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Energy Audit for St Mary Redcliffe Church, Bristol

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<strong>Energy</strong> <strong>Audit</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>St</strong><br />

<strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> <strong>Church</strong>,<br />

<strong>Bristol</strong><br />

“Sustainability is about achieving the correct balance between social,<br />

economic and environmental issues, a successful programme will<br />

deliver value over time, it will not be a cost burden. There is not one<br />

solution to achieve success but a toolbox of solutions from which<br />

experience is needed to select the right solutions <strong>for</strong> each project.”<br />

Matt Ful<strong>for</strong>d 06 January 2014 Version 1.0


1. Introduction<br />

This report has been prepared to detail the energy saving measures and renewable energy<br />

generation potential that exist at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> <strong>Church</strong>, <strong>Bristol</strong>.<br />

Given that <strong>Bristol</strong> will shortly be the Green Capital of Europe and <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>’s <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is a prominent<br />

and highly visible civic building within the city the church is keen to demonstrate its commitment to<br />

long term ‘green’ and sustainable issues.<br />

The report was prepared following a site audit conducted by Matt Ful<strong>for</strong>d, Inspired Efficiency on 11 th<br />

November 2013.<br />

A summary of recommendations is made in Section 7 of this report.<br />

In general summary the energy reduction strategy <strong>for</strong> the church should be to install good controls<br />

to the heating and low energy (LED) lighting alongside considering installing a PV system to the<br />

roofs. Such a strategy, when fully implemented could reduce the current energy consumption by<br />

30-40%.<br />

The findings of this report in no way negate the PCC of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> to petition <strong>for</strong> a faculty in<br />

order to conduct any works at the church. For further advice on the requirement <strong>for</strong> a faculty the<br />

church should seek advice from the DAC Secretary.<br />

"One of the core Christian beliefs is that God created the world and that world<br />

was teaming with life of all kinds. This life is seen as precious to God, and part<br />

of the task of humanity is to keep that world, and all its creation safe. We face<br />

a major environmental crisis at the present time, and it seems that this has<br />

been caused by humanity not being careful enough with God's wonderful<br />

creation. As part of the churches mission, we need to do all we can to make<br />

this wonderful creation a part of our concern and that means we need to take<br />

seriously all that can ensure we use our resources well. This energy audit is<br />

part of that process."<br />

2


2. <strong>Church</strong> Details<br />

<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is a very large church within the Diocese of <strong>Bristol</strong>. It is located in central <strong>Bristol</strong><br />

and dates back to the 12 th century. It is reported to be the highest building in <strong>Bristol</strong> and has fine<br />

gothic architecture, as such it attracts a high number of visitors and is open daily with daily prayer<br />

and worship.<br />

2.1. Listed <strong>St</strong>atus<br />

<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> is of a Grade I listed status. This listing has been taken in to account when<br />

determining the recommendations <strong>for</strong> energy saving measures and renewable energy within this<br />

building.<br />

2.2. Size<br />

From plans of the church provided the church area of the church has been measured as 1,500m 2 .<br />

From discussions on site with members of the church during the audit it has been established that<br />

the typical usage of the church is <strong>for</strong> 277 hours per month.<br />

Description<br />

Average Monthly<br />

Use<br />

<strong>Church</strong> Use<br />

4 Sunday Services, open from 8am to 8pm (mid-week 52 hours/month<br />

and other services held in weekday opening times<br />

below)<br />

Community Use Open <strong>for</strong> visitors 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Saturday 221 hours/month<br />

Administration None (separate parish office) -<br />

Catering and Events Concerts 4 hours/month<br />

TOTAL<br />

277 hours/month<br />

3


2.3. Current <strong>Energy</strong> Usage<br />

Annual energy bills <strong>for</strong> the church have been provided and examined. With the exception of the<br />

kitchen gas, bills provided have covered the 6-7 months from April 2013 and have been extrapolated<br />

to provide estimates of annual usage.<br />

There are four area of metered energy use:<br />

<strong>Church</strong> Electricity – currently provided by Southern Electric providing a 100kVa 3 phase<br />

incoming supply located in the base of the porch.<br />

Café Electricity – currently provided by Southern Electric providing a quarterly supply <strong>for</strong> the<br />

café usage in the undercroft.<br />

Heating Gas – serving the main boilers <strong>for</strong> heating and hot water <strong>for</strong> both the church and the<br />

café<br />

Kitchen Gas – serving the cookers and the like <strong>for</strong> the café.<br />

