Under Pew Heaters Installed in Holy Trinity Church in Coalbrookdale, Telford

The Project

In this case study we look at an excellent under pew heater installation at Holy Trinity Church in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire. The church had relied on a boiler/radiator space heating system which was coming to the end of its life and had always been expensive to run. The church was keen to explore an electric heating option which would heat people directly and coalign with the Church of England’s net zero carbon initiative.

Paul and his team at IES Electricians did an excellent job on the design/install and we were lucky enough to see the project upon completion.

The Church

Holy Trinity Church is a relatively new church in the grand scheme of things but it still bears many of the common issues when it comes to heating these types of buildings. It is uninsulated, has a high ceiling and is used intermittently for short periods of time.

Because of these characteristics, the church’s existing heating system was struggling to reach a desired ambient temperature and was always turned on a day before a service. As you can imagine, this was becoming very costly and the church were looking for a new electric heating solution.

Under pew heaters provide discreet comfort heat to pew occupants

The Design & Specification

A usual service at the Holy Trinity Church will see the majority of the nave occupied so the focus was on heating that area. Paul measured up and specified 52 x 450W under pew heaters. As each pew had a backboard, he was able to mount the heaters directly onto the pew and no additional bracketry was required.

Specification: 52 x 450W under pew heaters

(For assistance designing a pew heating system please click for our quick 3 step guide to measuring pews.)

The Heaters

Under pew heaters are designed to deliver discreet direct heating to pew occupants and are not designed to space heat the whole of the church. They are sturdy heaters manufactured in the UK and made of tough steel. The heaters operate silently and their brown powder coating makes them go almost unnoticed.

Once energized, the heaters create a warm stream of air up that goes up and passes a pew occupant (see diagram).

The Controls

When it came to the control side of the project, Paul’s design was absolutely spot on. As the church is used intermittently it is critical that the pew heaters and their 24.3kW load were not left on when the church is unoccupied. This is why Paul installed a master 2 hour timer which will allow the heaters to be energized for a Sunday service plus some warm up time.

Paul also installed on/off switches under each pew which allows the end user to only heat occupied pews. This means if half the nave is occupied, then half the heaters can be switched off on and the church can reduce its energy consumption by 50%.

The Final Project

The project was a huge success and Paul and his team at IES Electricians did an excellent job with the install and commissioning of the heaters.

Taking on a similar project? Contact the team at BN Thermic and take advantage of our free design service on 01293 547 361.