Our Historic Building

Ongoing Energy Efficiency Improvements

For the past two months we have been meeting and worshiping amongst the activity and clutter of a major project rebuilding the heating system for First Unitarian Church. That project is 80 - 90% complete and the building is now being heated by a system that is over 90% efficient. The old boiler which was replaced had a boiler efficiency of only around 65%, made even worse by the deteriorated state of the radiators, pipes, and controls. Many of the piping leaks and nonworking valves have been replaced and most of the remaining work is to continue those repairs and restore the building to its original condition. We expect that the project will be complete by the end of December. Even then we hope to improve further our control of the heating system to further reduce the cost of utilities and to reduce our carbon footprint on the planet.

To download a PDF file describing our heating system improvements, click HERE

A Proposed Second Phase of Building Improvements

In addition to the boiler replacement, the Property Committee has employed an architect consultant to help develop plans for a second phase of renovations that are quite important to the building’s overall condition and energy efficiency. This phase of the project can largely be thought of as focused on window improvements. The proposed project includes new windows for Pennington Center and new storm windows for the Sanctuary and most of the smaller windows in the remainder of the Sanctuary building.

To download a PDF file describing future energy efficiency projects, click HERE