Beginning this July, visitors to the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette will share in a cool meditative experience. For the first time in its history, the Mother Temple of the West will have air-conditioning. Beginning in mid-March, a large and extensive new installation of both heating and air conditioning will begin, a project which has been forthcoming for several years.

Bob Armbruster, a Temple restoration manager, explains:

"During the daytime hours, ice storage tanks located in the boiler room provide the source of cooling for the air conditioning. During the nighttime hours, refrigeration equipment in the boiler room re-freezes the tanks of ice. There will be no cooling tower or compressor equipment outside on the Temple site. There will be no compressors running during the daytime and, thus, the system will be silent during the daytime. The electricity is less expensive during the night, and the equipment is smaller and operates more efficiently than conventional systems -- all these reduce operating costs for the decades ahead. This same ice storage system will provide air conditioning to the new Visitors Center building."

In the 54 years the House of Worship has been open to the public, staff members have successfully accommodated the quarter of a million yearly visitors with large fans, yet at times temperatures inside the Temple auditorium and the current lower level Visitors Center have reached highs of nearly 90 degrees.

The new air conditioning and heating system will also provide regulated climate control for the House of Worship archives and sacred relics, as well as a cooler meeting atmosphere inside Foundation Hall and provide for a more pleasant prayer and meditation environment in the Temple Auditorium.