2026
We are updating the guidance on the Buildings and Churchyards pages of the Diocesan website about church heating. The following documents are already available and will form part of the overall guidance.
If you are considering making changes to your church heating, have a look at this flowchart first to see what the most appropriate approach might be to heating your church.
Please complete this checklist (adapted for the Diocese of St Albans from the Church of England checklist) as a starting point for any proposal for church heating. It will provide the information the PCC, its Professional Advisers and the DAC will need to understand your context and requirements.
Template for heating applications
Under the Faculty Rules changes in July 2022, parishes must now show that they have considered the relevant advice from the Church Buildings Council. You can do this in whatever way you feel is best, but we have provided a template document you can use which asks you questions about the guidance and how you have used it to help inform your decision-making.
Pew heater location and effectiveness
The Net Zero Carbon Officer has recently undertaken some research to understand the impact that the location of convective pew heaters has on their effectiveness. It turns out that where they are located will have a big impact on their performance. If your pew heaters aren’t located directly underneath the pew seat then the report is worth a quick look (it’s mostly pictures) to see if there may be an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of your heating system and reduce your running costs and carbon emissions.