These show that the current carbon footprint of the church is 113.18tCO2e per year.<br />

Carbon Footprint (tonnes/year)<br />

1%<br />

61%<br />

26%<br />

12%<br />

<strong>Church</strong> Elec<br />

Café Elec<br />

Heating Gas<br />

Kitchen Gas<br />

kWh/year Cost/kWh Total £ Total CO 2e<br />

Electricity (<strong>Church</strong>) 57,337 10.303p £5,907.43 29.84<br />

Electricity (Café) 25,456 10.303p £2,622.73 13.25<br />

Gas (Heating) 372,599 2.7853p £10,378.00 69.01<br />

Gas (Kitchen) 5,856 2.7853p £163.11 1.08<br />

TOTAL 461,248 £19,071.27 113.18<br />

The annual energy consumption has been taken from the energy bills provided from April 2013 to<br />

September 2013 and extrapolated to estimate annual useage. These may include the use of<br />

estimated readings where actual readings have not been taken.<br />

Note: The above costs are <strong>for</strong> the energy only and do not include standing charges, VAT etc<br />

4


In comparison with national benchmarks <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong> consumes 68% more heating fuel than<br />

would be expected <strong>for</strong> a church of this size and 91% more electricity. However these benchmarks<br />

are based on the ‘average’ church and as <strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong>s <strong>Redcliffe</strong> has much loner opening times than<br />

most churches it should be expected to be over these benchmarks. However a focus on good energy<br />

management <strong>for</strong> bringing the consumption down to typical benchmark levels is there<strong>for</strong>e advisable<br />

prior to installing renewable generation. Recommendations on how to reduce gas and electricity<br />

consumption at the church are covered in this report and are estimated to bring the church within<br />

the typical benchmark range.<br />

kWh/m2<br />

<strong>St</strong> <strong>Mary</strong> <strong>Redcliffe</strong><br />

kWh/m2<br />

benchmark (typical)<br />

kWh/m2<br />

benchmark (good)<br />

Electricity 38.2 20 10<br />

Heating (gas) 252.3 150 80<br />

The church currently has energy tariffs <strong>for</strong> both gas and electricity which have been well procured<br />

and are at the lower end of the normal range of market prices.<br />

All energy bills should apply the VAT rate of 5% due to the charitable status of PCC’s and this is being<br />

correctly applied at this church.<br />

5


3. Electrical Saving Recommendations<br />

3.1. Internal Lighting<br />

The energy used <strong>for</strong> the internal lighting within churches and similar buildings typically makes up the<br />

largest use of electricity (except where all electric heating is installed) and there<strong>for</strong>e savings made to<br />

this area can result in significant overall reductions to energy usage.<br />

The internal lighting within the <strong>Church</strong> has been surveyed by Mike Ludlow of Specialist Lighting<br />

Services (see separate report) and it is recommended that the following improvements are made.<br />

3.1.1. Replace bulbs/lamps within existing fittings<br />

The following lights can simply have a new low energy bulb fitted to them to generate an energy<br />

saving.<br />

Location Existing Lamp Type Recommended Lamp<br />

Type<br />

Choir Vestry 6ft T8 Fluorescent tubes Philips Master<br />

LEDtube<br />

Cleaners GLS Bulkhead<br />

LED retrofit lamp<br />

Cupboard<br />

Shop Display<br />

Cabinets<br />

30W fluorescent tubes<br />

(6nr)<br />

LED tape strip<br />

North<br />

Entrance<br />

Door<br />

Café Kitchen<br />

35W MR16 Halogen<br />

uplighters and 58W T8 5ft<br />

fluorescent tubes<br />

58W T8 5ft fluorescent<br />

tubes (3nr) and 36W T8<br />

LED MR12 and<br />

Philips Master LED<br />

tube<br />

Philips Master LED<br />

tube<br />

4ft fluorescent tube (1nr)<br />

Choir <strong>St</strong>alls R80 downlights Replace <strong>for</strong><br />

Megaman CFL R80<br />

downlight<br />

MR12 as per trial<br />

http://www.tlcdirect.co.uk/Products/MGR8015ES.<br />

html<br />

Choir <strong>St</strong>alls 15W Pygmy lamps 2W LED Pygmy lamp http://www.simplelighting.co.uk/p<br />

