Taking ownership
A number of faith communities enlisted the help of Faiths4Change to help them better understand what environmental impacts their buildings were placing on the environment. By clearly understanding the effects of their everyday operations, faith communities across the North West are better placed to reduce their harmful CO2 emissions, save money and better manage other areas of environmental concern such as water and waste.
Here we look at some of the successes being delivered across the region, following the audit process, which we believe are a cause for celebration.
We’ll be updating the site every couple of weeks for the next couple of months with an update from a faith community building to help with your inspiration.
Leyland Methodist church, Preston
Following a presentation of the audit survey and analysis of results Leyland Methodist Church have embraced sustainability in number of ways. An eco group has been formed which feeds into the decision making process - which has agreed the need to cut energy consumption – the eco group have been awarded funds to insulate the church and draught proofing is being carried out as a general maintenance programme.
Not only have the church recognised the need to address energy consumption, they have also encouraged the Leyland Circuit policy of 11 churches which will ensure backing for capital development will only take place if energy saving measures are within the design.
Jeff, who has been appointed as the energy manager, continues to collect weekly utility meter readings of water, gas and electricity, and now has about two years of data. Ongoing analysis should allow the church to identify any energy savings measures very quickly.
Lighting at Leyland Methodist Church uses a significant amount of electricity. Since the audit, a number of LED lights have been installed which should see a reduction in the amount of electricity consumed; LEDs have the additional bonus of having an extremely long user-life span. As Jeff confirms, some have a life of 55,000 hours. Used for 20 hrs per week, these should last more than 50 years! And operate at a third of the cost.
Many energy savings measures are underway and too many to mention in this space, and include the installation of thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) within the community centre – the TRVs can be locked to prevent building users adjusting the radiators – therefore allowing for better energy management. The church has also replaced ‘blown’ double glazing units with more efficient glazing units – the installation was carried out by the church saving on builders costs.
Engagement with church and community centre users to encourage behavioural change is also playing an important part of LMCs ongoing energy management. Jeff has created a news-sheet titled Green Friend to encourage users to think about their actions such as not opening windows when the heating is on, switch lights off when not in use and not to obstruct radiators etc.
Tanterton Christian Fellowship, Preston
“It was good to have a fresh eye looking at the building and identifying where energy is being wasted”
Tanterton Christian Fellowship was in the position of having two very old boilers and only one was functioning. They have since installed two new efficient gas boilers coupled to a thermostat for greater control. The boiler was only installed this summer, so now that we are in a cold winter period, monitoring of fuel use and making comparisons to historical consumption will be important.
The church office has also been fitted with a smaller and more appropriate radiator which is no longer hidden behind filing cabinets and are now being proactive by ensuring that their radiators around the church are unobstructed which will also allow them to better manage the radiator controls.
Ruth also is continuing to take weekly meter readings. By doing so, she is taking ownership and will quickly be able to detect any adverse changes in energy use – for example, by understanding if this is a function of the building (i.e. more users/services/longer hours of use), or reductions in utility consumption which might indicate better management that can be continued.
St John's Birkdale
St John’s is very proactive and an Eco Group forms part of the church decision making structure. St John’s made use of a training day and now reaping the rewards by achieving Eco-Congregation status.
The church has also considered the installation of Photovoltaic cells and ground source heat pumps, and although this hasn’t developed into an actual project it something that they are keeping in mind if any future funding possibilities develop.
The church are installing reflective boards behind radiators to reflect heat back into the rooms and are making signs to encourage users not to stack items such as chairs in front of radiators, in order to let the radiators function effectively.
Draught proofing and insulation of boiler pipes has all been agreed to be undertaken too – this should make for more comfortable room use, with the elimination of cold draughts and insulation to the boiler pipes will mean less heat is wasted. It is one of the first jobs to be tackled when you want to reduce your energy consumption.
St John’s have also been proactive in raising the issue of climate change and had a viewing of the Al Gore film An Inconvenient Truth, with additional encouragement for people to borrow the film to show it to friends and neighbours.
St Luke's Church, Crosby
Many issues that building users face will often revolve around the need for effective energy control. St Luke’s church is addressing this issue by installing two predictive controls which will offer flexible management from a PC. This means that the control clock will learn what temperature the building/rooms are at and how long each it takes to reach temperature. As Paul Beardwood confirms “It will take the guess work out of when you think the heating should be put on”. The user programmes the control to let it know what time you want heat and how warm you want it to be - the control clock will do the rest and operate the heating system in time to meet your requirements, therefore reducing the need for excessive heating which should help contribute towards lower costs and CO2 emissions.
Additionally, lighting is an important issue and St Luke’s are replacing the 500watts tungsten halogen lighting with more efficient HDI lamps as well as installing super efficient LEDs in a new area that will be created at the back of the church.
St Luke’s also had an air source heating system installed last year for the community hall. The results to date have been encouraging – it was able to function in very cold temperatures that we had last winter (-18OC). Many buildings of all types often experience that users will adjust heating settings on controls and thermostats – this means that energy becomes difficult to manage well. One of the positive benefits St Luke’s have noted is that people no longer feel the need to adjust any settings, suggesting that the heating system is adequately delivering enough comfortable heat to the hall, making energy management more manageable.