The city of Medford on Oct. 18 handed out its annual Green Awards to Medford homeowners, businesses and organizations working to keep the city environmentally sound. Grace Church Medford was among the organizations honored. The city noted Grace Church's many green improvements including:
1) Converted old oil boilers and 4 furnaces to high efficiency gas boilers with hydronic heat exchangers.
2) Upgraded sanctuary lighting from 300W incandescent to custom dimmable LED fixtures.
3) Worked with National Grid to upgrade the interior and exterior lighting to LED and high efficiency fluorescents and occupancy sensors throughout.
4) Installed 25.7 kW solar array that provides about 80 percent of annual electricity consumption.
5) Initiated a community garden on their front lawn with raised beds, of which the food grown is donated to local food pantries.
6) Installed two rain barrels to capture and use rain water on the grounds.