Wesley United Church in St. John’s has two oil furnaces. Both furnaces are well beyond their useful life. Combined, the furnaces consumed more than $56,000 in oil in 2022-23, an increase of more than $20,000 from 2021. The larger furnace heats the Sanctuary, Fellowship Hall and the Primary Room. The smaller furnace heats the offices, and upstairs rooms including the Chapel. Wesley United Church has no insulation in its walls and limited insulation in the attic over the sanctuary. The sanctuary height is approximately 25 feet and it takes a tremendous amount of heat to fill this space enough to make it comfortable for the congregation.

Wesley United Church needed to take several steps to be reduce its energy costs and its carbon footprint.

Wesley United Church is implementing a plan to “green” the church and bring down heating costs. A proposed Energy Modernization and Savings Plan was drafted in April 2023 and finalized in August. The plan has five main initiatives:

1. Replace the small oil furnace with an electric furnace
2. Replace the large oil furnace with a new efficient oil furnace
3. Install two mini-splits in Fellowship Hall and two in the Primary Room, with the added benefit of air conditioning in the summer
4. Insulate the church walls and attic
5. Install a large fan in the ceiling of the sanctuary to circulate the heat in the winter and provide cooling in the summer

Multiple quotes and references were obtained for all five jobs. A summary of costs follows:

Costs                          Cost Before Tax

Furnaces Refit                         $97,165

Heat Pumps                            $19,900

Insulation                                 $22,000

Fan in Sanctuary                       $9,475

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Total                                      $148,540

In addition to generous gifts received so far through gift, bequests, and fund raising, plus a low-interest loan from First Dawn Eastern Edge Regional Council, we are applying for funding support from the United Church of Canada (UCC) through their “Faithful Footprints” program.

The United Church of Canada General Council has long acknowledged that the global climate crisis poses a grave threat to our planet and must be tackled urgently. The energy used to light and heat UCC faith buildings is one of the UCC’s largest carbon contributors – and also one of its biggest expenses. Faithful Footprints is a national grant program for reducing financial barriers to building efficiency work. Congregations can access up to $20,000 in energy efficiency grant money and an additional $10,000 for “decarbonizing”. We are hoping to qualify for all $30,000 and are working on the application.

Work is underway and Summit Mechanical has removed the smaller of the two furnaces which has been replaced with an efficient electric boiler. A mid-point invoice has been submitted as of April 1 for just under $67,000 which includes the cost of labour and materials. A further invoice will be provided upon replacement of the larger furnace. The fan has also been installed in the sanctuary.

The larger furnace will be replaced next. This work involves asbestos abatement, and full precautionary measures including air quality testing.
Upon completion of the furnace work, and as the weather improves, the other measures will be taken to “green” the church including the insulation of the walls, and the installation of heat pumps in the primary room and Fellowship Hall.

Your support for these initiatives through weekly offerings or special gifts is greatly appreciated and will sustain Wesley United Church for many more years to come, thank-you!