How green was my vestry

How green was my vestry

Free saplings will be available at CRE Midlands to publicise a green church heating initiative.

ChurchEcoMiser has no boiler, is compatible with solar panels, silent in operation, virtually maintenance free and (most importantly) warms the fabric and congregation.

Chris Dunphy, pictured with comedian Tim Vine at the opening of CRE National 2022, launched the system two years ago as an all-electric carbon neutral system. He will give away another 200 trees as an indication of the company’s determination to help green the planet. The saplings will be about 150-200mm in a hessian bag of soil.

‘The saplings will be given to people who visit our stand for information,’ he said. ‘It’s the third time we have given them away and the feedback to date has been excellent. The choice this year will be Apple or Cherry. Our commitment to working towards a greener future is to plant 500 square metres of woodland for every church heating system installed. We will be doing this through the National Trust and each church will be issued with a certificate and proof of purchase.’

Chris, a long-standing exhibitor at CRE, has almost 50 years’ experience in church heating. He developed ChurchEcoMiser in 2016 as the ideal system for remote country churches where gas was either unavailable or too expensive to install – ‘but it proved a popular option with all churches.’

Over the years, he has designed and installed more than 1,000 heating systems in church buildings and was the heating adviser to the Diocese of Sheffield for 10 years. Many of the churches he has worked on are Victorian or medieval where protecting the fabric of the building is as important as heating the congregation.

‘It has always been a challenging but rewarding task,’ he said.

• ChurchEcoMiser are on stand D1 at CRE Midlands 23

Photo: Comedian Tim Vine (left) with Chris Dunphy of ChurchEcoMiser

Book your ticket for CRE Midlands 2023 here from as little as £3

Organisations looking to book a stand should contact James Batterbee 0161 250 2306 (E: james@creonline.co.uk) or Carol Malpass 0161 250 2467 (E: carol@creonline.co.uk)

Click to view the latest floorplan and price list for available stands