New targeted heating helps church cut carbon emissions and welcome in community

The congregation at Holy Trinity Church in Stroud, which can seat 250 people, were struggling with an old gas heating system, that cost an average of £122 to heat the building for a Sunday service.  

It meant someone turning the heating on at 5am, and “still it wasn’t warm” said Acting Team Rector, the Rev’d James Turk. He used to wear “at least two pairs of socks” in the winter because the church was so cold.  

Visitors coming to Christmas services were always asked to donate towards the cost of heating the church, and plans were afoot to invite regulars to bring extra layers or a blanket with them.  

It was so inefficient that the church was listed among the top 20 carbon emitters in the Diocese. “That’s not a label that anyone wants,” said Rev’d James.  

Local sustainability training was inspiring

But what was the congregation to do? Treasurer Jai Carr and former Buildings Lead Richard Hollick attended a seminar on sustainability held by the Diocese of Gloucester.  

“We were buzzing and moved,” said Richard, “We had a vision of achieving net zero in our church. We felt that we had to do something for the planet.”  

So, the team made enquiries about what would be suitable for the church. The solution for the Grade II Listed Victorian building was to heat different zones within the church using a technique called ‘localised people heating.’

Earlier this year, the gas-fuelled boiler was replaced with targeted heating. Convection heaters have been placed under the pews. The whole church is divided into segments, so that just one area can be heated for a small meeting, for example, rather than heating the whole church.  

Other work has included:  

• Eight infrared panel heaters have been installed in the ceiling beneath the church’s gallery.  
• LED light bulbs have further reduced the church’s carbon footprint.  
• An infrared heater, looking like a fashionable chandelier, hangs above the pulpit and the choir.  
• And finally, additional insulation prevents draughts whistling up from the undercroft.  

Big financial savings

As a result of this combination of measures, the church’s heating bill for a Sunday service went from £122 per week to £22.  

“The cost was a huge factor,” said Jai Carr, “but fixing the CO2 emissions is so nice. We had to fire up the old system at 5am for a 10am service. It was such a waste, and the carbon emissions were awful. I was always uncomfortable with that, and it still wasn’t warm.”

Local reaction has already been positive. “This has given me the boost that this was the way to go,” said Jai. “It’s the right thing for the church to do for the environment. It's God’s will really.”  

Community change

The changes have been warmly-welcomed by locals and congregation alike. They mean that the church building can now be opened up to more groups. Plans are underway to invite more orchestras and choirs to perform, something that simply couldn’t be considered for a large part of the year in the previously chilly church.  

Greater links with community groups, schools and the Sea Cadets will now be possible, thanks to the warmer building. As well as making the church more welcoming, it will also create a much-needed income stream.

“We can now welcome people in and we’ve future-proofed the church,” said Rev’d James. “If we hadn’t done this we would have been passing the problem down to the next generation and that’s the last thing that we wanted to do.  

“We want the church to be there for welcome, worship and friendship.”

How did this happen?

The church committed £62,800 from a legacy to the project and got match funding from trusts and funds, including the Congregational and General Charitable Trust, the Garfield Weston Foundation and the Benefact Trust, to achieve the total of £111,000.  

They also had to obtain faculty for the proposed work, this took longer than they anticipated, Jai explained: “Due to staff shortages, there was a delay receiving permission, the process took six months in total. We were challenged, as we were also applying for grant funding with deadlines before actually gaining permissions. My advice to others would be to get the faculty process started as early as possible.”

From the start, the project took 18 months, but once the builders were in, it was just a few weeks to see Holy Trinity go from chilly to cosy.  

Other local churches have already been inspired by Holy Trinity’s example. Nearby St Laurence Church will be installing a very similar heating solution, with the aim of heating the people not the building.  

And, the team have found that it’s easy to use. It now just takes 10 minutes to heat up the areas of the church that they want to heat, rather than the five hours that were formerly involved.  

Jai is about to sign the church up to a renewable electricity contract, making their carbon footprint vanishingly small.  

This winter will be the true test, and Rev’d James is hoping that only one pair of socks will be needed.