CHURCH OF GOD
CASE STUDY
BRISTOL
The Church of God of Prophecy in Bristol previously had a gas heating system that was unreliable and inadequate to heat their building. It would have cost around £60,000 to replace it and that was considered prohibitively expensive. Because of the high ceilings in the main chapel, most of the heat simply went up to the roof. So, they were looking for a different type of heating and decided that infrared (IR) panel heating would be more effective, as this would warm the people and the fabric of the building, and not the air.
Because of the intermittent use of the various rooms – main hall, activity room, Sunday school, creche and food bank – they decided that a zone heating control system would be much more appropriate for their needs. This would also give them the benefit of being able to manage the heating away from the church. So if the schedule changed, no-one would have to go back to the church to reprogram the heating.
Pastor Raymond Viera told us about their experience:
How did you hear about Genius Hub?
“Through one of our members, Gary. We knew he was a plumber and we asked him to come up with something better and he recommended a combined system of infrared heating and the Genius Hub.”
Why smart heating controls?
“You can control it remotely, and you can set zones. This was crucial to our long-term objective of saving money and improving our green credentials.”
Why did you choose Genius Hub?
“We left the research to Gary to find the right system for us. Cost savings and the green issues are the most important factors for us.”
Main consideration before purchasing?
“We found that it would have cost us £58k to replace the gas boiler and install new radiators. Whereas it cost £15k to remove the existing system and £38k for the IR system, which brings reduced running costs along with it.
The money that we save on the gas we will use to pay off the system.”
Was there anything you were concerned about?
“It was a very hard decision to move away from a wet system. At the time of the installation, I was sceptical about the IR heating and whether it would work or not, to keep people warm enough. But the heating is so comfortable now, it is like the Caribbean on a warm and breezy day; nice and warm, not oppressive like we used to have with the gas boiler and radiators.”
How did you design the system?
“The design was all done by the installer. Aesthetically, I am concerned about the larger IR panels, it would have been better if they were white.”
What were your first impressions of Genius Hub?
“As we went through the training, we became aware of the flexibility and technical expertise that went into the design of the system. “
How was the installation?
“The installer was very courteous. Typical workman he was not!”
What do you like about the system?
“What we’ve seen today surpasses what we thought we’d be getting. Now we can have the heating on in the office and not involve the whole building. Before, I had to turn on the whole church! The remote control is a major feature for us. Prior to the installation, we would have had to turn on the heating 5 hours before we needed to use the room. Now it calculates for us how much in advance we need to turn the heating on before the congregation arrives.”
Have you benefited in any other way?
“Yes, the benefits we were looking for – cost savings, reduction in carbon footprint and the ease of use for members who are using it. Zone heating control is key and this was the key feature for the users.
People using the building find it easy to understand that the wall thermostat boosts the heating for 5 hours and then it just goes back to where it was before, and so it cannot be left accidentally on high.”
How have you found using the app?
“I am pretty pleased with the app. I am impressed how the team took to it straightaway. You can see that they are really au fait with it. It was easy setting it up and changing the temperatures.
We have linked some of the zones together, this was easy on the app and makes the scheduling easier.
It is just so easy-to-use, we only had to call up Tech Support once, and they were really helpful and quickly sorted out the problem we had.”
