OVERVIEW

The United Church of Christ (UCC) Longmont has been a pillar of the local community since 1872. However, inefficient lighting and constant maintenance to fix burnt out bulbs in the sanctuary was resulting in high energy and replacement product costs. Illuminating the sanctuary of the church are 40 wall sconces, 80 canned, ceiling lights and 120 bulbs in wagon wheel chandeliers. Each time a bulb burnt out in the ceiling of the church, the pews had to be moved and a lift had to be brought in to reach the spent bulb.

Four to five times a year, one of the fluorescent bulbs in the church would expire because of the dimmer system. One of the goals in retrofitting the church with TerraLUX LEDs was to achieve a more reliable lighting system. Another was to eliminate the need to pay $200 per replacement ballast each time a light went out. But, the biggest problem of all that needed to be solved was reducing the heat created during a service by the lights.

During a typical hour-long service, the temperature in the sanctuary would rise 50 degrees with the heat given off by the 400 sconce lights along the church walls. The beautiful cast-metal shades had great visual appeal, but the 150-watt halogen bulbs illuminating made them scorching ovens. Even during freezing cold Colorado winters, the heat thrown off by the lights would cause the air conditioning to turn on in the church. As a result, the local utility company issued penalty charges to the church each month for exceeding use limits.

TerraLUX’s LED lighting solutions are saving us on energy and maintenance costs. We used to have to replace lights 4-5 times a year at $200 each, now we won’t have to worry about changing a bulb for seven years or more. 

efore deciding to retrofit with TerraLUX LEDs, the church researched other options. But having recently completed an interior remodel, church staff did not want to spend over $400 per fixture to purchase new, more efficient lights. Instead, they turned to their local LED source, TerraLUX for a cost-efficient retrofitting solution that has already reduced the church’s air conditioning costs alone by 75 percent.

The retrofit was completed by one person and took only a week to complete. Now, the church is looking forward to not having to move its pews every few months to replace burnt out bulbs and drastically reduced energy and maintenance costs.