The idea
Christ Church is an active local hub for residents and parishioners alike. New Mill does not have many community buildings and we are remote from Huddersfeild Town. The Church aims to be free of fossil fuels by 2030 and provide a warm, welcoming and inclusive hub for the community. We aim to add roof insulation and a telematic thermostat system which will allow us to remotely control the existing boiler, reducing heat loss and improving boiler efficiency by 10%. This should in total save over 3 tons of CO2 per annum. Longer term we aim to replace the gas boiler with solar powered heat panels.
We will raise the funds through initiatives run by the church community as well as some local grant applications.
What we'll deliver
- 420sq.m of 200mm roof insulation that will save 1.3 tons of CO2 per annum.
- Wi-fi enabled thermostatic controls for the boiler to help run it more efficiently.
- repair and make good the community room roof in conjunction with the insulation mentioned above.
- Install destratification fans that recirculate warm air onto the congregation and reduce energy consumption.
Why it's a great idea
New Mill lacks social meeting spaces and Christ Church provides a community function room that over 900 local residents use each year. The energy efficiency projects should make the building 20% more efficient in energy usage, saving over 3 tons of CO2 per annum, and providing a warm, inviting and useable space for the local community. Making the building carbon-neutral is the ambition of the Church of England for all churches across the country, hence we would like to start this process now, and in doing so reduce our reliance on fossil fuels ahead of 2030 if possible.
Longer term we aim to secure funding for destratification fans and solar panels. We have a large roof space that could produce electricity for a community energy purchase scheme. We could also remove the gas boiler as we would switch to IR heat panels. Our aim is to make the building fit for the future, and continue to provide a safe and inviting space for the community.
Steps to get it done
- Install insulation February 2024
- Install telematic Thermostat control, December 2023
- Make good roof repairs and seal off roof ready for new insulation, December 2023
