Historic Church Uses Technology to Reduce Energy and Carbon

East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) is engaged in its first-ever comprehensive renovation. Using proprietary technology from the AUROS Group™, the improvements will reduce energy consumption by 25% and significantly improve indoor air quality.

The renovation enabled the church to fulfill its commitment to good stewardship and inclusive hospitality. It is designed to increase the usable space in the building while reducing its use of energy and improving air quality. A fully integrated project team, consisting of ELPC, Pfaffmann + Associates, and CJL Engineering, used AUROS360™ technology to balance building performance goals with construction costs and annual operating costs.

“AUROS360™ was the key to making aspirational performance goals possible for this large and complex building. We are thrilled to achieve a reduction in energy consumption, improved indoor air quality and reduced long-term operating costs all within our construction budget,” commented Stefani Danes, Adjunct Professor of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University.

According to AUROS Group™ President, Craig Stevenson, “this project required the collaboration of all team members. Once ELPC defined its performance goals, the team was able to brainstorm a variety of feasible solutions to get the highest performing building at the lowest possible cost”. AUROS360™ uses IES Virtual Environment whole building modeling technology to set and refine performance goals and then installs smart building infrastructure to track actual operating performance against those integrated goals.

Joining together experts in building design and construction with cutting edge technology, allows owners of new and existing buildings to set performance goals and operate buildings to aspirational levels of performance. “Never before has the pathway to standards like Passive House and Zero Energy been so clear and affordable,” commented Laura Nettleton, founding member of Passive House Western Pennsylvania. “I am very excited to see the transformational impact this type of outcome-based technology will have on the evolution of sustainability in the built environment.”