The UK's electricity supply increasingly relies on renewable energy, making electric heating systems an attractive option for churches aiming to reduce carbon emissions. Options such as heat pumps, electric boilers, pew heaters, and infrared heaters offer efficiency benefits, with some achieving 100% efficiency or higher. Despite the higher cost of electricity, these systems boast shorter warm-up periods compared to gas boilers and can be easily switched on and off as needed, minimizing overall running time and maximizing energy efficiency.
- Localised/zonal heating
- Heated pew cushions
- Under pew heating
- Infrared heating
- Central heating system
- Heat pumps
- Biomass
- Geothermal/hydro
- Electric boilers
- Solar panels
Localised/zonal heating
Many churches have relatively small congregations or do not use the church frequently. This opens the door to the concept of ‘heating the person, not the space’. Zoning your heating system or only heating part of the church can be a more cost effective, efficient method of heating your congregation.
Heated pew cushions
Considering heated pew cushions for a church with a smaller congregation and infrequent use makes sense. It's a cost-effective alternative to replacing the central heating system, providing targeted warmth where needed without heating the entire space. This approach saves on upfront and ongoing costs while enhancing comfort for worshippers, especially during colder seasons. These cushions have proven to be effective alone but can be paired with encouraging the congregation to wrap up warm and even bring hot water bottles. These sorts of cushions are not limited to pews, you can get conventional seat warmers for chairs too.
|
Pros |
Cons |
| Cheap installation cost | Cushions need to be recharged |
| Flexible, movable to pews where there are people | Not as effective as alternative methods of heating |
| Can be switched on/off as needed | Not suitable as a lone heating source if the church is used for other activities that do not require seating |
| Less energy required to power than alternative heating methods – cheaper running costs | |
| Ideal for small congregations |
Under pew heating
If your church has no plans to remove its pews any time soon, a relatively cheap and highly effective solution is under pew heating. Modern heaters have more of a convection style of heat dispersion. Therefore, the heat reaches a persons whole body rather than just the backs of their legs. There have been multiple churches across the country, as well as in the diocese, who have these heaters.
|
Pros |
Cons |
| Relatively low installation cost | Not as effective as alternative methods of heating |
| Effective at heating the person | Not suitable if your church does not have pews |
| Can be switched on/off as needed | Expensive to run if used to heat the entire space |
| Less energy required to power than alternative heating methods – cheaper running costs | Loss of flexibility – congregation can sit in only parts of the church that have pew heaters |
| Ideal for small congregations | |
| Not highly aesthetically invasive, as they are hidden under pews | |
| Encourages congregation to sit closer together |
Infrared heating
The most popular form of localised heating for church buildings is infrared heating. This style of heating works by converting electricity into radiant heat, and this heats an object/person directly, rather than the air in between. Modern infrared heaters do not typically have the aesthetically invasive ‘orange glow’ and can come in the form of bar, panel or chandelier style heaters. Infrared heaters can be placed in multiple parts of your church, allowing your heating system to be ‘zoned’. Essentially, you only need to switch on the heaters that you need, when you need them.
|
Pros |
Cons |
| Can be cheaper to install than central heating system | Running costs can be expensive if church is in frequent use |
| Semi flexible – can be positioned in different parts of the church | Can be aesthetically invasive – highly visible |
| Can be switched on/off as needed – option to ‘zone’ heating system | Can be more expensive to install in a large church with a large congregation |
| 100% efficient – no wastage of heat energy | |
| Effective for all congregation sizes | |
| Simple installation | |
| Low maintenance | |
| No noise |
Central heating systems
We recognise that if your church’s congregation is particularly big or the church is in frequent use, it may be the only option to heat the entire space. You are not limited to a like for like replacement of gas/oil boilers, as there are multiple ‘green’ alternatives.
Heat pumps
There are three types of heat pumps, air source and ground source and water source. Air source heat pumps extract heat from the air and can either pump hot air through your church building, or heat up water cylinders which can transfer hot water around your church through pipes and radiators. There are multiple churches across the country, as well as the diocese, that have air source heat pumps. Ground source heat pumps extract heat from the ground and sends hot water around pipes and radiators installed in your church building. Ground source heat pumps are not so common in churchyards for obvious reasons, although, they can be a suitable and effective option for some churches and should be taken into consideration. These are the churches that have heat pumps.
| Pros | Cons |
| Over 300% efficient – receive three times the energy that you pay for | Not the most effective for buildings with little insulation |
| Can provide heating and cooling | Needs to be paired with either large radiators or underfloor heating |
| Effective for churches who need to heat the whole space | Expensive upfront costs |
| Quieter running noise than alternatives | Needs to be switched on all the time to be cost effective |
| Can help reduce energy bills | Requires space outside for the pump |
| No need for fuel storage | Aesthetically invasive |
Biomass
Biomass heating work by burning wood pellets, chips or logs to power central heating and hot water boilers. Whilst this is not the most ideal practice from an emissions perspective, it can be a regenerative practice, as trees can be replanted. There are multiple churches who have this style of heating system, find them here.
| Pros | Cons |
| Currently a lower carbon dioxide output than electric or fossil fuel heating system | Space needed for the boiler itself as well as a wood store to keep fuel dry |
| Excellent method of disposing of waste wood | Boilers need to be cleaned weekly |
Geothermal/hydro
There are pots of money within the Church of England designated for innovative methods of generating heat. Concepts such as geothermal and small scale hydro-electric generation should not be ruled out. Bath Abbey utilises heat energy from below ground (geothermal) in order to provide a comfortable temperature for many hours throughout the day. You can learn more about this project here.
Electric boilers
An electric boiler works exactly the same as a gas boiler, but it is fuelled by electricity instead of gas. This can be expensive to run as, although more efficient than a gas boiler, it is not enough of a difference to offset the high unit price of electricity. In the future we hope this will no longer be the case, and electric boilers will then become the norm.
Solar panels
Running an electrical system can be expensive due to the high cost of electricity. An effective method of reducing your running costs would be to generate your own electricity – learn more about this here.
Funding – It may not be at the forefront of your mind to switch your heating system right now. However, by 2035, gas/oil boilers will no longer be allowed to be installed, so it would be sensible to create a forward heating plan in case your boiler breaks down. Planning for the inevitable breakdown of your boiler and exploring your options early will remove any surprises in regards to the potential cost of a new low carbon heating system. There is plenty of financial help out there for new heating systems which you can find out more about on our funding and permissions page.
Who to contact
If you have any questions regarding the information above, please contact our Environment team.