St Andrew’s Church, Bredfield, has successfully completed two major sustainability projects that have transformed the church and its neighbouring church room into warmer, more energy-efficient, and environmentally responsible spaces. These projects not only reduce their carbon footprint and ongoing energy costs but also ensure the spaces remain welcoming, safe, and fit for purpose well into the future.
The church room project was made possible through the Church of England’s Quick Wins grant — a scheme that supports small-scale environmental upgrades — and additional support from the Bredfield Town Lands Charity.
The project included the installation of modern electric panel heaters, offering responsive, zoned heating and replacing the old LPG system completely and the replacement of all internal and external lighting with energy-efficient LED units, improving visibility while dramatically reducing electricity consumption.
In addition to the professional work, this project was a genuine team effort as church volunteers committed to removing the old heating system, replumbing the hot water supply and redecorating the room once the installations were complete.
The second project, was to transform the Main Church Building — a historic space that had a deeply outdated heating system which was failing to keep the congregation warm.
The church was awarded a grant from the Church of England’s Give to Go Green fund. This programme operates as a match funding initiative, requiring parishes to raise the same amount of funding locally in order to receive the grant. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the congregation and local supporters, the money was raised in just four weeks.
The project included the removal of their condemned pew heaters, and installation of new, energy-efficient under-pew electric heaters, each individually controlled to allow flexible, targeted heating of only the areas in use, and replacement of all interior lighting with low-power LED units, which use only around 10% of the energy of the previous fittings.
The church has calculated that, together, these two projects will reduce annual energy consumption by over 1,000 kWh and lower their carbon emissions by an estimated 0.25 tonnes per year. These are meaningful savings for a small rural parish and align closely with the Church of England’s ambition to become net zero carbon by 2030.
“The fantastic work that has been carried out at Bredfield demonstrates that net zero projects are about more than just reducing our climate impact. They are also about making our buildings warmer, brighter and more welcoming spaces all while reducing operating costs. The team at Bredfield have done an amazing job and we are excited to see what the future holds for this thriving church.” James Rolls, Diocesan Net Zero Carbon Officer
The upgrades also offer improved cost-efficiency, with lower ongoing energy bills and reduced maintenance costs. In addition, the flexibility of the new heating systems allows them to use the spaces more efficiently — heating only what’s needed, when it’s needed.
These projects have laid a firm foundation for future sustainability improvements, and the PCC will continue exploring opportunities for further carbon reduction, including possible use of renewable energy and ongoing monitoring of energy performance.
The congregation has nearly doubled in size in the last year from 12-14 per week to the mid-20s. The new heating puts St Andrew’s Church in a better position to grow even more especially when it is cold, and at Christmas.