The first full retrofit of a clergy home to make it both greener and warmer in line with our commitment to Net Carbon Zero has been completed thanks to “fantastic” work by the diocesan Property Team.
Delighted Revd Ben Askew, whose family live in the Harrogate property said: “The house has never been warmer, and we have enjoyed feeling cozy all through the winter.
“The team doing it worked fantastically.”
The diocese did the work as part of a pilot programme investigating the impacts of different improvement options.
The original property was a draughty 1930s vicarage, with poor insulation and gas heating.
Working with an expert design team, the diocesan Property Team produced a plan to revamp the property, making it more airtight, better insulated, and able to be removed from the gas grid.
Improvements included additional insulation to the floor, bay windows, flat roofs, and loft cavity.
Old bay windows were replaced with modern alternatives and cavity foam used to seal out rogue draughts.
The existing gas heating and hot water system was replaced with a new air source heat pump and with panels.
Ben Burton, Diocesan Property Development Manager, said: “The successful outcome is a much more comfortable home for Revd Ben and his family and that is more efficiently heated than before.
“In addition, the estimated carbon emissions from heating and hot water have been slashed by over 8 tonnes per year and it is expected that by 2033 that it will be entirely net zero, as the electricity grid decarbonises further.
“The works for this project were funded with a Net Zero Carbon Demonstrator grant from the Church of England, and we are working on proposals for how works like this could be funded more widely across our clergy property portfolio by 2030.”
Revd Ben, Pioneer Minister at Kairos Church, Harrogate told of the benefits: “The solar panels have produced electricity every day, and it has been interesting seeing which days are good and which are less productive.
Explaining how he and his family got involved with the retrofit, Revd Ben said: “We were keen to take part because of the environmental connection.
“It's great to know that we're off gas, that we're contributing to the grid as well as to generating our own power, and that we're able to do something a bit more environmentally conscious with our energy supply.
Revd Ben also thanked the tradespeople who did the work, supported by the diocesan Property Team.
“Some of the building work was quite substantial and we moved out for a week in the Summer, and almost all the main building work took place in that time.
“The team doing it worked fantastically; they explained everything to us and were really careful to minimize any disruption for us.”
John Knox, Diocesan Director of Business Planning and Property said: “This is a great example of a successful project where everyone worked together extremely well.
“We will need to do many more projects like this as we work towards the Church of England’s 2030 Net Zero Carbon objective, but the challenge is having the funding to do such work.”
You may find out more about our Property Team and the advice and help on offer here.
A video about thios work may be seen below.