roducts/Megaman-2W-Pygmy-<br />

Dimming-Warm-White-LED.html<br />

Ambulatory 35W MR16 uplights LED MR12 lamps As per trail<br />

North and<br />

South<br />

Transepts<br />

North and<br />

South<br />

Transepts<br />

Organ<br />

Nave<br />

Nave<br />

Gardeners<br />

<strong>St</strong>ore<br />

35W MR16 uplights<br />

(24nr)<br />

28W SDC candle lights<br />

(20nr)<br />

28W SDC candle lights<br />

(5nr)<br />

28W SDC candle lights<br />

(60nr)<br />

35W MR16 uplights<br />

(40nr)<br />

GLS Bulkhead<br />

LED MR12 lamps<br />

LED candle lights<br />

LED candle lights<br />

LED candle lights<br />

LED MR12 lamps<br />

LED replacement<br />

As per trail<br />

http://www.heritagelighting.org/pr<br />

oducts.php#myTab<br />

http://www.heritagelighting.org/pr<br />

oducts.php#myTab<br />

http://www.heritagelighting.org/pr<br />

oducts.php#myTab<br />

As per trail<br />

6


3.1.2. Replace existing lighting with new lower energy fittings<br />

The following lights should be replaced with new fittings generate an energy saving.<br />

Location Existing Lamp Type Recommended Lamp Type<br />

Central Crossing 400W mercury<br />

LED flood light<br />

discharge lights<br />

Café<br />

150W HQI Uplights<br />

(2onr)<br />

Wall lights as per SLS<br />

report<br />

Lady Chapel Halogen AR111<br />

projectors and Metal<br />

LED spot and flood<br />

lighting as per SLS report<br />

Halide HQI flood lights<br />

Nave, Chancel 250W HQI Metal Halide LED flood lights as per the<br />

and Transept<br />

Ambulatory<br />

Crossing/Chancel<br />

<strong>St</strong>ep<br />

Nave<br />

External Lady<br />

Chapel Roof<br />

uplights (36nr)<br />

150W HQI Metal Halide<br />

downlights (6nr). 100W<br />

Halogen AR111<br />

projectors<br />

100W Halogen AR111<br />

projectors<br />

150W HQI Metal Halide<br />

uplights (12nr)<br />

300W Halogen<br />

Floodlighting<br />

SLS report<br />

LED lighting scheme as per<br />

the SLS report<br />

LED flood lights as per the<br />

SLS report<br />

LED flood lights as per the<br />

SLS report<br />

LED floodlighting<br />

It is also noted that the lighting report recommends a new lighting scheme to the <strong>St</strong> Johns Chapel<br />

Full running costs and wattages have not been detailed within the SLS report so detailed costs and<br />

savings cannot be calculated however it can reasonably be estimated that by upgrading all the above<br />

lighting (both bulb changes and fitting changes) savings of around 50% will be achieved saving the<br />

church around £3,000 per year on electrical costs. In addition the proposed new lights (both bulbs<br />

and fittings) are much longer life and would there<strong>for</strong>e also provide a maintenance saving from<br />

reduce lamp replacements.<br />

7


3.2. Mains Supply<br />

The <strong>Church</strong> has an incoming three phase mains electrical supply<br />

and a supply voltage of 237v. (Note the second meter appears to<br />

be <strong>for</strong> the phone mast). This voltage is higher than required and<br />

could explain some of the reason <strong>for</strong> the higher incidents of<br />

lighting replacement. The voltage can be reduced to around<br />

220V quite safely and without affecting the per<strong>for</strong>mance of any<br />

