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St Anthony's Catholic Church | Bradford
Project Background
Large places of worship present some of the most challenging heating environments. With high ceilings, expansive open spaces and intermittent occupancy, traditional convection heating systems often struggle to deliver consistent comfort while remaining cost-effective to operate. This church in Bradford was no exception. The existing heating system relied on electric radiators fitted with protective guards, yet despite running continuously, the building was still failing to reach comfortable temperatures during services. Much of the heat became trapped at ceiling level, while the seating areas remained cold, leading to visitor discomfort and unnecessarily high electricity bills.
Infrared Group was appointed to design a heating solution specifically suited to the unique characteristics of a church. Rather than wasting energy heating the entire volume of air, infrared technology delivers radiant heat directly to people, pews and surrounding surfaces, creating a warm and welcoming environment exactly where it is needed. This approach is particularly effective in churches, where occupancy is concentrated in seating areas and around the altar.
The completed installation comprised 10 high-level 3kW infrared bar heaters, all controlled by handheld remote thermostats, allowing individual heaters or grouped zones to be operated as required. The result is a quieter, more responsive and significantly more energy-efficient heating system, providing faster warm-up times, improved comfort, reduced running costs and a modern appearance, while eliminating the limitations of traditional electric radiators. This project demonstrates why infrared heating is becoming one of the most effective heating solutions for churches, chapels and other large public buildings.
Objectives:
Replace the inefficient electric radiators with a modern infrared heating system capable of delivering comfortable, targeted warmth throughout the church while significantly reducing energy consumption and running costs.
Improve visitor comfort by heating the seating areas, altar and occupied spaces directly, eliminating cold benches, uneven temperatures and the heat stratification associated with high-ceilinged buildings.
Provide a responsive heating solution that can warm the church quickly before services and events, making it easier to manage heating around changing occupancy and reducing unnecessary energy use.
Enhance the appearance of the church by removing large, ageing radiators and replacing them with sleek, high-level infrared bar heaters that blend discreetly into the building.
Deliver a reliable, silent and maintenance-free heating system with individually controlled heating zones, improved indoor air quality and a product lifespan of over 40 years.
Key Features:
10 × 3kW high-level infrared bar heaters strategically positioned throughout the church, altar area, kitchen and rear rooms to provide fast, targeted radiant heating where it is needed most.
Intelligent handheld remote control system allowing each infrared bar heater to be operated individually or grouped together, providing flexible heating control to suit services, events and occupancy.
Two-phase installation programme, with an initial installation of seven bar heaters followed by a further three heaters after the client experienced the performance and efficiency of the system firsthand.
Purpose-designed heating solution for large open spaces, delivering instant, silent radiant warmth directly to seating areas and occupants while avoiding the heat loss and stratification associated with conventional convection heating.
Discover Phase
Conducted a comprehensive site survey to assess the church's layout, ceiling height, occupancy patterns and the performance of the existing electric radiator system.
Identified the challenges associated with heating a large open space, including heat stratification, cold seating areas, high running costs and poor heating performance during services.
Worked closely with the client to understand how the church was used throughout the week, ensuring the new heating system would provide maximum comfort while minimising energy consumption.
Design & Development Phase
Designed a bespoke infrared bar heating system that targeted the occupied seating areas, altar and ancillary spaces, rather than wasting energy heating the entire volume of air.
Calculated the optimal heater positions and mounting heights to achieve even heat distribution, maximum comfort and efficient operation throughout the church.
Specified an intelligent remote control system, enabling individual or grouped heater control to provide flexible heating around Mass, events and changing occupancy levels.
Implementation Phase
Completed the initial installation of seven high-level infrared bar heaters, carefully positioning each unit to maximise coverage while maintaining the church's appearance.
Returned for a second installation phase approximately one month later to install three additional infrared bar heaters after the client experienced the performance of the initial system and requested extended heating to the kitchen and rear rooms.
Fully commissioned and tested the complete heating system, configuring the remote controls and ensuring all heaters operated efficiently to deliver instant, targeted and reliable radiant heat throughout the building.
Results
Delivered a warm, comfortable worship environment by replacing inefficient electric radiators with targeted infrared bar heaters that heat the congregation, pews and occupied areas directly rather than the unused air above.
Significantly reduced unnecessary energy consumption and heating costs by providing rapid warm-up times and allowing heaters to be operated individually or in groups to suit services and occupancy.
Enhanced comfort throughout the church by eliminating cold seating areas, reducing heat stratification and creating a more consistent temperature across the spaces used by visitors.
Improved the appearance of the church by replacing large, ageing electric radiators with sleek, high-level infrared bar heaters that integrate discreetly into the building's interior.
Installed a silent, maintenance-free heating system with an expected lifespan of over 40 years, providing a reliable long-term solution that delivers cleaner, more efficient heating without circulating dust or airborne particles.
