Houston, TX— St. Luke’s Catholic Church has found salvation from the Texas heat thanks to the Way Companies. The church will now save more than a million dollars over the lifespan of the new HVAC equipment installed by Way—much of it in the form of cost avoidance.
St. Luke’s Catholic Church is a diverse and unified community church in southeast Houston. The parish was established in 1975 for the catholic community living in the area and it has grown steadily over the years.
The Way Companies were founded in 1918. Way is one of the largest and most experienced mechanical contractors in the state. St. Luke’s Catholic Church and Way Companies entered in a Performance Program that allowed the church to install the improvements. An Energy Performance Program is a means of raising money for improvements in energy efficiency that is based on the improvements’ projected savings.
Before coming in contact with Way Companies, St. Luke’s had comfort issues throughout their facility. The air was not being treated well enough to heat and cool the building.
An audit revealed the main root of the problem was the thirty-five year old equipment. The system was antiquated and had become unable to meet the needs of the structure. The equipment could not even cool the outside air, and the replacement parts for a system as old as St. Luke’s were rare and expensive. The assessment revealed that the Church’s HVAC system had become an unnecessary cost-driver.
The Way Companies installed ninety-seven tons of HVAC, a networked control system, bird screens, and replaced the outdoor canopy lighting—to name a few. St. Luke’s congregation will no longer suffer any discomfort sitting in the pews. They will have treated air cooling them down this summer, and with the near-record heat in Houston, the upgrades will be worth the investments.
