One of our Ripon area churches has been warming up for the winter and going green at the same time, thanks to a new electrical power and heating project.
St Matthew’s Leyburn currently going through a process of re-ordering to make it more available for community use and alternative forms of worship.
Its gas boiler is old and no longer maintainable, so the church decided to install a new electrical supply and wiring, to support new electrical heating.
The church studied what the best forms of heating could be, as well as consulting other churches going through similar projects.
After upgrading their power supply, the church has installed several different kinds of electrical heaters to see which ones will work best for them.
Bob Matthews, Churchwarden, said: “We plan to run the trials to the end of Winter 2025/26, and confirm the initial results that a mix of under pew heaters and radiant heaters at high level is best.
“When the trials are complete we will install more heaters to provide full electrical heating, and switch off the gas boiler.
“Taking the project in slow considered steps including trials has allowed us to optimise the heating system.
“As present we think we know where best to install further heaters and how to zone them, so we only heat those parts of the church in use at any time.”
The church’s project was made possible in part thanks to a diocesan Net Zero Carbon Quick Wins grant.
The scheme awards grants up to £10,000 to help churches launch small scale decarbonisation projects as part of their journey to net zero.
The next deadline for grants is Saturday, February 28, 2026.
Click here to find out more.