Lighting

Lighting has a profound effect on the ambience of a church.  You therefore need to consider a new light system really carefully, with advice from your church architect and possibly also a dedicated lighting consultant.

There's a good deal of advice available from the Churchcare, including their excellent guidance note.  Some issues to consider include:

• Will the system address all intended uses of the building (such as types of service, concerts, exhibitions, community activities) both now and in the future?

• Does the type of light suit the building and intended uses of the building? Bear in mind that different light sources (tungsten / tungsten halogen / low voltage halogen / metal halide) generate different colours and intensities of light, and the difference from the old system could be profound.  It's worth trialling a proposed fitting on site so that you can be sure of the effect in your particular building.

• Will the warm-up time for certain types of light suit the required uses?

• Will the position of the lights allow for manageable bulb replacement and maintenance?

• Will the type and location of the fittings allow for suitable light direction and coverage?

For major re-lighting schemes, it is often helpful for parishes to seek informal advice from the DAC before working up a fully detailed scheme - please contact the DAC Secretary in the first instance.

When you are putting together your faculty application for a new lighting scheme the DAC will need to see a plan of the church showing where the new fittings will be located, technical specification for the new lighting scheme, lighting calculations, specification details and images of the new fittings and photographs showing the existing arrangement. All cable routes will need to be clearly and carefully specified and details provided.