In many churches, often strapped for cash, switching to a heat pump may be out of necessity. Staff of St. Church Peter Mancroft in Norwich, who already had solar panels, decided to switch to a heat pump system when one of his senior gas boilers failed.
“The church decided it was a good time to try to get involved,” says Nicholas Jackson of the architecture firm Nicholas Vanburgh Ltd. Jackson is also the church’s textile specialist. Last year, two table-shaped, upward-facing air heat pumps were installed in a tiny courtyard next to the 15th-century building. These are connected to an Edwardian cast iron radiator system and the heat pumps currently operate with a COP of 4.
The church also opted for a battery storage system. Jackson says he’s still not sure how exactly the heat pumps will cope during really icy spells – one gas boiler remains as a backup.
“We were very happy to be among the first to adopt some of these solutions,” says the Reverend Edward Carter, vicar. He adds that the church has an “Earth Chapel”, which aims to focus the minds of Christians on the importance of the environment. “What we’re trying to say here is something to the city of Norwich and perhaps the wider world,” Carter says.
Churches are not the only community-focused buildings in the UK currently changing the way they operate. Village halls, markets coveredAND public transport hubs in some cases they also install solar panels, LED lighting and electric heating systems.
But for some believers, the spiritual element of decarbonization is key. There is something deeper at work here, and perhaps such enthusiasm could accelerate society’s broader shift to cleaner technologies. Knott believes that Christians should be motivated by Scripture itself to care for the planet.
“We won’t follow fashion,” he says. “This has been the message for 2,000 years.”