Sustainability stories - Settle LM

Settle LM

A structural survey in 2004 showed that the Meeting House floor was starting to rot. The electric heaters required replacing. After meetings in the winter the walls and windows ran with damp and the room became stuffy. By 2008 the gallery was sagging and was minimally usable.

As well as planning the major essential repairs we saw that it was essential to drastically reduce condensation as an integral part of reducing the environmental impact of the building. A professional environmental audit included recommendations to replace the electric heating with gas (reducing CO2 emissions by 40%), to incorporate zone control and thermostatic radiator valves, to improve draught proofing and to upgrade loft insulation to 250mm. All of these measures were planned into the refurbishment, but the damp problem remained.

Our solution was to install heat exchangers. Stale, moist air, particularly during and after use of the Meeting Room, is extracted through heat exchangers which warm the incoming fresh air to well above dew point. Convection from the heaters now draws moist air from the floor space through the ventilator grilles. Thermal transfer efficiency is about 70%. Such heat exchangers are really nothing new. However, concealing the system in a listed building and making it absolutely silent in Meetings for Worship were real challenges, both of which were overcome.

Assessing the cost benefits is harder. There has been a substantial increase in use of the Meeting House by community groups (and consequent energy usage) partly because the Meeting House environment is improved. What is clear is that our interaction with the community and consequent outreach have increased as an unexpected by-product of our eco-friendly improvements.

By Michael Elstub

We’d love to hear the story of you or your meeting too. Just email sunnivat@quaker.org.uk and tell us about it.