When all of the work is completed for the current air conditioning project, there will be a total of twelve new ductless split heat pumps installed in the building. Seven units will be cooling the Church Nave, two units will be cooling the Sanctuary, two units will be cooling the Narthex and one unit will be cooling the Sacristy. Supporting the electrical needs of this new air conditioning equipment meant that there had to be some reconfiguring done to the existing electrical system. Thankfully, changing from incandescent lighting to LED lighting has proven to be a good thing. Not only did the change from incandescent lighting to LED lighting in the Church save on overall electricity costs, it provided some much needed space in pre-existing electrical panels to power some of the new equipment. Unfortunately, the lighting change did not provide quite enough available panel space for the entire A/C project. The new higher demand electrical power meant that the two new 100-Amp electrical panels had to be added to the Church’s electrical system.
The new ductless split heat pumps do more than just provide air conditioning in the summer months. The new equipment has the ability to heat rooms as well. The ductless split heat pumps will give us the option of heating the Church in the spring and fall if need be. For me, it is going to be interesting to see how much of a difference it will make for the Parish when it comes to our reliance on electrical baseboard heaters in the Outer Narthex.
Stay safe. Stay well. Stay connected. And, until next time, this is Michael Pollard for This old Church of Ours.