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1950s
Church building designs in Europe, Australia, Pacific, Asia, and the United States use overhangs and verandas to reduce heat load.
Church building designs in hot climates throughout the world use overhangs and verandas to reduce heat load
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Meetinghouse with overhangs in Papua New Guinea
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Meetinghouse with overhangs in Papua New Guinea located in the South Pacific
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1950s
Rain water collection and storage in the Pacific Area is used for non-potable needs and irrigation.
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Recycled water in Takaroa, Tahiti is stored for irrigation use
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Water collection tanks utilize rain run-off at Pacific Area meetinghouse
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1971
The Church Office Building in Salt Lake City employs an ingenious cooling and heating system by using several underground spring wells which is 30 percent more efficient than conventional systems.
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Operators make routine inspections of four wells and their pumps to ensure proper working order
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Blue tanks separate sand from water and deposit in a cement reservoir (left of tanks) for removal
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Red valves switch the supply from one well to another. The blue tank removes the sand in the water.
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1980s
Carbon emissions are reduced by limiting travel to meetings through the use of satellite systems at church buildings worldwide. Up to 100,000 gallons of fuel is estimated to be saved per broadcast event.
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1980s
In Susanville, California a meetinghouse is heated 100 percent with geothermal energy.
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Geothermal energy is generated from a well located on the Susanville, California property.
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The geothermal plant saves nearly $11,000 or 109 megawatt-hours in energy annually.
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1980s
Meetinghouses in Africa, West and South America, Mexico and Pacific Islands take advantage of natural ventilation through passive cooling design.
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Louvered windows create cross draft
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Buildings are positioned to take advantage of natural air currents
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1980s
Photo cell lights in meetinghouses across the country sense daylight and darkness to automatically turn exterior lights on and off. Sensors save up to $120 or up to 1,200 kilowatt-hours of energy per meetinghouse annually
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1990s
Moisture sensors that monitor weather conditions via satellite shut off church building sprinkler systems during rainfall. Combined with xeriscaping reduces water usage by 50 percent or 356,000 gallons per building each season
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Control monitor for satellite moisture sensor
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Sprinklers only operate in dry conditions with satellite moisture sensor
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1990
Motion sensors are installed to automatically turn interior lights and fans off when meeting house rooms are not in use. Saves up to $130 or up to 1.3 megawatt-hours in energy per meetinghouse annually
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1995
Low flow toilets are installed in new meeting houses. They use 1/3 less water than conventional fixtures.
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1995
The tabernacle in Vernal is rebuilt into the Vernal Temple by reusing materials from the historic structure. LEED points are awarded for the use of existing materials.
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1999
Water treatment plants are constructed at several chapels to protect against contamination seeping into the limited Tarawa, Kiribati ground water supply.
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Recycling baptismal font water used for irrigation is one conservation method on Tarawa, Kiribati
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Baptismal font in Tarawa, Kiribati
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The island's only grassy field is irrigated with recycled water.
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1999
The water desalinization plant at the Church’s Moroni High School in Tarawa, Kiribati helps preserve the island’s limited fresh water supply
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2000
An alpine meadow on the rooftop of the Conference Center in Salt Lake City is not only an aesthetically pleasing garden oasis, but also utilizes a water recycled river system.
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Waterfall at the Conference Center utilizes recycled water.
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Recycled water is used for this water feature on the Conference Center roof.
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2000
High efficiency lighting is implemented in meeting houses to lower energy usage.
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Energy usage is reduced 70 percent in meetinghouses with high efficincy lighting
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Energy efficient lighting is found throughout Church meetinghouses
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2004
Church buildings in Liepaja, Latvia are built with radiant heated floors for an energy savings of 30 percent Compared to conventional heating.
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The Liepaja meetinghouse chapel after radiant heated floors are installed.
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The front entrance of the Liepaja meetinghouse.
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Exterior view of Liepaja meetinghouse
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2005
SMART controllers used to reduce water usage up to 50 percent by automatically adjusting irrigation run times. The roots of plants and sod are monitored to determine when water is needed.
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2006
Xeriscape landscaping employs the use of drought tolerant plants, decorative rocks and bark to reduce water use by 50 percent with meetinghouse landscaping.
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Rocks, wild grass and evergreen trees make up this meetinghouse's landscape.
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Drought tolerant ground cover plants
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More evergreen trees and river rock make up this xeriscape
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2007
Solar power installed at a new meetinghouse on Tuamotu, Tahiti provides power in conjunction with onsite generation.
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2009
The new Church History Library is built with windows that block out ultraviolet rays and heat. An automated shade system can be programmed to lower during peak sunlight to keep the interior cooler.
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Special UV blocking windows help keep the library's reading rooms cool with less energy
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Windows at the Church History Library reduce solar heat gain up to 78 percent
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2010
In keeping with the Church’s commitment to stewardship and conservation, five meeting houses are built as part of a pilot program to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified specifications, the construction industry’s highest standard.
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Meetinghouses in Farmington, UT, Apache Junction, AZ and Logandale, NV will be solar powered
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Installers are careful while unloading a solar panel at the Farmington Building
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Solar panels are transported to the roof of the Farmington building for installation
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The solar panels are installed on tracks on top of the roof
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The solar panels will completely power the building
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