St John the Baptist in Rothiemurchus is a small church set within a glade of the Rothiemurchus forest, a mile outside Aviemore on the main road up to Cairngorm Mountain. The church was built in 1930 and along with its burial ground is B listed. The church also lies within the boundaries of the Cairngorms National Park.
The church uses electricity for heating through a combination of electric radiators and under pew heaters. It is used regularly for services and choir practice throughout the year and hosts monthly concerts of traditional and classical music.
The church wanted better control of their heating and lighting because this had the potential to save money. They wanted to remotely control heating without the need to visit the church to change settings for cancellations or additional events and services.
The solution
The church has opted for a remote solution that enables lighting and heating to be pre-programmed and monitored from afar. After an analysis of their needs and options the Hubitat system was selected. This system allows control of a wide range of devices, switching them on and off as required. It also has the advantage over many competitors of still working even if the internet goes down.
As installed at St John the Baptist, the Hubitat system receives information from sensors placed around the church to monitor temperature and humidity. At the same time it controls the heaters and the lights. It takes instructions from a pre-programmed app to adjust the temperature within the church using the heating and it controls the lights.
Heating
The church wanted the heating to provide for two situations. A warm church when it was in use and a cooler church when not in use. The heating is programmed to do this.
When the church is ‘in use’ the temperature of the church is monitored using sensors around the church. These relay temperature information back to the Hubitat which switches on the heating if the temperature falls below the ‘in use’ temperature range (16.5 to 18.5 Celsius).
Similarly, when the church is not in use (the ‘idle’ state), heating will be switched on or off to maintain the temperature within the temperature range of 4.5 to 6.5 Celsius. By only using heating exactly when it is needed the church saves money and ensures every kWh of electricity they purchase is used purposefully.
Lighting
Similarly to controlling the heating, the Hubitat manages the church’s lighting, switching on and off the lighting as needed via the app. There are different lighting profiles for different occasions, depending on how best to illuminate the building, a concert lighting profile, a rehearsal profile and others. The system also has a delay when switching off lights so that people can switch off lighting and then exit the building before the lights go out.
The benefits
There are two big benefits to the set up at St John the Baptist’s church. Firstly, there is no need to be onsite to change the heating regime, it can all be done via the app.
Secondly, the Hubitat system enables the church to make good use of every kWh of electricity they purchase. This is especially important because the church uses on peak electricity, which is expensive.
Lastly, the system is expandable and can be used to control other appliances. Looking to the future, the church is considering whether they could open and control vents to the outside. In summer, this could allow warmer outside air into the church to help heat the inside air.
To see the current status of the St John’s have a look on this webpage where you will see live data on the temperature and humidity levels in the nave, trancept, vestry and outside.
Daniel Prince, Clean Energy Advisor (with thanks to Stuart Palmer for providing details of the project)
