A Mission Project:

  • to substantially Reduce CO2 emissions
  • an enabler for Community Outreach Projects
  • to enhance and maintain our Grade II* Heritage Building

With the help of generous grants from the Veolia Environmental Trust and the London Community Energy Fund, we were able to replace the failing 1980s church lighting with a new LED system in Autumn 2022.

Photograh from October 2022 on completion of the new lighting installation.

Objective

As part of our Mission Action Plan, this project replaced internal light fittings in St Peter’s with LED lighting units, and adapted the current lighting system to enhance use as a community space and venue; making St. Peter’s a welcoming hub for the existing range of community groups that use the space and to assist in our stated aim of widening access to and participation by those sections of the community that are currently underrepresented in the use of the building.

The old lighting system was installed in 1986, and the fittings were failing. The lamps were incredibly energy intensive. The replacement has allowed us to:

  • dramatically reduce our carbon and environmental footprint.
  • replace the expired lighting system
  • move ahead with plans to develop St Peter’s as a venue for music and the arts – concerts, recitals, community choirs, art exhibitions, and use by local schools
  • move ahead with the development of our outreach and mission in the community through projects responding to poverty and isolation
  • re-use existing fit-for-purpose wiring, thus reducing the embodied CO2 output of the project, reducing cost, impact and disruption to a Grade II* listed building.

Project Background

  • The PCC had been monitoring the available lighting technology capable of replacing our 85 x 300W Hallogen light fittings.
  • Delayed by other priorities during the Covid Pandemic, the PCC made an application in November 2021 to the Southwark DAC for permission to replace the 85 existing lighting units with 62 LED units
  • The reduction in CO2 consumption for our current use of church lighting was estimated at 3083 kg CO2e per year – equivalent to about £2100 cost saving per year (calculdated prior to the 2022 increases in energey costs).
  • The project was granted faculty approval by the Southwark DAC.
  • We received generous grants towards the work from Veolia Environmental Trust and the London Community Energy Fund. Without these grants, we would not have been able to make this project happen.
  • Tim Gough (Architect) acted as our Lighting Designer and managed the implementation.
  • A phased approach was taken:
    • Phase 1) Assess five lighting units as a test. This was completed successfully in May 2022.
    • Phase 2) Install Lighting in North and South Aisles (24 lights). This phase completed in July 2022.
    • Phase 3) Install Lighting in Nave and East End (33 lights). This phase comoleted in October 2022.
Streatham Choral Society Concert – November 2022
All-Age Gardening event – November 2022
Above: New Church Lighting Scheme (as implemented)

Proposed LED Light Fittings (pictured) are:

Concord Sylvania Beacon ref BCON XXL MB 3K L3 BLK + SPUN SM & SSC LED fittings with fixed base and 3000k light source. Colour: black
Onboard dimmers are used.

Photograph showing zoned areas lit and other areas dimmed.
Midnight Mass 2022

If you would like to know more about the project, please contact:

David Chapman: email: website@stpeters-streatham.org