of the electrical equipment. Reducing the voltage will not only<br />

produce an energy saving but will also help to protect any<br />

lighting and sound equipment from problems associated with<br />

high voltage which can shorten their life. A simple 100A 3 phase<br />

unit can be obtained from SavaWatt controls (Campbell Hodgetts<br />

– 07767 306463)<br />

3.3. Small Power<br />

During the site visit it was noted that there are other small electrical usages, the most significant of<br />

which is likely to be the organ blower however this does have inverter drives on the motors and<br />

there<strong>for</strong>e no further recommendations are made in this regard.<br />

8


4. Heating System Saving Recommendations<br />

4.1. Boilers<br />

The heating within the church and also to the café is served from boilers located in a basement<br />

boiler room to the north side of the church.<br />

Within this boiler room there are two Ideal Concord CXS 100kW gas boilers. The boilers are thought<br />

to have been installed around 2000 and are currently in reasonable condition and while more<br />

efficient models are now available there is no immediate benefit to be obtained from replacing<br />

these boilers at this time.<br />

At the end of life of these boilers the consideration can be made to more efficient heating solutions<br />

however the fluing arrangement from the boiler room does not allow <strong>for</strong> condensing boiler to be<br />

installed and it would be difficult to justify a biomass boiler against the efficiency use of a mains gas<br />

supply.<br />

4.2. Pipework and Distribution<br />

The pipework within the boiler rooms is steel and some copper. Some<br />

of the main pipework is well lagged but other lengths are exposed.<br />

Additional lagging to un-lagged pipework, valves and other fittings<br />

should be undertaken to ensure the maximum amount of heat output<br />

from the boiler goes into the church. Sustain (a <strong>Bristol</strong> based company)<br />

should be contacted to arrange <strong>for</strong> a free survey and quotation.<br />

http://solutions.sustain.co.uk/Valve%20and%20Pipework%20Insulation<br />

The main heating pump within the church is aged and would benefit<br />

from replacement with a new dual pump set which has variable speed<br />

drives integrated to the pumps. By having two pumps (a duty and<br />

standby) there will be additional resilience in the event that one pump<br />

fails.<br />

9


4.3. Radiators and other heat emitters<br />

The heating within the church is supplied via underfloor heating pipes to cast iron column radiators.<br />

It is reported that the heating is satisfactory in heating the church.<br />

The floor trenches around the church in which the heating pipes run do serve as a source of heat<br />

emission. The heat put of these can be substantially improved firstly by lifting the grilles and cleaning<br />

out the built up dust and debris within these trenches and then lining the base and sides of the<br />

trench with a flexible thermal foil insulation to promote the heat to be emitted up and out the top of<br />

the trench through the grille rather than warming the ground beneath. Such insulation rolls are<br />

available easily from mainstream DIY stores (http://www.wickes.co.uk/invt/210022) and can work<br />

very effectively.<br />

The heating system has indications that a Fernox inhibitor has been installed and the water within<br />

the radiators was checked and found to be clean. It is recommended that the levels of inhibitor<br />

within the system is check annual and part of the boiler service and topped up as required.<br />

10


4.4. Controls and Frost Protection<br />

The heating controls to the church are whole inadequate. They currently consist of a time clock<br />

which is not in use and a range of on and off switches. The electric immersion heater to the hot<br />

water tank is currently switched on so that both gas and more expensive electricity is being used to<br />

heat the hot water.<br />

There is also a three port valve controlled by an actuator which switches the output of the boiler<br />

between the heating and/or hot water. This actuator switch is broken and needs to be replaced to<br />

allow <strong>for</strong> effective control<br />

As there is no operating time clock the heating is currently turned on manually in Mid-October and<br />

turned off in March. During the winter the heating there<strong>for</strong>e runs constantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a<br />

week. There is some thermostatic control with the use of a Drayton SCR Digistat located in the north<br />

side of the choir stalls but it is not clear how this is connected back to modulate the boiler firing.<br />

It is strongly recommended that the control panel is replaced with a modern control unit such as a<br />

