Use and have the right spaces

Before you invest in major changes to address heat loss in your premises, you should consider whether you should take the opportunity to change the size or shape of any of your rooms. Some venues have huge rooms that are too big for the groups they host. Partitioning them might reduce your heating bills or allow you to serve more groups.

Also think about whether your ceilings are higher than you need. In the 1990’s, one rule of thumb for church halls was that if you could reduce the space volume by 25% the change would pay back in reasonable time. We don’t know what the rule would be now. If it’s not possible to insulate the roof, false ceilings can be doubly attractive as it might be possible to insulate them in a “cold roof” design.

In some venues with low occupancy, it’s possible to shift groups around in different rooms to save on heating. There are limits to this because internal walls aren’t usually that thick or insulated. It works best if your premises have relatively independent halls.