Heat loss is one of the most costly and least visible challenges facing church buildings. Drafts, aging equipment, and inefficient systems drive up energy bills month after month. For many communities of faith, the issue isn’t a lack of care, it's knowing where to start.
In the fall of 2023, First United Church in Vermilion, Alberta decided to take a closer look into their ongoing heating issues. The church recognized that proactive steps were needed to better understand what practical improvements could make their buildings.
“The Church Board knew that there were some areas, such as the windows, that needed some attention, and were worried that the furnaces were getting older and what would we do if one cratered in the middle of a cold snap.” says Rex Cunningham of First United Church.
After reaching out to the Faithful Footprints Program, First United received a formal energy audit that was completed by the program’s Western Support Centre, Newo Global Energy. The audit confirmed what the church had suspected, significant heat loss, inefficient energy use, and concerns about aging furnace systems, while also highlighting additional areas for improvement.
Identifying areas to improve heat loss
The audit pinpointed exactly where heat was escaping and where energy use was highest. Consisting of two connected spaces, the Sanctuary and Office (Building A) and the Hall and Kitchen (Building B), the audit highlighted several high-impact opportunities to significantly reduce ongoing heat loss for each building. The church approached improvements strategically, addressing each recommendation based on urgency, impact, and long-term energy savings:
Improvements began with air sealing doors and windows using weather stripping and caulking. Lighting upgrades followed, with fluorescent fixtures in Building B replaced with LED fixtures. To reduce unnecessary energy use, heating in the office is now only turned on when the space is occupied. Aging furnaces from the 1990s were replaced with five new ENERGY STAR–certified Napoleon furnaces installed by a local contractor. Natural gas hot water tanks were removed and replaced with electric water heaters. Finally, window upgrades and insulation improvements were done in Building B’s basement and the hallway between buildings, where sealed windows were partially replaced with insulated walls and a new door, significantly reducing heat loss.
“Receiving the Faithful Footprints grant enabled our congregation to make more efficient use of the money that we spent on heating and powering our facility — making our building more economical as well as reducing our carbon footprint. The support allowed us to move forward into the future more confidently, now that our infrastructure is in tip-top shape” says Cunningham
Faithful Footprints Program
The United Church of Canada’s Faithful Footprints program offers inspiration, tools, and grants to help its faith communities reduce their carbon footprint. With the Church’s commitment to reducing its greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions by 80% by 2030, this one-of-a-kind program offers up to $30,000 in grants towards energy conservation and renewable energy projects (conditions apply).
Faith & the Common Good is the delivery partner for the Faithful Footprints program. To date, we have engaged over 500 congregations, camps, and buildings across the country. Your participation in the program puts your faith into action and helps the Church reach its target.