The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are dedicated to following Christ through the teachings of St. Benedict, a monk who lived 1500 years ago and who valued every object as a gift from God. St. Benedict taught respect for
The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration are dedicated to following Christ through the teachings of St. Benedict, a monk who lived 1500 years ago and who valued every object as a gift from God. St. Benedict taught respect for all things because everything is reflective of God. The environment is considered sacred in this same way and the Sisters have long been dedicated to it.
Before installing solar electricity, the Sisters had already taken several important steps to conserve resources. Five years ago they installed solar to provide hot water for the laundry, and scarcely a year before they installed rainwater harvesting in a courtyard to water fruit trees. Besides that, their monastery was initially designed 73 years ago to incorporate a partial greywater system.
Even before getting their new solar energy system, the Sisters were actively trying to reduce the amount of electricity they used. One way to do this was by changing out all the light bulbs within the monastery to efficient fluorescent and LED lights 3 years ago. They received funding through TEP’s subsidy for efficient lighting and worked at the project, “light bulb by light bulb.” They had initially thought photovoltaic (PV) solar would be out of reach financially until Hank Krzysik, a Tucson architect and member of their building advisory committee told them about the different options available to non-profits.
As it turns out, solar was a great option for the Sisters. Through a lease program, they are able to pay the same amount each month they would normally spend for conventionally produced electricity on their new