DC1100 controller which includes weather optimisation and has time clocks <strong>for</strong> heating and<br />

separately <strong>for</strong> hot water. This has an optimiser so will automatically bring on the heating to bring the<br />

building up to temperature by the time set within the programmer. There is also frost protection<br />

settings on external air temperatures, internal space temperatures and the temperature of the<br />

water in the heating pipes so that minimum levels of heating can be maintained <strong>for</strong> purposes such as<br />

the organ.<br />

The hot water is currently running constantly as well as having the electric immersion turned on. As<br />

the primary use of hot water is <strong>for</strong> the café and WC’s it is recommended that the hot water is<br />

provided <strong>for</strong> the times when the café is open. Outside of these time the hot water tank will continue<br />

to store hot water until it is used up there<strong>for</strong>e there will still be hot water available in the toilets<br />

after the 3pm café closing time. In order to maintain levels of hot water on a Sunday and Monday is<br />

it recommend that the hot water comes on <strong>for</strong> two hours in the morning to heat up the tank.<br />

All recommended timings are shown in the table below<br />

11


HEATING<br />

Monday -<br />

Saturday<br />

Current Recommended Notes<br />

On Off On<br />

(Optimised)<br />

Off<br />

(Optimised)<br />

Running Constantly 8am 5pm<br />

Sunday Running Constantly 6.30am 8pm<br />

HOT WATER<br />

Tuesday -<br />

Friday<br />

Running Constantly 7am 3pm<br />

Saturday Running Constantly 8am 3pm<br />

Sunday and Running Constantly 8am 10am<br />

Monday<br />

The current set point <strong>for</strong> the church is 18 deg C which is appropriate <strong>for</strong> the type of use.<br />

Other settings should be made as follow:<br />

Optimiser - Combined<br />

Optimised <strong>St</strong>op – Enabled<br />

Day Economy – Enabled<br />

Outside Frost – 1 deg C<br />

Space Frost – 10 deg C<br />

Boiler Return Frost – 4 deg C<br />

Boiler Set Point – 75 deg C<br />

The establishment of proper control to the heating system is estimated to save the church in the<br />

region of £2,500 per year in gas consumption.<br />

12


5. Building Fabric<br />

While it is acknowledged that the potential to undertake significant improvements to the traditional<br />

fabric are limited there are a number of areas noted below where improvements can be made which<br />

will result in a reduced amount of energy and improved levels of com<strong>for</strong>t being achieved.<br />

5.1. Roof<br />

There is a roof space between the stone vaulted ceiling of the church and the metal roof covering<br />

above. This is accessible from the tower of the stairs. This roof space is currently un-insulated. The<br />

thermal mass of the stone vault will provide a degree of thermal per<strong>for</strong>mance but this could be<br />

improved by adding insulation within this roof space. This could be installed by an insulation<br />

contractor such as Aran Service (https://www.aranservices.co.uk/pages/336/Loft-Insulation/).<br />

Insulating the roof will slightly increase the surface temperature of the stone ceiling which will<br />

improve the perceived thermal com<strong>for</strong>t of those people within the church. This is not a priority but<br />

could be considered alongside other works in the area.<br />

5.2. Walls<br />

Given the historic nature of the building and that the walls are exposed both internally and<br />

externally no improvement recommendations have been made in this regard.<br />

13


5.3. Floors<br />

The floors within the church are mainly solid within<br />

the aisles and transepts. To the pewed area of the<br />

nave there are raised timber floors which are likely to<br />

have a void beneath. This area could be insulated to<br />

reduce heat loss through the floor and raise the<br />

surface temperature of the floor to improve com<strong>for</strong>t<br />

however there are historic pews fixed on top of this<br />

floor and there<strong>for</strong>e access is difficult. This<br />

recommendation should only be considered if the<br />

pews are being removed <strong>for</strong> other (reordering) works.<br />

5.4. Windows<br />

The pointing and glass within the windows was briefly checked and found to be in good condition.<br />

There is little improvement that can be carried out to this area with drastically and detrimentally<br />

affecting the appearance and there<strong>for</strong>e other than ensuring that the pointing to the abutments<br />

remains in good condition there are no recommendations to be made in this area.<br />

