This is a text-only version of an article first published on Monday, 20 June 2016. Information shown on this page may no longer be current.
Shrinking the Footprint, the CofE's national environmental campaign is aiming to attract 100 more churches to the national energy monitoring scheme piloted in Oxford Diocese, and has produced case studies on progress from a number of churches already in the scheme.
Not only does the scheme monitor energy use, providing assessment tools and providing the church with a useful database of energy consumption, it alerts churches to problems with their systems.One church in Oxford Diocese, for example, made significant savings through meter readings after discovering that the heater in the organ blower had faulty wiring and was not turning off. The Shrinking the Footprint audit is a free and easy to use online tool and simply requires churches to sign up and submit regular meter readings - sign-up your church at www. shrinkingthefootprint. smeasure. com. Find out more about the energy monitoring scheme in Oxford Diocese at: www. oxford. anglican. org/mission-ministry/environment/resources/energy-monitoring-scheme/ The case studies include: St Michaels, Cumnor, Oxford The Church has been tracking their energy and have made reductions through more efficient controls on heating and energy use.
Energy monitoring on sMeasure enabled them to identify an unexpectedly high use of energy caused by an issue with the organ heater, which was promptly fixed and would have otherwise only been spotted with a high energy bill later in the year.
St Mary's Church, Wargrave, and St Peter's Church, Knowl Hill, Oxford These two churches undertook an energy audit, which helped identify a number of easy energy saving.
In addition, they installed thick insulation into the roof.
They are now using the Shrinking the Footprint Energy Audit to see what savings will have resulted.
St George the Martyr's Church, Newbury This 1930s Church has embarked on major energy saving over the last several years.
They have installed 129 photo voltaic panels to generate electricity; insulated the roof; installed secondary glazing of a large window; and now the final stage of the work is installing ground source heating.
The vision of St George the Martyr shows the role of the Church for demonstrating new technologies and what can be achieved a local level with commitment and ambition. Read all the case studies at www. churchcare. co. uk/shrinking-the-footprint/projects-and-case-studies ;