Radiators - Funeral parlours to power radiators with heat from cremations

08/01/2008

Radiators at English funeral parlours could soon be powered by heat generated by cremations, it has been announced.

Under new plans mooted by Thameside council in Greater Manchester, the gases emitted by crematoria will not be released into the air, as is current practice - but will instead be harnessed and used to power radiators.

This will make cremations more environmentally-friendly while also keeping mourners warm, Robin Monk, environment officer with the council, said.

He told the Daily Mail: "We are conscious that it might be a sensitive matter. [But] Basically, it's just heat which will otherwise be lost.

"But in this day and age we all have to look at reducing our carbon footprint. Cremations usually require temperatures of up to 1000 degrees celsius."

The council's idea was welcomed by Rev Vernon Marshall who said that recycling the heat could even be seen as a "final act of generosity" adding that "it's a lovely way for the dead to provide comfort".