How is your church heated?

[HappilyUrbanTrimmer]

My parents church heating system has been condemned as irreparable and needs complete replacement. They and other members of the PCC are having great difficulty identifying the best way to replace it. Main issues being that there are an awful lot of high-pressure sales people trying to flog their particular heating solution that isn't particularly suitable for a church, but the sales people have a shakey grasp of the physics and are far too focused on earning thei commission rather than finding the right solution; and secondly that most modern heating systems are focused on keeping a building at a comfortable temperature all week long, whereas they only need the building to be at a comfortable temperature for 10 hours a week. Also there is no chance of adding any insulation to the thick stone walls.

There's so many different techniques and technologies to choose from all of which have salespeople insisting theirs is the best, but who to believe? If your church has had to install new heating in the last 5 years (tales of an 80 year old system that is still going strong are sadly irrelevant) then it would be good to know what your church chose and how well it has worked for you.

What denomination is it? I am CofE and the diocese can advise- you have to get permission anyway, so it makes sense.

We have two gas boilers. It’s designed as a failsafe and because a standard domestic boiler might not be enough, I think. Apparently using them with a smart thermostat can be very cost effective as it works out how to get the church to the temp you need, at the time you need.

Infrared bars heat whatever they touch- so they are efficient as they aren’t trying to heat the air. They heat you and the fabric of the building.

CofE has to be eco now, so wood pellet boilers and electric systems.

Assuming that this is a church in the Church of England then the choices are limited by the Net Zero commitment. Suggest that your parents consult the Diocesan Net Zero officer. Each Diocese has one. Alternatively talk to the Church Buildings Support Officer for the Diocese.
Hope this helps

There’s an underfloor system that might work. Wundafloor. It’s a wet system under the floor. Heats the space you sit in, turns the floor into a radiator. But I think that’s new.

Sorry, not much help I know.

Gas boiler. I can't think of anything more suitable if I'm honest.

Do they have pews? If so I will DM you with details of what we have and seems to work well.

I've done a fair bit of research into this, the church of England website has lots of info and case studies of churches that have tried different approaches.
Heating the person, not the space is one approach - using under pew heaters that just heat the space around the pew.
I also thought that far infrared panels looked like a good solution for our church - these don't glow red like normal infrared heaters, they work like the sun, heating people, walls, furniture that the rays hit pretty much instantly, but not wasting energy heating large amounts of air.
Sadly our project has been put on hold due to funding.

As A PP said the diocese will advise. I belive the RC church is similar. RC dioceses all
have a buildings department who can give advice, and will have recommended contractors.

Our church's heating was completely replaced 10 years ago, with underfloor heating (and a gas boiler). It's a Victorian building. We took out the pews at the same time (they had to be moved at the very least, as they were on wooden platforms built above rubble, with stone aisles between them). I understand that the underfloor pipes would work with an air pump as well (so wide bore) but we didn't go that way at the time.