Rimbey United Church has undergone a big transformation over the past few months in an effort to go greener.
The United Church of Canada, which is the parent organization, has offered grants to various congregations to put money into their church to upgrade their carbon emissions and energy use.
"We looked at that and we thought there's something there, and somebody from the church came out and did various energy audits, and there were some recommendations that came out of that energy audit where we might be able to make some savings in our annual energy use," said John Hull, congregation member and part of the property committee that managed the work.
One of the most significant recommendations and additions was adding solar panels to the roof of the church. There were also many smaller projects that were recommended, including replacing single-glazed windows with newer windows that are double or triple-glazed and replacing all the light fixtures with LED fixtures, along with adding some installation in some areas.
"There may be another level to it that they recommend, but this component is finished," said Hull. The project has been going on for the last six months or so.
The grant was structured in such a way that the church had to contribute a third of all the costs. So, it ended up raising some money through the church for that and submitted their bills with the grant money then being paid out.
Going green has also cut back on some costs through the church as well.
"Our electrical usage will probably be paid back in less than four years then we would be getting energy for free."
Hull said the grant made the projects very doable.
"We have lots of good skilled people to manage all the changes and found a couple of good builders," he said, adding that the roof panels were done by an outfit in Red Deer.
The church also upgraded its kitchen appliances to an energy star rating.
"They were very old, a freezer and a cooler, and so we bought new ones of those, again with a name to reducing our carbon footprint."
