Churches account for nearly 40% of carbon emissions in the diocese, with most emissions coming from the heating of churches. However, it can be difficult to know what to do to reduce heating energy, given the historic nature of our beautiful church buildings.
This is where an energy audit can help. An energy audit is, very simply, a review of your church that provides advice and guidance on how it can be improved to be more energy efficient. Often, this also means helping your church to save money whilst creating a warmer and more comfortable place for those that use your church.
Now is the perfect time to have an audit, as energy bills are going up, faculty rules for installing new heating systems are changing, and the urgency to tackle the climate crisis is ever more pressing. The recent IPCC findings indicate that our emissions need to peak by 2025 if we are to prevent significant temperature rises.
St Kenelm’s Church in Minster Lovell completed an energy audit of the church, to see where they might be able to reduce their energy consumption and save precious funds.
Matt from Inspired Energy visited the church, and one of the first things he spotted was that a storeroom heater in the vestry was being left on twenty-four hours a day, supposedly to prevent damp. Matt suggested that this was unlikely to be preventing damp and the church could save a lot of energy simply by turning it off – which was done there and then! The estimated annual savings are over £700 a year! In some cases, there are good conservation reasons for maintaining background heating, but it’s worth having an audit to find out as it could be an easy way for your church to save money and energy.
Rob Nickless is a member of the PCC at All Saints Church, North Moreton. He is a professional beekeeper in the week and uses his practical skills to support his local church. Rob shares about the energy audit journey at All Saints:
“I could see straight away that the church could be making efficiencies – not necessarily save significant money or energy, but we could be using the energy we do consume much more effectively.”
The church was being heated by overhead heaters, which in Rob’s words, were “fabulous for keeping the top two thirds of the church warm where nobody sits!” He realised the church needed a system for warming the people, rather than the building. So when the church was offered an energy audit, they grasped it with both hands.
“An incredibly practical chap named Matt came out and audited the church with us. We talked about how the church is currently being used, as well as potential use into the future – any decisions would need to take this into consideration.”
The recommendation from the audit was to put in place electric under-pew heating. The amount of energy needed to run these is similar to the overhead heaters, but people actually feel the benefit, so none of the energy is being wasted.
“The under-pew heating is a game-change. The energy audit was inspirational, and the report itself helped us justify our actions to the DAC, who were ultimately really supportive. The report was of an excellent quality and saved us a huge amount of work because we didn’t have to do a tender document. It meant we were able to gather three separate quotes and save the church money by identifying the most cost-effective contractor.”
North Moreton is now phasing in other recommendations as funding becomes available. Rob’s advice to other churches looking to reduce their energy use and become more efficient is to:
“Get an energy audit done – you can phase the recommendations; you don’t have to do it all at once. Then, go and have a look at other churches and see what works for them. And finally, get a good contractor to do the work.”
Over 150 churches in the diocese have already had an energy audit with very positive feedback. Although it costs £150 to have an audit, your church will then receive £300 towards implementing the recommendations.
Here’s how other churches have used their grant:
- St Catherine’s, Towersey and Chalfont St Giles replaced their floodlights with LED lighting
- Holy Trinity, Seer Green have put some much-needed draught-proofing on their door
- St James’ Bix repaired their windows
- St Thomas of Canterbury, Goring, put the grant towards a much larger lighting scheme
- St James, Bix put the grant towards repairing their windows, and St John the Evangelist, Frieth, towards repairing their roof – important maintenance to keep churches insulated as much as possible.
Book an Energy Audit
Your church may already be doing a number of things to care for creation. An audit could be an additional area of support or it may be a first step for your church and an excellent way to start thinking about how you can make a difference. Email energy.audits@oxford.anglican.org to book an audit or find out more about the process and how the Environment and DAC teams can support you.
You can also attend a webinar - Beating the rising costs - How can my church save energy and money? - on Monday 18 July to learn more about no and low-cost energy efficiency measures for your church.