Church heating

DRU heating systems have been heating churches in the UK and Europe for more than 50 years. The company has a welth of experience of both Modern Church Heating and Historic Church Heating  The philosophy adopted by DRU towards this specialised market is as follows:

Heating a church is a very special problem. DRU is a very special company.

Churches have very unique and exceptional problems when it comes to deciding the best heating system. Older churches from Victorian times and earlier are normally constructed from natural stone, with high walls, high roofs and steeples or towers. They were built in the days when church heating consisted of open fires or stoves. Alternatively, people were obliged to wear warm clothes.

Modern churches from the early 20th century onwards were usually designed and constructed before the days of modern building regulations, when insulation and energy efficiency were not considered important. Gas and electricity were still relatively cheap due to Britain still being a major coal mining country. Many new churches had grand designs that included large sections of stained glass windows, mostly single-glazed, creating considerable challenges for designers of church heating systems.

DRU Range of powerful and efficient church heating appliances

Balanced flue heaters

Since the 1960s, DRU has developed a range of functional heating products that meet the challenges posed by church heating. DRU invented the balanced flue heating system in the 1930s, and this has been the basis of most of the heating systems developed for churches ever since.

Balanced flue heaters include the DRU Art, Style and Diamond models. They are located against an outside facing wall, with the flue penetrating the wall. Using natural convection, air is drawn from outside the building for combustion and waste gases expelled to the outside. As well as being an efficient solution for church heating, this is also much more comfortable than other forms of heating, as no oxygen is depleted inside the building.

DRU balanced flue church heating products have a range of heat outputs from 2 to 11 kw, so even a very large church can benefit from the heat that they dispense. They can be controlled individually or from a central time switch. If there is no mains gas they can be run on LPG, and they don’t need an electrical supply.

DRU balance flue heaters for church heating are over 75% efficient, clean, quiet and effective and are in use in literally thousands of churches throughout the country. They need very little maintenance and can last for many years.

Powered flue heaters

The second option to consider when designing a church heating system is the DRU powered flue system. DRU Kamara powered flue heaters are similar to balanced flue models in that they are also located against an outside wall. But in this case, the flue function is forced air-assisted. This has the benefit of heating up large church buildings more rapidly and maintaining the temperature more effectively during very cold weather. The heaters only need to be turned on 1 hour before the church service and the electronic thermostats in the heaters can maintain the temperature at the required level for as long as needed.

DRU Kamara heaters are over 90% efficient and can also be run on mains gas or LPG. They are the logical choice for church heating in very large churches, whether ancient or modern.

Conventional flue heaters

Finally, for churches with an existing chimney or flue pipe, there are DRU conventional flue gas heating products.

In days gone by, many churches had a solid fuel cast iron stove that was used for church heating. DRU S Line or Pigalle are more modern, gas powered substitutes for this form of church heating. They can be easily connected to the existing chimney or flue pipe, extracting and expelling air for combustion by this method. They are quiet, effective and efficient church heating appliances that can be run on mains gas or LPG.

Church heating surveys and consultations 

In addition to its range of church heating gas appliances, DRU has a range of specialist services dedicated to church heating needs. Fully experienced church heating consultants are available to produce individual surveys on churches and recommend the best system available. A national team of Gas Safe registered engineers, working with the DRU approved network of companies takes care of installations and ongoing servicing and maintenance.

DRU technical support staff are always available, and DRU’s UK headquarters at Drugasar in Manchester always carries stocks of spare parts for DRU church heating products. It all adds up to the most complete church heating service in both the UK and Europe.