ORLANDO, FL – The Obreros de Paz (Worker of Peace) church in Orlando upgraded its lighting recently, prompted by the need to start live-streaming its church services. Church leaders were persuaded to switch from incandescent lamps and PAR cans to LEDs from Elation Professional. Although the lighting upgrade came with a price, the church's monthly electricity bill has dropped by 32 percent, and the church expects to recoup the investment within three years.
"They had no familiarity with LEDs, so it took some convincing on our part," said Rick Kisosondi of Lighting and Production Resources LLC, which was called in to re-design the church's lighting system. "We sold them over time, basically by telling them, ‘Look, not only will LEDs do what you want them to do and offer the flexibility you need, but your electricity costs are going to go down.'"
Kisosondi hung 20 of Elation Professional's ELED Fresnels in a half-hexagonal configuration over the stage's front and sides. These fixtures, equipped with 50W 6000k white LED modules, have a luminous output comparable to a 300W halogen Fresnel, while drawing only, at the most, 75W.
The ELED Fresnels also feature 0 to 100 percent dimming with internal DMX control over dimmer and strobe functions, along with a 10° to 50° manual zoom and a multi-voltage internal power supply. The units are being controlled by another Elation product, Compu 1024 PC-based lighting control software.
"This is really the only LED-powered Fresnel-type fixture like it on the market," said Kisosondi. "We didn't have to do a lot of rewiring, which helped keep the installation cost lower," he added, citing another factor that led him to choose the units.
Another benefit is relief from the heat. "They had been using basically household lighting, and the people on stage would get so hot, they'd sometimes have to turn off the lights in the middle of a service," Kisosondi noted.
The biggest plus, however, is the reason church officials started looking at a new lighting system in the first place: they got a stage lighting system that supports the initiative to stream services online.
The streaming has begun, and Obreros de Paz, which has been serving Orlando worshippers since 1975, is now able to expand its congregation far beyond traditional geographic constraints.
"Now that they're streaming, they have people as far away as Turkey and Europe logging in and watching the services," said Kisosondi. "They're really excited about that."
For more information, please visit www.elationlighting.com and www.lightingandproductionresources.com.
