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Lighting control systems are all around us—a single dimmer switch on a wall controlling one lighting fixture or a multitude of control products communicating together over a standard protocol and controlling fixtures in many different areas.

Lighting control systems are valuable tools for many houses of worship across the world today. The number of products developed by the lighting control industry has increased tremendously in the past few years. But most of us are not trained to understand what "DMX over Ethernet protocol" means or to recognize a standard Cat5e cable.

We'll avoid the technical jargon to bring you up to speed on the value of updated lighting control systems and how they can make your life easier, improve the quality of worship services, and save money.

The lighting control industry develops products for two main types of uses: architectural lighting control systems and entertainment lighting control systems.

Houses of worship are becoming aware of the added impact proper lighting can make in comfort, convenience, and presentation. Many of today's worship facilities are used for multiple events. In addition to worship services, a sanctuary may be used as a banquet hall for a Thanksgiving feast or as a gymnasium for the youth on Friday night. Each different use of the facility has vastly different lighting control needs.

In a banquet hall setup, the lighting mood would be a lighter, more subdued atmosphere, whereas on Friday night the lighting needs to be bright and energetic. On Sunday, the pastor would like to have the lighting back to the normal preset for the actual service. He might want one light setting for the song service, a separate one for the sermon, and then a final setting for the invitation. We've just presented six different lighting scenes.

The good news is that the majority of architectural lighting control systems on the market easily handle these different lighting desires. For example, the MultiSet Pro® lighting control system from Lightolier® Controls allows the user to set and save a preset lighting scene, and then set and save up to 13 additional lighting scenes. All scenes are accessible from a single master station or various remote stations strategically stationed throughout the facility.

And on an even grander scale, all the lighting fixtures in the entire facility can be linked together. As the last person leaves the facility at night, the touch of one button can turn off all the lights. This can make a huge impact on both energy and cost savings for a congregation.

The lighting control industry has seen a tremendous boom in new products over the last couple of years due in part to the demand created from the construction or renovation of sanctuaries. The house of worship market has begun to drive market research, leading to healthy competition and many affordable products. Of course, more complicated systems come with a higher price. Any architectural lighting control system can be tailored to fit the specific needs of the client.

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