Project Category: Energy & Water Conservation

Beth Israel Congregation

Ann Arbor, Michigan

The purpose of this application is to request funds to pay for selected energy efficiency projects at Beth Israel Congregation (BIC), located in Ann Arbor Michigan. With the assistance of Hazon, we have successfully completed a professional energy audit at the main synagogue located at 2000 Washtenaw, and at our school annex and meeting area located at 2010 Washtenaw. The audit was an “ASHRE Level II Audit” offered by the Ann Arbor 2030 District. In 2021, BIC joined the Ann Arbor 2030 District as well as an affiliated subgroup consisting of houses of worship (HoW). The goal of the Ann Arbor 2030 District and the HoW subgroup is to improve energy efficiency and environmentally friendly practices across commercial buildings and HoW, with a goal of reaching a targeted bench mark by 2030. The audit was paid for by a $2,500 grant from the Ann Arbor 2030 District, $1,000 grant from Hazon awarded in 2021, and $300 from BIC. The “Green Team” at BIC would like to respond to the audit by completing a short list of recommended retrofits chosen from the audit, targeted at the 2000 Washtenaw building. As shown in the Table below, we have listed five projects consisting mostly of replacement of light fixtures with LED lighting as well as occupancy sensors for selected area of the building. The Table also provides details on the cost of each project, the savings per year in dollars and energy, and estimated time period for payback of our costs (in years). The total costs of the projects would be $991 which would result in a savings of $349 per year, which would subsequently pay for itself in a 2.8-year period and generate continued savings moving forward. These dollar savings result from a saving of 2,917 kWh of electricity per year. We anticipate that the completed projects will jump start our efforts to reach the Ann Arbor 2030 District goal of 50% reduction in energy use by 2030, and, more broadly, inspire Beth Israel Congregation to undertake more ambitious projects to operate sustainably and contribute to the decarbonization of the global energy system (Table in separate document)

Friendship Circle

West Bloomfield, Michigan

This summer we will be using compostable materials for our overnight summer camp. Throughout the course of the summer, we use hundreds of plates, cups, napkins and would like to switch to compostable materials for the first time in order to have less of an impact on the environment.

Yad Ezra

berkley, Michigan

We need to mulch the gardens and paths of our Genesis garden that is in partnership with Our Lady of La Salette Church. This will decrease our water usage, help limit the amount of weeds that grow and have to be dealt with, and also help the accessibility of our gardens and the ease of knowing where to walk and locations of pathways.

Congregation Shir Tikvah

Troy, Michigan

Did you know that crayons are a petroleum product that takes many years to biodegrade? More than 12 million crayons are manufactured each day? Just think for a moment, “How many dumpsters does that fill?” And how many extra or broken crayons are laying around your house that you don't need and are looking for a responsible way to dispose of them? We're recycling unwanted, rejected broken crayons into new crayons, keeping thousands of pounds out of the landfills and back into the creative hands of children. We will use funds to cover the cost of shipping! We also plan to acquire some native plants for the outdoor area.

Beth Tikvah Synagogue

Richmond, British Columbia

1. A Qualified Environmental Professional (certified through Eco-Canada, along with several other regulated professional bodies) has been appointed to the Board of Directors as the House Chairman. From this position, this qualified individual focus on reviewing building systems and operations such that energy efficiency and sustainability are continually being further integrated into the building. Further this individual has been recently added to the Executive Committee, which will allow them to provide this guidance on larger strategic plans, including developing mid-term plans that may include major changes to the site or building in the form of renovations.

B'nai Jeshurun

New York, New York

In Summer of 2022, we completed a redesign of the green spaces on our terrace. We worked with consultants to design green walls and benches along two walls of our terrace, which allows for a therapeutic and social garden space at our synagogue. All of the materials used were chosen with sustainability, longevity and environmental value in mind, including cedar lumber, a drought-tolerant and lightweight gaia soil system, an irrigation system, biodiverse native pollinator plants and species which are designed to be a haven for bees and butterflies, and green walls which combat urban heat island and offer filtration for both air and noise pollution.

Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue

Detroit, Michigan

Similar to our last project, we are focusing our sustainability efforts on the renovation of our historic downtown building. Construction officially began last month, in June 2022, and we are excited to enter back into the building in early Spring 2023. This renovation will upgrade our facility to meet our community’s needs, while upgrading our energy efficiency and sustainability efforts. Through this effort to be more sustainable, we will be installing energy efficient windows. These windows will better insulate our building, in turn allowing our HVAC system to work more smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, we will have a newly updated electrical system with motion detecting lighting that will be responsible for automatically turning off lights when not in use. Both of these efforts will work towards decreasing our carbon footprint, reducing energy usage, and making our building more sustainability sound.

Clover Hill Park Cemetery

Birmingham, Michigan

Many trees within the cemetery have undergone a disease which has destroyed most, if not all, of the tree. These trees will/have been removed because of this reason. Additionally, some of the newer sections of the cemetery are sparse and in dire need of increased vegetation. Our goal is to plant new greenery that will last for many generations, add to the overall beauty of Clover Hill, and sustain/improve our ecosystem.

Bruce's Minyan of Mole People

New York, New York

To help reduce heat loss in our sanctuary, we'd like to install thermal curtains. We expect this to greatly improve insulation in our building and reduce our HVAC costs. In the long-term, we start a capital campaign to replace our windows with something that has better insulation value.

Jewish Ferndale

Ferndale, Michigan

The Very successful community garden is still recovering from inattentiveness during covid. Many things need repair and expansion.

All articles loaded
No more articles to load