Many churches, intent on creating services with maximum impact, are cranking up the lighting to showcase a trend toward more theatrical services, say architects, who are building more “black box” central worship areas without windows to allow for greater control. Many new churches find they need two lighting designers, one for the worship area, the other for the rest of the campus. “The style of worship has changed in many cases, moving more into a theatrical range,” says David Lipp, founding principal of Helbing, Lipp, Recny Architects in the Washington D.C. area. “The techies don’t like windows because of the glare on video screens.”
Daylighting … has its fans, in part because of the emotional uplift many people experience in a space flooded with natural light.
Architect Rusty Hyde, senior engineer at Hyde Engineering in Birmingham, Ala., estimates that the growing power needs of windowless theatrical worship spaces can consume up to 50% of a facility’s usage. But the end product, says Hyde, can be astounding. “Essentially, it’s a rock concert every morning” in a megachurch.
Space-specific Design Considerations
Norman Russell, a theater lighting expert, sees effective lighting design as a key element in creating a vivid worship service. For him, controlled lighting helps heighten the impact of the emotional elements presented to the audience. Russell suggests building catwalks above a false ceiling to allow technicians greater safety and flexibility in adjusting the lighting as a service or pageant unfolds. It also preserves some of the mystery, says Russell, a principal consultant based in Santa Barbara, Calif., with the Sextant Group. “We want to conceal the magic.”Elsewhere on the church campus, the overall lighting goal for any house of worship remains the same. “From a member perspective, the biggest thing is to use efficient lighting to create a warm, inviting atmosphere, but not one that’s over the top,” says Ryan Cazan, an account manager for Lighting Supply Co. in Clarkston, Mich.
For Hyde, several factors always need to be considered:
- Worship space design to provide for AV and other production necessities within a seamless system
- High product quality to ensure that fixtures function for years with minimal maintenance needs
- Efficiency, so that all areas are lighted adequately without waste
- System performance
Dr. Brent Protzman, manager of energy information and analytics at Lutron Electronics Co. in Coopersburg, Pa., notes that systems must be designed to meet the lighting needs of all possible space uses. “A good layered lighting design will likely use multiple systems, including downlights, indirect lighting, cove lighting, accent lighting, etc.” Even within a single system design, the light distribution changes based on function and desired visual effect, Protzman adds, noting that users will need present scene controls to make adjustments quickly and easily.
Daylighting & Energy Efficiency Concerns
Daylighting can be a challenge to churches that want to introduce the sun into the worship experience while harnessing the power of professional presentation. Beyond the obstacles presented by changing levels of light during a service, Russell says recording equipment, often used by large churches to capture their message for repackaging, isn’t as flexible as the human eye in adjusting to changes in daylight. This creates the potential for thorny color-balance problems. Daylighting, though, has its fans, in part because of the emotional uplift many people experience in a space flooded with natural light. While it is often used in the foyer outside the main worship area, architects have found several ways to blend natural light with the careful control desired in the worship space. For some churches, simple shades, controlled remotely, provide sufficient control to avoid glare during services. But at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, Va., near Washington D.C., Lipp used an electronically tintable smart glass, SageGlass, from Sage Electrochromics Inc. of Faribault, Minn., to harness natural light in windows placed near the top of the church’s 58-foot roof, while maintaining enough control to block out 80%-90% of the light, as needed.
The sheer height of worship spaces can create a perennial problem for churches, which are increasingly concerned with maintenance issues. “In today’s churches, it’s maintenance above everything,” says Hyde, saying that extends to the variety of bulbs used, as well. Staff at houses of worship wants to stabilize maintenance needs by keeping their replacement inventory as simple as possible. A host of issues, including replacement cost, accessibility and energy usage have led many architects and church builders to rely increasingly on LED lights instead of fluorescent lights or incandescent bulbs. LED lights can shave energy costs to a quarter or less of incandescent bulbs, and last up to two decades. In addition, LEDs generate about 15% of the heat of an incandescent, reducing air-conditioning costs. Still, say experts, they may not always be appropriate in every situation. Area light fixtures such as troffers and parabolics may or may not utilize LEDs, Protzman reports. “Linear fluorescent lamps with high color quality generally have a similar efficacy to their LED counterpart, but with a lower price point. But that’s changing, as well. The price of LED fixtures continues to drop, and the efficacy of high color quality LED lamps surpasses fluorescent.” Cazan notes that if the lighting need is sporadic, LEDs might not always be worth the relatively high cost of the bulbs. A standard rule of thumb is that the savings should pay back the initial higher cost within three years.
Solar Intentions
Solar remains a popular option for churches, in part because it emphasizes a congregation’s commitment to obey scriptural admonitions to be good stewards of the Earth. In practice, the variability of solar radiation across the United States tends to dictate whether installing panels will provide a significant addition to a worship house’s energy mix. Churches south of the 45th parallel North will probably see more tangible benefits from solar panels, says Cazan: “Think in terms of Texas and Arizona, areas with a considerable amount of sunlight.”. Another aspect that requires a deft design touch is creating lighting to showcase a house of worship’s architectural features. In many ways, the façade and footprint of a house of worship are its most visible advertisement, and appropriate lighting helps passersby appreciate it. Jim Anderson, director of product marketing at Philips Color Kinetics based in Burlington, Mass., says that LED lights are small enough to conceal on a small shelf to provide a very narrow beam to highlight a key architectural facet. They can be broad enough to signal a change in liturgical seasons with fresh lighting across an entire façade. In many ways, Anderson says, lighting can put a signature stamp on a house of worship’s appeal, making it stand out to its congregation and the community. “It’s a brand,” Anderson closes.
Learn more about Hyde Engineering
[Editor's note: This piece was originally published in February 2016.]
