System Size: 21.5 kW
Est. carbon offset: 463 tons of CO2 (25 yrs)
Equivalent: 1,505,746 miles not driven 7.9 acres of trees planted (25 yrs)

As a member of Interfaith Power and Light, an interfaith organization dedicated to helping congregations help the environment, the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco installed solar and undertook energy efficiency measures to lighten their congregation’s carbon footprint. In addition to installing a 21.5kW solar system with Luminalt, the church’s Green Committee took other energy saving measures such as retrofitting the lights and caulking cracks. Beyond cutting down their emissions, these simple measures realized significant savings for the church.

The Green Committee is a group of parishioners at UUSF who find ways of engaging the community on the church’s commitment to the earth. The Green Committee was also responsible for organizing the Solar Task Force, a group of UUSF parishioners charged with guiding the church through the process of finding and selecting a solar installer. The task force ultimately chose Luminalt for our reputation of craftsmanship and our commitment to social justice. Luminalt installed 96 panels on the church that are hidden from the street. The solar system at the First Unitarian Universalist Church now saves more than $500 per month, with their solar system producing 25,600kWh per year.

The First Unitarian Universalist Church’s decision to install solar was guided by the basic tenet of the church to demonstrate “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.” Unitarian Universalism draws in part from the “spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”