Let your light shine (and don’t be LED astray)

Let your light shine (and don’t be LED astray)

Most of us fail to consider how much oil our church lighting burns – not the refined hydrocarbon found in traditional oil-burning lamps but the environmental cost of the energy used by everyday light bulbs.

‘On average, churches in the UK use between 22,000 and 30,000 kWh of electricity annually,’ said David Burch of CES, a lighting design and installation practice with teams dedicated to re-lighting heritage churches. ‘To put this in perspective you could make two million cups of coffee with this energy, which in the C of E is probably about right!’

Worryingly, this is also equivalent to 2,800 litres of oil being burnt and expelled into the atmosphere. And although the UK government has made inroads into green and renewable energies, the jury’s still out on whether we’ll meet the 30 per cent target by the end of 2020. So how can churches play their part?

‘New technologies can allow us to cut lighting energy consumption by 90 per cent,’ said David. ‘At CES we understand the importance of system longevity with minimal maintenance. Churches are charities and we appreciate the importance of value for money where budgets are tight. We also understand how lighting can be used architecturally and impact worship for good.

‘New LED lighting should not be entertained without careful consideration and professional assistance. Many quick swaps or poorly-designed schemes are a false economy!’

• CES Lighting are exhibiting at CRE National 2021 (12-14 Oct 2021). For more information click here.

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Our next exhibitions

CRE South West 2021 – 17-18 March 2021
Westpoint, Exeter

CRE National 2021 – 12-14 October 2021
Sandown Park, Surrey