overall carbon footprint. Today, let’s look at another type of outdoor lighting that can help keep your home safe, beautiful, and eco-friendly.

Solar lights are great for lighting gardens, walkways, driveways, and other landscaping you want to highlight. You can even find solar lights which float in pools and are activated with motion detection too. Most solar lights include a dusk and dawn sensor which monitors the amount of light around so that it only illuminates after dusk and goes off at dawn.

Generally, solar lights have LED bulbs or incandescent bulbs. LED bulbs, as they exist currently, have a very bright light but tend to disperse quickly, so they are not great for up lighting or illuminating wide walkways and driveways. Instead, these lights tend to be better suited for guiding guests to a front door like lights along an airplane landing strip.

Incandescent bulbs in solar fixtures are becoming harder to find as LED bulbs become more popular. However, they offer more dispersal of light so they are brighter and often found in warmer colors. The light, therefore, is better suited for use in up lighting against a home or other places a homeowner would want illuminated.

Solar lights are simple to install and usually a fraction of the price of electric outdoor lighting. Most are simply dug or pressed into soil and require no wiring at all. Usually each fixture has its own small solar panel and for those times when you would not want their light, tiny switches where they can be turned off.  They can be found at most hardware stores or box discount stores, but in my opinion, you get what you pay for. Pricier versions tend to work better than the discount priced lights. It may be better technology in the solar panel or the quality of the fixture itself. Check reviews of the product and if you see some you like at your neighbors’ house, ask where they got them!

Looking for a great way to illuminate your next evening barbeque? You can even get solar lights which connect to outdoor umbrellas to illuminate the table at night as well as string lights which can make for great ambiance and a real decorator’s touch. You can even get solar string lights for your Christmas decorations next year!

Already have solar lights illuminating your landscape and home? Let us know which ones you like and how well they are working.  Found a particularly neat solar lighting fixture? Let us know about it in the comments section below.

Over the last few weeks I have continually been amazed at how many people leave their porch lights on all night. It’s not clear to me if it is an effort to show that someone is home and to scare off burglars or if our neighbors are trying to leave the lights on for the feral cats. Either way, it’s a huge waste of energy and a place where homeowners can cut down – even a few bucks a year – on their power bills.

Motion detectors when attached to lights offer a great way to reduce your home’s energy use by ensuring that the lights are only turned on when they are needed. It is by no means a new technology, but it is definitely a technology that should be used more.

A variety of motion detector lights are widely available at your local box hardware store, and likely your locally owned hardware store too. While they sell outdoor porch lights which have motion detector features already included, my home did not come with them. As one of our first projects on the home, we went to the hardware store to find an attachment which would make our lights motion sensitive. What we found required a simple installation which involved changing out our light switch and hanging a battery operated sensor on the outside of the house. The installation took less than a half hour and it works beautifully. Our porch light only goes on when you drive up our driveway or when you leave through our front door. Of course if you are in the market for a new fixture, it’s much easier just to get one that comes already hooked up for motion sensitivity.

Outdoor lights aren’t the only ones you should think about adding motion detection to. If you have a closet light that frequently gets left on, motion detection lights can really help. When the door opens the light goes on and stays on for a set number of minutes unless the sensor is presented with more motion. These sensors are available in as simple a product as a light socket which gets screwed into the existing socket or more complicated versions which require the installation of wall switches. Either way, these are essentially do-it-yourself projects which you can easily do to help reduce your overall power consumption.

Its been what seems to me like forever since I posted to BeGreenMinded but I am thrilled to be easing back into my regular posting position with some great news for some major U.S. cities. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency annouced the top 25 cities that are home to the most buildings certified as ENERGY STAR energy efficient. Nationwide there are more than 3,200 buildings, representing 750 million square feet.

Take a moment to see if your hometown made this years list.

ENERGY STAR certified buildings help reduce our nation’s reliance on carbon-based fossil fuels – energy sources which contribute to global climate change. In 2008 alone, ENERGY STAR buildings and plants across the country have saved more than $1.1 billion in energy costs and reduced more than 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions-savings equal to the emissions associated with the electricity use of more than 1 million homes for a year.

2008 showed an increase of 130% from the number of ENERGY STAR buildings built the year before. With the passage of a “green” economic stimulus package in Congress which includes incentives for the construction of energy efficient buildings, it’s likely that in 2009 and 2010 we will see an even greater bump in the number of ENERGY STAR buildings.

And what is good for the environment, is good for the economy too. Building energy efficient buildings reduces the amount of energy the building will use over the life of the structure. ENERGY STAR qualified office buildings cost $0.50 cents per square foot less to operate than average office buildings. Even better, ENERGY STAR qualified office buildings consume nearly 2x less energy per square foot as average buildings.

While the buildings included in this latest announcement are commercial in their use, everyone can take a lesson in energy efficiency. Check out ways you can incorporate energy efficiency and ENERGY STAR into your home.

Have a tip that you think others can use to improve their home’s energy efficiency? Share it below in the comments.