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Manchester Cathedral

© Light Perceptions Ltd & Lighting Design: Light Perceptions
We were asked by Light Perceptions Ltd on behalf of Manchester Cathedral to provide lighting for their major redevelopment project. Our lighting would be integral to the reshaping of the space within a larger church lighting scheme designed by Light Perceptions Ltd.

As with most ecclesiastical environments, colour temperature and light quality were key considerations for our church lighting proposal. To create calm and ambient setting for worship and other religious services the client chose a very warm temperature of 2700˚K and 90 CRI minimum. At this setting, the dark wooden interior beams and decorative elements would be enhanced and appear richer. To calculate the correct lumen output, we used Dialux and then carefully selected the correct Citizen LED, with a heat sink size for 56W. A honeycomb fitting was also selected to prevent glare.

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Our client had specific ideas about the design of the luminaire, with a size and colour in mind. They requested for the driver to be integral and incased within the pendant. Our challenge was to ensure that encasing the driver within the pendant did not cause overheating of either the LED or the driver itself. By creating a channel of air through the chamber, heat could escape from the LED and bypass the driver. The client selected the RAL 3007 in a deep red so the luminaires would harmonise with the surrounding church interior and merge with the ceiling colour.

For our lights to be suspended in the north and south aisles where the ceiling is coffered, our team needed to configure a way that the lamps could hang in the space between the beams. As the panels between the beams were not sturdy enough, our client came up with the solution of using a twin cable that could be hung at any angle and connect to either side of a wooden beam. This would give us the flexibility to suspend a luminaire at any point on the ceiling. We used Gripple cables typically used in theatres and concert spaces as they provide a quick but dependable solution for attaching ceiling wires.

The church lighting scheme was very successful and the cathedral pleased with the lumen output, design and quality of the light fittings.