As stewards of God's creation, a number of savvy church leaders and managers have realized the need to develop strategies that lower energy costs and improve comfort and operation in many of our nation's houses of worship. The benefits are numerous, including providing a healthy sacred space as well as protecting God's creation for current and future generations.

XCI Corporation, www.xcicorp.com , is leading the way through simple and powerful solutions that "bridge the gap" between conventional thermostats and large, expensive building control systems. With the networked thermostat, managers can control and monitor a single thermostat, and the entire facility, using the PC.

What does the facility manager need from the thermostat in terms of different set points?

Most conventional programmable stats offer four different set points per day. This allows, as an example, 72 degrees F in the morning to provide comfort to the opening of the office, 70 degrees F during the day while activities occur, 72 degrees F in the early evening for meetings at night, and 68 degrees F at night while the facility closed. This example is considered in the thermostat industry to be an average or typical user. However, the reality of facilities is that, due to size and activities that occur, the occupancy schedules can make the standard programmable thermostat with its rigid scheduling program useless.

Enter the communicating thermostat. XCI's technology brings computerized networking to thermostats much like local area network (LAN) technology brought cost-effective networking to the PC. By providing very simple and powerful controls, the facility manager operates the thermostat just as any other conventional thermostat placed on the wall. The distinct difference between XCI's thermostats and a conventional thermostat is communications. The thermostat can be approached and adjusted, just like any electronic thermostat.

The communicating thermostat system allows the facility manager to review all thermostats in the facility right on the office PC, and to control and monitor events and decide, based on activities, what temperature levels to maintain. The advantages are a high level of customization and energy savings. These attributes are especially popular considering the volatility and continued escalation of energy prices.

Duane Masters, pastor of operations of Church of the Rock in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is currently installing a customized system in his facility.

"In managing a large sanctuary and many classrooms, we found that often we were cooling or heating areas that were unused, sometimes for days," said Masters. "Congregants would increase or decrease the temperature and not return to a standard, and the system would be left on. We needed a system that would easily monitor every area of our building, provide a simple way to maximize daily comfort, and ensure energy savings. The XCI system met all those needs, and the added bonus was the ease of installation."

Jamie Schools of Legacy Christian Church in Overland Park, Kansas, found the installation seamless and the outstanding customer service and on-site training to be invaluable.

"We are faced daily with the increases to utility costs and the impact that electric utility deregulation and higher energy prices will have on our bottom line," said Schools. "We are realizing savings already."

The Colonial Baptist Church in North Carolina has also installed XCI system this year. Facility Engineer Justin Barrett is responsible for maintaining 160,000 square feet, which spans five buildings that are interconnected.

"The installation was straightforward and simple, and, once everything was wired, we had a working system up and running on our office computer," said Barrett.

Phase 1 of the system was installed in March, and the savings are twofold.

"I have peace of mind knowing that the AC units are shutting off in a timely manner, but, more importantly, we have reduced equipment runtime," Barrett said. "We had a number of mechanical failures, which resulted in freezing and water damage; this no longer occurs, so we have realized energy, equipment and labor reductions in the first six months."

Ed Carter of the Northwest Christian Church in Georgia details the following features and benefits of the system:

* Simple Operation—controlled by your office PC, you have all the information at your fingertips
* Exceptional Convenience—eliminating the need for individual programming and resetting of thermostats saves time
* Energy Savings—the temperature settings are customized within the system for the facility, which immediately delivers increased energy savings

Carter said, "My staff and I have peace of mind knowing that system is operating optimally, whether we are in the building or not."

XCI's keen market insight enabled it to recognize the promise held by networked or communicating thermostats at a time when few had an inkling of its potential. This early-mover advantage allowed XCI to expand its business and win new construction contracts.

The team of XCI continues to expand product portfolio and to work with customers to create user-friendly interfaces that provide energy savings without the initial cost-prohibitive investment.