5.5. Doors<br />

There are two main doors to the church (North and South).<br />

The North door is the main door to the church that is used by<br />

visitors and is left open <strong>for</strong> much of the time.<br />

In order to reduce cold draughts it is recommended that<br />

draught strips are neatly rebated into the sides of the south<br />

door, especially at the base, to provide a better sealing when<br />

the door is shut.<br />

To the north door it is recommended that an overhead door<br />

air curtain is provided. This should be connected to the main<br />

heating system (spurred off from the nearby radiator) with a<br />

fan that will blow warm air down over the open door and<br />

prevent the large amount of heat loss from this door when<br />

open. Such a unit would need to be fixed within a well design<br />

boxing in order not to affect the visual appearance of the<br />

church.<br />

14


6. Renewable <strong>Energy</strong> Feasibility<br />

6.1. Solar Photovoltaics<br />

The main roof of the church (above the main nave and chancel) faces south. This roof is a large area<br />

and hidden from view by the stone parapet to all sides. Non-visible solar PV array are acceptable on<br />

grade one listed buildings and precedent exist with arrays on <strong>St</strong> James, Piccadilly, London and more<br />

locally at <strong>St</strong> Michael’s and All Angels, Withington both of which are grade 1 listed CofE churches. The<br />

roof has a shallow pitch of around 15 degrees and has a lead covering with lead rolls.<br />

The roof structure appears very solid and capable of taking the additional weight of a self-weighted<br />

system. The cables from any PV array could be run down the tower into the electrical incomer room<br />

at the base where there are spare ways within the existing distribution boards making the electrical<br />

connection very straight<strong>for</strong>ward.<br />

The main consideration <strong>for</strong> any solar PV array will be<br />

the fixing of the panels onto the existing roof and any<br />

fixings which penetrate the existing lead must be<br />

avoided. A self-weighted system should there<strong>for</strong>e be<br />

proposed and it is likely that a bespoke framing and<br />

weighting system will have to be used. This was<br />

achieved at <strong>St</strong> Michael’s, Withington (pictured) albeit<br />

with more of a pitch. With careful consideration such<br />

a non-fixed self-weighted system could be designed<br />

<strong>for</strong> this church. Installation contractor has been<br />

consulted with <strong>for</strong> advice on this installation and it<br />

may be possible to use an adapted <strong>for</strong>m of the<br />

Schletter Alugrid ballasted system to achieve this.<br />

15


The pinnacles along the parapet could cause some shading issues and there<strong>for</strong>e it is recommended<br />

that any potential array is installed with a solar edge or micro panel mounted inverter which will<br />

reduce any losses if panels are partially shaded. In the calculations below and allowance of 25%<br />

shading has been made in light of this issue.<br />

Having run the various calculations given the area and dimensions of the roof it appears that the<br />

best layout and size of array is to consider two rows of 30 panels giving 60 panels in total. This would<br />

provide a 15kWp system.<br />

Such a system has been estimated to cost in the region of £22,000. (This excludes VAT that the<br />

church may be able to recover).<br />

The system, once shading, orientation and pitch, have been considered, is estimated to generate<br />

9,968kWh per year. As such it would provide 17% of the churches current electrical consumption<br />

although with a low energy lighting scheme this could increase to providing around one third of the<br />

electrical needs of the church.<br />

The PV system would benefit from 20 years income from the governments Feed in Tariff scheme and<br />

if installed in the near future would ‘buy-in’ to this scheme at a rate of 12.57p/kWh <strong>for</strong> every kWh<br />

generated. In addition the church would gain from any electricity exported at the rate of an<br />

additional 4.64p/kWh. For most of the time the church will, rather than exporting the electricity, use<br />

the electricity on site and there<strong>for</strong>e avoid purchasing electricity at the current rate of 10.03p/kWh.<br />

For the purposes of calculations it is assumed that a site uses 50% of the energy it generates and<br />

exports 50% of the energy however it is likely that the church will use a greater percentage of the<br />

energy generated and there<strong>for</strong>e the savings figures are slightly conservative.<br />

