Audio, video and lighting systems are important in most installations but for Houses of Worship these components can often mean the difference between serving up a sermon that makes an impact and packs a church versus one that leaves parishioners wishing they were somewhere else.

THE PROJECT

Recently, Design2020, a consulting firm specializing in HOW facilities along with WAVE, a systems integration firm, completed a large scale House of Worship exten-sion of the third facility for North Carolina’s Forest Hill Church. This large nondenominational church had grown & required additional space for Sunday worship services. Taking the church to the people, and serving approximately 1800 families in the area, the Ballantyne expansion for the Forest Hill Church was built as a structural extension of the local Morrison YMCA.

With the tremendous options that are available in lighting controls, I am amazed when I review Electrical Engineering drawings (primarily corporate interior projects) by how “old school” the approach is for wiring, circuiting and controlling general office lighting.  Typically ceiling light fixtures are wired, row by row back to the electrical closet where some master “timer switch” turns them on/off.   Have you ever seen a light switch to control general office lighting in a skyscraper?  Hopefully not.  Specialty areas such conference rooms, pantries, bathrooms etc. typically (hopefully) are out fitted by occupancy sensors to turn off lights when not in use.

But let’s talk about the rows and rows of general fluorescent lighting spanning the ceiling print of a typical office floor.  Literally there are hundreds and in larger spaces, thousands of 2x2 and 2x4 lighting fixtures.  When the EE designs the wiring and circuiting, in many instances it’s just systematically looping up one row and down the other and the space is treated as “general office space.”   Unfortunately, this means that these fixtures are laid out with no clear understanding to how the space will be occupied and used in daily operations once occupied.

Lighting sources, controls & distribution, as well as system & fixture “intelligence” is changing rapidly. This paper discusses the ways in which the industry and designers are handling these changes and preparing for the future.

INTRODUCTION

When we think of lighting systems design for live entertainment venues, we think of elaborate lighting systems, dimmers and conventional lighting fixtures. However, a new direction for lighting systems design is moving us away from conventional lighting, the need for dedicated dimmer rooms and the idea of designing lighting systems using just power distribution for control.

WHERE WE ARE TODAY

If we were to look at presently designed and installed live entertainment venues we would find most facilities have their compliment of traditional Lekos, Fresnels, Scoops, PAR, Cyc and Spot Light fixtures – all connected in a dimmer per circuit topology to massive electrical dimmer and relay panels, controlled via ACN and DMX by very simple lighting consoles.Lighting systems have historically required very large amounts of power and generate very large amounts of heat. With the introduction of LED type fixtures being used in theatrical applications – we are beginning to see a starting point to where lighting designs may take us in the future.