St Peters is a Victorian church though there has been a church on the site since at least medieval and possibly Saxon times. The interior has an art nouveau style, with a medieval font being reinstated after it was rediscovered in a farmyard in 1973!
Why was the project done?
The 40 year old gas boiler finally broke down just in time for Christmas in 2023. We struggled through the festive period and used the church hall for the rest of the winter.
What did you do?
St Peters is a large church, and we were one of the top 20% producers of fossil fuel emissions in the diocese.
We knew that a replacement gas boiler was not an option so we began to look at what else we could do.
We considered air source heat pumps but were unsure if these would be suitable given the intermittent use which the church building sees. Also, we do not own the land around the church, so siting the external units would be difficult.
We heard about far infra-red heating (FIR) and the way that it works, by heating people and other objects directly rather than heating all the air in the room.
We found two churches locally who had fitted this technology (Mansfield Rd Baptist church in Nottingham and Acton Trussell in Staffordshire).
We thought that the heaters worked well in these locations and decided that this was the way to go. We still had our doubts, but the building was so cold that we had to do something.
Raising the money took time. We raised £10,000 which was match funded by the Give to go Green fund. https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/building-generous-church/encouraging-generosity/inspiring-generosity/give-go-green
The total cost of the project was £50,000.
A church decarbonisation grant is being launched which will be accessed through the grant management platform.
Get in touch with netzero@derby.anglican.org for up to date information about funding.
How did the process go?
The hardest part was knowing what to do in the beginning. We had a sum of money which was raised by the community, and it was frightening to think that we might make the wrong decision and waste this.
We found out that the company we were working with had recently changed their name. We were not sure why this was and it compounded our fears. Eventually they agreed to let us pay them only when the heaters were installed and working.
Some things went better than we expected. Our fears about the suppliers turned out to be unfounded, and they were very helpful. The heaters, complete with wiring and control gear, were installed in four weeks. We used a local contractor who we knew and trusted. This gave us peace of mind that the installation would be done correctly.
An application for a Faculty had to be made to the Derby Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC). This is made much smoother if you have the following documents prepared.
- •Project Overview & Plan. This includes stating what you would like to achieve.
- •Background & Options Appraisal
- •Specification of the proposed heating
- •A Statement of Significance
- •A set of photographs.
- •A completed Church of England Checklist called the Practical Path to Net Zero Carbon.
The DAC members will ask questions about the proposal. It is best to treat the process as a conversation and keep in regular communication as the application goes through.
An options appraisal is important. This looks at all possible options for the energy source (electricity, gas, air-source heat pumps, solar panels, etc) and how the heat would be emitted (radiators, under floor heating elements, infrared panels, heated pew cushions, etc). The conclusion was that the only viable and affordable option was the new technology infrared electric system.
One of the main stumbling blocks was the position of the side heaters. To get these to the correct height (which is important in ensuring the correct spread of heat energy) we had to change the heating units size so that they did not cover the gaps in the arches at the sides of the church. This took a while to sort out and caused some frustration.
The whole process took longer than we thought it would. Waiting for replies to questions which arose took up a lot of this time. Once we the report back from the DAC we had to wait for the final go ahead from the chancellor. This took a long time, but once it arrived, we could begin.
The whole process took about twenty months.
What was the result?
We are pleased with the changes we have made.
We are delighted to have some heat again! We are still learning how to get the best from the remote (mobile phone) operating system. Generally, we have been running the system for about 90 minutes before a service. This raises the temperature of the building by about three degrees. This may not sound much, but it has the effect of taking the chill off. It is also warmer if you are sat in the beam of IR from the heater, like sitting in the sunshine on a cool day.
We fitted a total of twenty heaters, 8 x 4.5 kWh and 12 3.2 kWh. We also have a couple of 800 W infra-red panel heaters in small side rooms.
The new heating is changing how the church is used. The church building is currently used on one day a week. There is also an old Victorian church hall which stands close by, on the busy A444. This building is expensive to heat and we are now looking at closing the church hall and increasing the use of the church itself. This was part of the plan with the new heating system.
Our costs should be brought down. We do not have figures for a heating season yet, but our usage projection suggests it will cost about £3000 per year.
Looking back on the process, there were a couple of things which we would do differently, if we were to do this again.
The main one would be to start thinking about this before the boiler is on its last legs! It takes time to look at all the options and to work out what is the right choice. Raising the money can take a long time too.
If your boiler is over ten years old, it is time to start considering what will replace it.
We should also have got our architect involved as soon as possible. They had insights into things which we did not consider, which would have been good to know earlier.
What would you say to someone thinking about a similar project?
Go for it! The process takes time, and there will be frustrations, delays and doubt along the way. But it will be worth it in the end!