Given all the above the system would generate savings and income totalling in the region of £2,000<br />

per year. This would there<strong>for</strong>e deliver a simple payback of 11 years. Once energy price inflation is<br />

factored in the payback is estimated to be 9.5 years and provide an annual return on investment<br />

(RoI) of 7.9%.<br />

The installation would require a mobile crane to lift the panels and ballast onto the roof and <strong>for</strong> edge<br />

protection to be temporarily added to the parapets <strong>for</strong> safe working on the roof. The works would<br />

then be carried out with the contractor gaining access up the tower stairs.<br />

For further details on a potential PV system contact Solar Solutions Malvern Ltd, 01684 893000<br />

David McCann (Managing Director), 07824 832274, david@solarmalvern.com .<br />

Funding in <strong>for</strong>ms of grants, <strong>for</strong> the installation of renewables mostly stopped with the Feed in Tariff<br />

introduction a few years ago and it is not possible to use money from public sources (which includes<br />

Lottery Grants) to fund renewable installations and gain from the Feed in Tariff (or renewable heat<br />

incentive) as this would be against the European <strong>St</strong>ate Aid rules. The use of more local ‘trust’ based<br />

funds can be possible as can the use of some of the Landfill Tax Credit schemes although care needs<br />

to be taken on how these are structured as some allow such schemes and other do not.<br />

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6.2. Micro-Wind<br />

Micro wind units require highly exposed sites and should be located 250m way from buildings. The<br />

grounds surrounding the church are there<strong>for</strong>e not suitable wind generation.<br />

6.3. Micro-Hydro<br />

Hydro electricity is a highly efficient source of renewable energy but requires a flowing body of<br />

water with a differential height, this is not present at this site and there<strong>for</strong>e such an installation<br />

would not be feasible.<br />

6.4. Solar Thermal<br />

Solar thermal installations are best suited to heat water <strong>for</strong> use in washing up, hand washing and<br />

bathing. There is a demand <strong>for</strong> this with in the café and WC’s but this is minimal and located a<br />

reasonable distance from the south facing roofs with good solar potential there<strong>for</strong>e it is not<br />

recommended within the current arrangement however the use of solar thermal should be<br />

considered as part of any new development on the site which involved hot water.<br />

6.5. Ground Source Heat Pump<br />

Such a system also produces a low grade heat (around 45deg C) whereas the current heating system<br />

to the church requires a high grade heat (around 80 deg C) and there<strong>for</strong>e would require very<br />

substantial alterations to enable it to work with heat pump based systems. The use of ground source<br />

would there<strong>for</strong>e not be advised with the current arrangement.<br />

Parts of the site are of a high historic nature and as such the archaeological implication of drilling<br />

bore holes would also preclude a viable installation, the area to the North of the church is less so<br />

and could provide a location <strong>for</strong> bore holes should such a solution be the best option.<br />

Heat pump solutions work best with underfloor heating systems and in turn underfloor heating<br />

system are most economical in buildings which are in constant use (nursing homes, prisons,<br />

hospitals etc.). For new development on the site the use of a heat pump could be considered if the<br />

building is likely to have a usage which was extensive however the extensive ground works would<br />

still pose significant challenges.<br />

The use of heat pumps still require electricity to power the pumps and given that there is mains gas<br />

present on the site a heat pump would need to have a coefficient of per<strong>for</strong>mance (CoP) of at least<br />

2.75 (i.e. <strong>for</strong> one unit of electricity one obtains 2.75 units of heat) during winter conditions as this is<br />

the relative difference in moving from mains gas to electricity in both carbon and cost terms. The<br />

high efficient use of mains gas can often prove the most cost and environmentally efficient solution.<br />

6.6. Air Source Heat Pump<br />

An air source heat pump system runs from electrical power but in a very efficient way however there<br />

are no carbon or cost benefits from running an air source heat pump when compared with an<br />

efficient gas boiler due to the CoP of air source heat pumps. It has similar issues as the ground<br />

source heat pump and we would not recommend that an air source heat pump is considered.<br />

