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. Some require some 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 (Word) or Net Zero Carbon Checklist (pdf) to help review the carbon emissions of your church building(s) 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.
BAILDON METHODIST CHURCH CASE STUDY (continued)
Baildon is an obscure moorside village on the edge of Bradford. But we were not prepared to be ignored and we wished to show that Christians could lead the reduction of global heating to preserve the marvels of God’s creation. We did not want to just talk but to act. It was essential to make a big impact to have any public impact at all. We realised that major change was needed. To do this we needed £1 million in 10 years. We raised this from Methodist resources and from trusts throughout the nation as well as a great deal of it from continuous local fundraising. With this money we could invest in our future. All rooms, including the church, are used daily - all are insulated and many have double glazing with some having triple glazing. All our electricity has come for a decade from renewable sources normally provided by Good Energy. Photovoltaic electricity panels on the church generate energy, together with income from the Feed-in-Tariff (now not available for future installations). All the gas central heating has been removed and replaced with infrared electrical heating. The unit price of electricity is at present greater for electricity but there are no costly maintenance charges or boiler replacement disasters. The only time that we use a fossil fuel is gas for cooking.
At that time, nearly half of our energy costs were derived from a separate hall that was outdated, electrically heated, heavily used, and completely uninsulated. We took the vital decision to demolish the hall and replace it with a two-storey building and it became the first on church premises in Britain constructed to standards similar to those of a Passivhaus. It has insulated walls nine layers thick, a completely airtight envelope and low usage of electricity for heating and all other uses. There are 8 kW-peak photovoltaic panels on its roof. We installed three electric vehicle charging points. Further details of this remarkable building can be found on the Baildon Methodist Church website and the Fold website.
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.*
Ecochurch 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 with good guidance.
- 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.
- Consider thermal and/or motion sensors to automatically light the church when visitors come in, for security lights, and for kitchens and WCs.
- Install an energy-saving device such as Savawatt on your fridge or other commercial appliances.
- Get your energy supplier to install a smart meter, to better measure the energy you use.
EcoChurch 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. Manses
Energy Saving Trust has energy advice for homes. It includes guidance for:
As well, Historic England has produced a Practical Guidance on Energy Efficiency for homes.
5. 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.