During the renovation planning process, it was decided (easily!) to keep our wonderful gothic style hanging fixtures. Our electrician re-wired them and cleaned them, and volunteer parishioners helped to give a fresh coat of paint to the metal holders that were viewed from below. They were fitted with new LED bulbs and we were able to add dimmer switches to enhance special liturgies. We used the bulbs with the most possible lumens to give off the most light while keeping it a "warm" type of light.
The lighting was great for most days. But if it was a gloomy day or dark outside, the lighting was borderline. We explored some other options. Canned lights in the ceiling would be difficult and expensive. We could have new "guts" built for the fixtures which would be a costly endeavor. But then a great thing happened...our electrician told us that the technology in the lighting industry had recently improved. We were able to get some bulbs that have twice as many lumens as the old ones but still give off the warm light. We ordered 10 bulbs at $35 each to change out the lower bulb in each of the 10 fixtures. Our custodial staff installed them last week (we have a lift that goes in between the pews) and we're very pleased with the results! Thank you to all for you input!
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