![\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/311510_182201855246917_509357060_n.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.theoillamp.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/311510_182201855246917_509357060_n.jpg\")
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Back in 2013 the Church of England came up with a strategy called “Shrinking the Footprint” it has now decided it needs to shrink the footprint to zero.\u00a0 The original strategy said this;<\/p>\n
The free, easy to use toolkit from Shrinking the Footprint, the CofE\u2019s national environmental campaign, enables all church buildings \u2013 historic and modern \u2013 to understand and reduce energy use and costs along with cutting their carbon footprint<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n and that the strategy would,<\/p>\n \u201cidentify buildings that require additional support<\/em>\u201c.<\/p>\n This in my experience is probably almost all of them.\u00a0 My record of visiting or attending different churches suggests almost all them are cavernous places, built with no regard to energy use or even making the congregation feel warm (or comfortable although that’s another issue).\u00a0 Now the Church has decided\u00a0 it needs to shrink the footprint to zero by 2045.\u00a0 It does seem to realise this is going to be a challenge.\u00a0 Particularly as regards cathedrals.\u00a0 To my my mind why bother trying to heat these anyway?<\/p>\n Having said that, in 2015 when we went to Paris for the climate change talks we went to meetings at St Merries, near the Beauborg Centre and St Denis Cathedral.\u00a0 Both were huge.\u00a0 I don’t feel the cold easily but I’ve rarely been so cold in my life.\u00a0 I’ve never been able to decide whether the buildings were unheated all the time or whether they had just switched the heating off so as not to be embarrassed.\u00a0 Its difficult to worship when you’re freezing.\u00a0 I went to Canterbury more recently and I think they had heated it to an extent although it was not exactly baking.<\/p>\n I don’t really know what the solution to all this is.\u00a0 We’ve had a think about it in our church.\u00a0 We put insulation in the roof (we can – many cannot even do this). but then it will escape through the walls and stained glass windows (we have underfloor heating).\u00a0 We looked at getting more secondary glazing an tried to get a grant for it.\u00a0 We failed and it wasn’t economic to do without one, although gas prices have at least doubled since.\u00a0 Our energy use is enormous, partly due to the size of the building – which although not a cathedral is well on the way to the footprint of some of the smaller ones.\u00a0 Also because the building is in almost constant use.<\/p>\n The first thing is identify your current energy use.\u00a0 Then model its current patterns (of course these may change), then start to develop a long term strategy.\u00a0 This will probably involve solar panels and heat pumps since these seem to me the technologies that are most suited to onsite generation.\u00a0 One of our current interns is doing the first bit of the above as we speak.\u00a0 I expect though in winter we are going to have to wrap up well in future to shrink the footprint to zero.<\/p>\n Neil<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Back in 2013 the Church of England came up with a strategy called “Shrinking the Footprint” it has now decided it needs to shrink the footprint to zero.\u00a0 The original strategy said this; The free, easy to use toolkit from … Continue reading