info@delawareipl.org (302) 703-7086

Faith Efficiency

Faith Efficiencies with Engergize Delaware:

A partnership with Energize Delaware, the Faith Efficiencies program provides many energy resources including energy assessments and recommendations, funding options and ongoing cost-saving energy education to faith communities statewide.

Faith organizations Benefits:

In partnership with and fully funded by Energize Delaware (DESEU), DeIPL shared a goal: To empower religious communities and their individual members to adopt responsive, creative, effective and affordable energy conservation, energy efficiency, and renewable energy strategies with the support of energy resources that can

  • Lowered energy costs
  • Improved building operations
  • Increase comfort levels
  • Provide healthier environments
  • Increased community awareness

Participating faith communities will receive:

  • A comprehensive energy audit, 100% funded by Energize Delaware
  • Detailed energy improvements ranked by the highest rate of return on investment
  • Financial incentive advice on available low-interest financing or grants
  • Home energy workshops geared to each congregation.

House of Faith

DeIPL is here to assist your house of faith learn how to save energy, which saves money and helps lower climate change causing pollution. The surest way to learn about energy savings opportunities is by requesting an energy audit through the Faith Efficiencies program from Energize Delaware. Details can be found on this website https://delawareipl.org/dev/faith-efficiencies or request an energy audit from Energize Delaware at https://www.energizedelaware.org/nonresidential/public-nonprofit/faith-efficiencies.

For more information, please contact Gerald Stratford at, gerald@delawareipl,org  302-312-4749

Whether you get an external audit or do it yourself, the following guide will be invaluable to help you plan, evaluate, and make energy saving actions.

Energy Star Action Workbook for Congregations this workbook can serve as a resource and planning guide for clergy, staff, and laypersons at houses of worship who want to increase the energy and water efficiency of their facilities by implementing realistic and cost-effective improvement projects. You may want to consider hosting an Energy Treasure Hunt at your congregation where teams walk around a building looking for quick ways to save energy which can add up to big savings. Please find the Energy Star Treasure Map here for a download copy to use in your treasure hunt’.

Additionally, we recommend forming your own Stewardship Team, also known as a Green Team, which is a core group of people in a congregation who are committed to raising awareness about the urgent need to protect God’s Creation and to work for environmental sustainability and responsibility. Green Teams concepts and suggestions may be found in the Action Workbook, or also be found in a writeup by the Episcopal Diocese of Western MA at https://revivingcreation.org/how-to-start-a-green-team-at-your-church.

Home

For Energy Savings at Home, our energy partner Energize Delaware has several options that are easy to arrange an will save you energy and money. The program descriptions may be found at https://www.energizedelaware.org/residential For more information, Please contact them by calling 877-524-1339.

For do-it-yourself options, the EPA has a great resource of choices at https://www.energystar.gov/campaign/home. These include tools for Home Energy Assessment, Home Improvement options for insulation, heating and cooling, lighting, appliance selection and contractor finders.

Cool Congregations

Across the country, people of faith are making changes in their homes and places of worship to prevent global warming through our Cool Congregations program. Our unique stewardship program helps congregations reduce the carbon footprint of their facilities and engages their members in reducing their carbon footprint at home. The program educates, inspires, and saves money too.

Cool Congregations Narrative – Full Description

Sponsored by California Interfaith Power and Light, this program has everything you need to help your congregation become a Cool Congregation: start up kits, calculators, a certification process, and a challenge that awards $1,000 in 5 categories. You can also offset your remaining emissions by planting trees through Interfaith Power & Light’s faith-based programs.


When you sign up you get a faith-based guide that helps you reduce the carbon footprint of your congregation’s facilities with this unique faith-based guide. It includes:

  • How to form a strong green team and inspire your congregation
  • Suggestions for projects – what other congregations have done
  • Resources for action including the popular 25 Steps Under $25, and 25 Steps Over $25 to saving energy in your congregation
  • Energy Audits – do it yourself or ask DeIPL for a FREE professional audit through our Faith Efficiencies program.
  • How to apply for Cool Congregations Certification

To join, click here or go to https://interfaithpowerandlight.org/coolcongregations/about/

Faith Climate Action Week, April 19 – 28, 2024

Narrative: Faith Climate Action Week is ten days in April during Earth Month when IPL congregations focus on how we can all take action to protect our climate. This year's theme is Common Ground: Cultivating Connections between Food, Faith, and Climate.

Faith Climate Action Week is Interfaith Power & Light’s premier week of climate action: sermons, worship services, educational events, and hands-on-action to show that people of faith are leading the way to heal our climate. It is a 10-day period of activities in celebration around Earth Day. Through the actions of people like you, Faith Climate Action Week has reached close to 2-million people with more than 5,000 climate and Earth stewardship sermons and talks nationwide.

Order the Faith Climate Action Week Organizer’s Kit

Use this kit to find ideas for action with tips and how-to advice to conduct a successful week. Printed kits are available for sale in January, and downloadable kits are available in March. These kits are “evergreen” and can be used any time of the year.

Click here to get you ORGANIZER KITS

Contact: For general inquiries: info@DelawareIPL.org

Delaware Interfaith Power & Light (DeIPL) is one of 40 state affiliates of Interfaith Power & Light, initiated in California in 1998. DEIPL was founded in 2011. Our shared mission is to provide a religious response to climate change through promotion of energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmental justice strategies.

For general inquiries: info@DelawareIPL.org