Providing actionable information and advice for future renovation and investment
Religious buildings are often old and have complex usage patterns. Here at CLPM we have worked with many church groups to reduce their energy usage by improving the energy efficiency of their buildings and heating arrangements.
THE PROJECT
We regularly work on energy audits for churches and started working with Lambeth Palace with the aim of looking for opportunities to improve the generally poor energy efficiency of their listed, historic buildings.
THE CHALLENGE
Lambeth Palace were keen to investigate how they might improve the comfort and running costs of their buildings, many of which are very old indeed. The oldest remaining parts of Lambeth Palace are the Chapel, and the Crypt beneath it, both of which date back to the 13th Century. All the other buildings in the Palace grounds have been added, expanded and altered over the centuries to suit changes in fashion and purpose.
THE SOLUTION
We first met with the key staff at Lambeth Palace in order to understand how the buildings were used. We then carried out an energy audit. This involved taking regular readings across the estate to assess what was happening where when it came to energy usage. We then looked at the energy usage together with the nature of the buildings and the heating systems in use. This helped us to discover the opportunities for increasing the energy performance through loft insulation, internal wall insulation alongside refurbishment works and the installation photovoltaic arrays to generate electricity.
THE RESULT
Grants are available to help charities such as churches to investigate how they might increase the energy efficiency of their buildings. We helped Lambeth Palace apply for and win a grant to pay for 3 days of our sustainability expert’s time to enable them to do this. Work at Lambeth Palace is still ongoing and we hope to help them in the future to help them become a more energy efficient and sustainable organisation for the future.
CLPM Services used by our client:-
Energy Consultancy including an Energy Audit.