Please be aware that not all church buildings may be suitable for these projects. To explore your options further, please reach out to our Diocesan Advisory Committee for guidance on what can be implemented in your church. Alternatively, you can reach out to our Church Building Adviser to arrange a visit and discuss your options.
Buying renewable energy
Your energy supplier will likely give you the option of a ‘green tariff’. This will ensure that your energy comes from low carbon sources. There must be caution with green tariffs, however, as there are both ‘light green’ and ‘dark green’ tariffs. Tariffs that are dubbed ‘light green’, involve energy suppliers buying energy certificates (REGOs) in order to ‘ensure’ a renewable supply, whilst ‘dark green’ tariffs genuinely contribute to the generation of renewable energy in the UK.
There are a few ‘dark green’ suppliers in the UK. These include both Ecotricity and Good Energy, who guarantee that a percentage of your money goes towards wind/solar generation projects. You can check the greenest energy suppliers on Ethical Consumer.
The Church of England also offers the Parish Buying Scheme which utilises the bulk buying power of the church to negotiate competitive prices with energy suppliers. The hope here is that if enough churches sign up to this, the Parish Buying Scheme can offer a ‘green’ supply at a competitive price. Find out more about it here.
Generating your own energy
In order to guarantee a renewable supply of energy, it would be a good idea to consider generating your own energy through solar panels, wind turbines or hydro power. Generating your own renewable energy would reduce the amount of energy you buy from suppliers, meaning lower bills and greater energy independence.
You can learn more about the Church of England’s advice on renewable energy here.
Solar panels
Solar PV panels are usually the most suitable form of renewable energy for a church building. There are many churches across the country, and even within the diocese, who have solar panels. You can check just how many churches have solar panels on the faculty website.
It may be worthwhile getting in contact with some of these churches and asking about their experiences with getting panels installed and the cost savings they have experienced as a result.
Another form of solar panel that can be used to heat a building is solar thermal technology. Solar thermal panels extract energy from the sun and heat up water tanks, this hot water is then distributed around pipes and radiators in your building.
As solar technology develops, the options to alter the aesthetic of panels increase. New panels can be lead coloured, more transparent, shaped like roof tiles, and even styled like stained glass. This is good news for churches, where the aesthetic implications of having solar panels is a barrier in gaining permission to have them installed.
It is a sensible idea to consider battery storage alongside solar panels, as this will maximise the effectiveness of the panels.
Who to contact
If you have any questions regarding the information above, please contact our Environment team.