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6.7. Biomass<br />

The use of biomass as a fuel <strong>for</strong> the church boilers instead of mains gas could be considered. The<br />

main issues are the delivery and storage of the biomass pellets. Given the location of the church<br />

along a main road and the proximity of the boiler room to this road access there are no issues with<br />

delivery of the fuel. There is some space in the basement area around the boilers which could be<br />

adapted <strong>for</strong> storage but in order to store sufficient volumes the possibility of building a biomass fuel<br />

store above the boiler room may need to be considered and whether a low height construction here<br />

(say 1.5m tall) would be acceptable. Given the level differences in the area it is considered that it<br />

may be viable to design and well consider store above the existing boiler room.<br />

There is a fine balance as to the environmental and cost benefits of using biomass in lieu of mains<br />

gas. In off gas grid situations where the fuel source is fuel oil biomass provide clear benefits but<br />

biomass burns less efficiently than gas and gives of greater levels of other flue gas pollutants such as<br />

NOx.<br />

Enquires should be made of John Coffey (Managing Director), PV World Ltd Mobile: 07701 028339,<br />

Telephone: 01580 764401, Email: john@pvworldltd.co.uk who can review the current arrangement<br />

and offer suitable proposals.<br />

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7. Summary of Recommendations<br />

This report has made numerous recommendations on improvements that can be carried out to<br />

reduce energy and carbon emissions from the operation and use of this building.<br />

These have been summarised here into three phases taking into consideration the payback, capital<br />

investment and ease of carrying out each improvement. There is also logic in the phases of<br />

improving the current arrangement so that decisions on more major elements can be based on<br />

improved efficiencies rather than less than optimal situations. These recommendations and this<br />

report should be presented and an action plan developed to implement as many of these actions as<br />

possible.<br />

In general the energy strategy <strong>for</strong> the church should be to install good controls to the heating and<br />

low energy (LED) lighting alongside considering installing a PV system to the roofs.<br />

The use of other renewable heat sources should be careful considered as to whether they are truly<br />

more environmentally efficient than the very efficient use of mains gas.<br />

Immediate / Short Term<br />

Improvement Measures<br />

Description Estimated Cost Estimated Saving To be actioned by<br />

Install full controls to the £4,500 £2,500 per year<br />

heating and hot water<br />

system<br />

Replace lamps within<br />

existing lighting fittings<br />

<strong>for</strong> low energy versions<br />

SLS to advise SLS to advise<br />

Arrange <strong>for</strong> the<br />

uninsulated pipework<br />

fittings in the boiler<br />

room to be insulated<br />

Replace the main heating<br />

pump with a VSD pump<br />

set<br />

Clean out the heating<br />

pipe within floor<br />

trenches and line with<br />

insulating foil.<br />

Consider the installation<br />

of a 15kWp solar PV<br />

array on the south facing<br />

roofs of the<br />

nave/chancel<br />

£600 £200/year and<br />

improved resilience of<br />

heating system<br />

£1,500 £400/year<br />

£1,500 £350/year and<br />

improved com<strong>for</strong>t<br />

£22,000 £2,000/year<br />

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Medium Term<br />

Improvement<br />

Measures<br />

Description Estimated Cost Estimated Saving To be actioned by<br />

Install new LED SLS to advise<br />

SLS to advise<br />

lighting to replace<br />

existing fittings<br />

Install 3phase 100A £3,100 £480/year<br />

Voltage optimisation<br />

on mains electrical<br />

incomer<br />

Add an air curtain<br />

over the north door<br />

heated from the<br />

LPHW heating system.<br />

£3,000 Improved com<strong>for</strong>t<br />

Long Term<br />

Improvement<br />

Measures (with<br />

reordering)<br />

Description Estimated Cost Estimated Saving To be actioned by<br />

Add insulation to roof<br />

Improved com<strong>for</strong>t<br />

void<br />

Add insulation to void<br />

Improved com<strong>for</strong>t<br />

beneath pew<br />

plat<strong>for</strong>ms<br />

Replace boilers at end<br />

of life with high<br />

efficiency models and<br />

consider biomass.<br />

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