Churches can be difficult places to heat with many of them built pre-1990 and going right back as far as the early 500-600’s AD. This means that we must take great care and consideration for the fabric of the church as well as work out how to heat it to a comfortable temperature without wasting energy. With large open spaces and sometimes little to no insulation church heating can pose quite a challenge. With ever-rising energy prices and a focus on reducing carbon and sustainability, we’re in a time where this has never been more important.

Heat Losses

Heat losses are the main reason church heating is such a challenge. Stone walls, lack of insulation, and large single-glaze windows can lead to very significant heat losses. Whilst it is a good idea to improve heat losses, it is advisable to have a building surveyor with experience in historic buildings to assist. It can sometimes be a very expensive way of causing more damage than good. For example, adding insulation to an older external wall that is originally designed to be breathable can cause moisture to be trapped inside leading to serious damp issues.

Large Open Spaces

The large open space of a church and church hall creates a challenge for heating systems as the heat can get lost in such a large room. Many of Britain’s churches have high ceilings and as heat rises this means heat can just rise up to the ceiling and is wasted. Distributing it evenly is also very important as there are many churches that are warm around the perimeter where the radiators are but it’s cold in the middle. This is not because the radiators are undersized but because they simply can’t throw the heat that far into the room.

Heat Source

There are a number of different heat sources available. The most commonly installed in the UK is a gas or oil boiler, depending on whether your building is on the gas network. However, there are an increasing number of renewable options becoming popular such as heat pumps and electric boilers. You can find out more about this here.

Heritage

Many churches in the UK are grade 11 listed or higher. This is to protect our heritage. Whilst this is great for our heritage it can be frustrating when trying to find an efficient way of heating a church. Any changes and upgrades must go through the proper approval process and there are certain heating systems that are more suited to churches where heritage is a consideration.

Heat Emitters

Radiators:

Radiators have been a common choice of heat emitter in churches and historic buildings for many years due to their simplicity and reliability. There are also many different options and styles available making it very easy for the heating system to remain in keeping with the building. There are also many low surface temperature options available now which is an important consideration as many churches are rented out to preschool groups and it is a requirement that radiators are safe for children to touch without burning themselves.

Underfloor Heating

Underfloor heating whether it’s a wet system or an electric system can be a cost-effective way to heat a church. Underfloor heating is also capable of working well at a low flow temperature which means that it is compatible with heat pumps. Unfortunately, it is not always a viable option as installing retrospectively will inevitably mean replacing the floor. It also has slow response times and works best when kept on all the time. So if your church is only heated for a few hours a week then something with a faster response time may be better suited.

Fan Convectors

These have been a good solution for churches for years as they have very high outputs yet take up little wall space. They are essentially a heated coil with a fan that blows the heat out into the room making them perfect for large open spaces as they dissipate the heat more evenly. Their main downfall is that the fans do create noise. They must be selected carefully to ensure that they can keep the church warm on a low fan speed and the high speed is only needed to heat the area up quickly from cold.

Under Pew Heaters

These have been commonplace in churches for years and are very good at heating the congregation without having to heat up the whole fabric of the church. This means you can have lower running costs and are great for organs as they are not heating then cooling which can cause tuning issues.

Infrared Heaters

We mention these only because there are still a few churches with them installed. Like under pew heaters, these heat the congregation and not the fabric of the church. They have very fast response times which makes them efficient if the building is used intermittently. However, they can be unsightly, big orange lights dotted around the room, and the heat is very, very direct meaning the person closest could be too hot when someone a meter away has no heat at all. These generally only work as a temporary measure and are not really suited to the application of a church.