5 ways we’re cutting our carbon footprint
So, we may not be turning our Nave into a swimming pool (Happy April Fools!), but with rising sea levels and the other impacts of climate change, one day it could be a very real possibility!
April Fools! We’re not really turning our Nave into a swimming pool, but without change one day it could be a very real reality!
Work to ensure our city is safe from rising sea levels is already well under way with projects such as The Southsea Coastal Scheme, one of the UK's largest local authority-led coastal defence projects. But we all still have a responsibility to play our part, and here at Portsmouth Cathedral we’re always looking at new ways to reduce our impact upon the environment. Portsmouth Cathedral are already hold a bronze award for A Rocha’s Eco Church project, on our way to silver.
You may be wondering what do can old churches do to reduce their carbon footprint? Here are just five of the projects we’ve been working on to help reduce our energy usage and impact upon the environment.
Harnessing the power of solar energy…
Solar panel array hidden away on the roof of Cathedral House
Many will be unaware of the solar array which occupies the roof of Cathedral House, working in partnership with Portsmouth City Council's energy team and Portsmouth based installer Space Renewables. The array primarily serves our first-floor administrative offices, thus much of the printing of service leaflets, letters etc is now solar powered. It also serves the scholars flats above the offices, which provide additional weekend demand.
In the first 2 years of operation the array generated 12,300 kWh of electricity – exceeding our original project forecast by 8% - and we estimate that in excess of 80% was consumed on site. When the smaller northeast roof comes up for refurbishment there would be potential to add a further 2.2kW array, with longer term ambitions for an array on the Cathedral high Nave roof, which is not visible from the street.
Let there be LED light…
LED flood lights now illuminate our tower and lantern with a full spectrum of colours.
The installation of LED lighting is one of the most effective ways of cutting carbon emissions through reduced electricity demand. In 2016 we commenced the roll out of LED fittings in Cathedral House. Over four years the old style recessed fittings in and our administrative offices, corridors and toilets have been replaced with LED panels, which typically consume 60% less energy. We have also added motion sensors in the toilets.
The Cathedral presents a greater challenge for LED lighting because many existing fittings have dimming programmes, thus any replacement will likely also involve infrastructure costs – the existing wiring and controls are now 30 years old! We have initially re-lamped the non-dimmed areas, including the shop, reception area, Nave and ambulatories. This has had a marked effect on electricity consumption – falling immediately by 15% and paying back the bulb costs in around 4 to 6 months.
New LED lighting has also been added to our bell tower in 2017, consuming minimal power and has a variety of colour options enabling us to illuminate the tower to mark special occasions and causes.
High efficiency fuel management…
Our fuel cell in Cathedral House converts gas into electricity and heat at very high efficiency.
Roughly the size of a washing machine, our Fuel Cell was installed in 2015 and uses innovative hydrogen fuel cell technology to electrochemically convert gas into electricity and heat at very high efficiency – up to 85% combined. The electrical power generated now meets 80%+ of the annual demand from Becket Hall and the ground floor offices, whilst the useful heat provides hot water for the toilets. The unit not only produces energy at lower cost (typically 25-30% lower than grid) but also earns feed-in tariff income (FITs), which we have been 'recycling' into LED lighting works.
As the unit runs 24/7 at a constant power it is displacing dirty/inefficient coal and gas fired power from the grid for the majority of the time. Furthermore as there is no combustion of gas the NOx and SOx emissions are negligible – thus adding a further air quality benefit, increasingly important in Portsmouth.
Fuel cell technology is not new, it has been used on many space missions, however it is now growing in popularity globally for stationary and transport applications. It is also now appearing in school chemistry syllabus materials.
Working with local suppliers…
Local suppliers such as Southsea Bathing Hut Co. can be found in our Cathedral Shop.
In both our shop and generally around the Cathedral, we’re always looking for local suppliers where possible, to reduce total miles products and supplies have to travel to the Cathedral. We are doing this in several ways including in our shop, using local crafts people and businesses such as Southsea Bathing Hut Co. and Portsmouth Distillery who produce The Dean’s Tipple Gin.
This not only helps reduce the fuel miles produce must travel to the Cathedral, but also supports our community and independent businesses, one of the key strands of our Cathedral Vision. We’re always looking for new ideas on how we can change to local suppliers, so please do let us know if you have any ideas or thoughts.
Raising awareness…
Octopus and Sea Creatures will take place in Novemeber 2022 at Portsmouth Cathedral
As a Cathedral, we are always looking at innovative ways we can continue to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change. We’re have already achieved our bronze status for A Rocha’s Eco Church programme and are working towards silver status.
Throughout the year we host a number of events, of which some specifically address environmental themes, including in October 2021 hosting ‘Florence and the Mermaids Tears’, aimed at motivating families and young people in Portsmouth and the South East to be active in their response to the plastics crisis. We also are looking forward to hosting ‘Octopus and Sea Creatures’ in Novemeber 2022, inspired by the ‘Octopus Medicine’ poems by Becci Louise, and turning our Nave into an underwater paradise (not a swimming pool!).
We’re working tirelessly to make sure we’re doing all we can to reduce our impact upon the environment and have much more planned for the future. Visit our website to find out more about our green initiatives or visit our support pages to see how your help can make future plans a reality!