These are actions with a reasonably fast pay back for a church with medium energy usage, used a few times a week. Most actions cost more and require more time and thought and some require specialist advice and/or installers. They are often good next steps for those churches with the time and resources to move on further towards net zero.
When considering these options, it is recommended to take a holistic and whole building approach so as to balance how people use the building as well as making soft & hard changes to the building. You can use the Net Zero Carbon Checklist to help review the carbon emissions of your church building and identify actions that can be taken to help reduce energy use and associated carbon emissions.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of the suggestions below require consent and it is recommended to seek advice as early as possible. If the church is of historic or architectural interest, you will need to seek advice from a professional and the Connexional Conservation Officer before work commences.
1. The Building
- If you have an uninsulated, easy-to-access roof void, consult with your Quinquennial Inspector about insulating the roof void(s).*
- If you have problematic draughts from your doors, and a door curtain wouldn’t work, consult with your Quinquennial Inspector about installing a secondary glazed door within your porch, or even a draught-lobby.*
- Consider creating one or more smaller spaces for smaller events that can be heated separately.*
- Consider fabric wall-hangings or panels, with an air gap behind, as a barrier between people and cold walls.*
Eco Church has produced guidance on Insulation, Double Glazing and Draught-Proofing.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of the suggestions below require consent and it is recommended to seek advice as early as possible. If the church is of historic or architectural interest, you will need to seek advice from a professional or the Connexional Conservation Officer.
2. Heating and Lighting
- Learn how your building heats/cools and the link to comfort, by using data loggers.
- Improve your heating zones and controls, so you only warm the areas you are using.
- Install TRVs on radiators in meeting rooms & offices, to allow you to control them individually.
- Consider under-pew electric heaters and/or infra-red radiant panel heaters*, which keep people warm without trying to heat the whole church space. Radiant panels are especially good for specific spaces like chapels and transepts, which you might want warm when you don’t need the whole church to be warm.
- If you have radiators, install a magnetic sediment “sludge” filter to extend the life of the system.
- Install an energy-saving device such as Savawatt on your fridge or other commercial appliances.
Eco Church have produced guidance on:
PLEASE NOTE: Some of the suggestions below require consent and it is recommended to seek advice as early as possible. If the church is of historic or architectural interest, you will need to seek advice from a professional or the Connexional Conservation Officer.
3. People and Policies
Vary service times with the seasons, for example, in winter meet early afternoon when the building is warmer.
4. Further Resources
Greenspec has a useful schedule of green building materials manufacturers and comparison with carbon output during "cradle to grave" of materials.
Historic Environment Scotland have produced a Guide for the Retrofit of Traditional Buildings.
The Pebble Trust have a produced A Sustainable Renovation Guide that has detailed technical guidance and pitfalls to be aware of.
Our Christian Calling to Care for Creation is guidance from The Church in Wales on environmental issues.
5. Case Studies
Radyr (Methodist Church)
Trinity, Newport (Methodist Church)
All Saints' Turkdean (Church of England)
Marown Parish Church (Church of England)
Holy Trinity Sibford (Church of England)
St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal Church)
St Mary's Dalmahoy (Scottish Episcopal Church)
Old St Paul's, Edinburgh (Scottish Episcopal Church)
St Kentigern and St Thomas, Aberdeenshire (Scottish Episcopal Church)