ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on field research undertaken as part of an Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings-sponsored initiative to promote church maintenance cooperatives. It examines the history of attempts to heat places of worship, discusses the impact of strategic and practical decision-making on the installation of new heating systems, and places these discussions within the context of the dynamic development of the modern church. Highly efficient heating systems are commonly installed in factories and retail warehouses. The large auditoria in concert halls and theatres, and the large open spaces in offices, civic buildings and educational buildings, often use heated and conditioned air delivered through elaborate ducting systems. Building use depends in turn on a complex and interlocking range of social factors. The current state of church heating is driven as much by ignorance as by any other factor.
