Hertfordshire Mercury

24 November 2011

Friends give their House a green facelift

A 350 year old Hertford building of worship has been given a green makeover to make it more environmentally friendly.

The Quakers’ Friends’ Meeting House in Railway Street has been presented with a certificate by electricity company Green Energy UK in Peerglow Centre, Ware, in recognition of the ongoing work to increase the efficiency of the grade II-listed building.

The site created in 1670 has had its roof insulated with sheep’s wool and its windows re-leaded to improve heat efficiency.

There are plans for a new draught proof lobby and it is being investigated whether the building could have secondary glazing and photovoltaic roof panels to further enhance its environmental position.

The organisation’s treasurer Gerald Drewett said: “We have to be respectful to the building’s historical status. It is a 340 year old building, the oldest purpose built Quaker Meeting House in the world, and wasn’t built with conserving heat in mind. By using Green Energy UK’s 100 percent green electricity we have radically lowered the building’s carbon emissions at no extra cost and we’ve also been making the building energy efficient and less wasteful.”

Liz Bell, of Green Energy UK, said: “At this time of year when the temperature drops it is tempting for us all to use more energy. However, there’s no point turning the heating up if the majority of that heat is escaping to the outside. By improving the energy efficiency of our buildings, we stop wasting energy an save ourselves a lot of money on bills.”