The following post was written by Maureen Quinlan from Philips Color Kinetics.

The arches, the domes, the organs, the altars, and the stained glass windows of a church of any faith seem to glow with a little help from the heavens. These days that effect is not only from natural light, it is enhanced by LED lighting solutions.

With white and colored LED lighting solutions, Philips Color Kinetics has helped many churches create an entirely new atmosphere within the walls of worship. Recent trends have suggested that it is many churches’ goal to emerge from the shadows and show off striking architecture, art, and grandeur of these sanctuaries.

Modernizing churches built 300, 400, 800, and even nearly 1,000 years ago seems like a daunting task. But in fact, modernizing the lighting in churches can be accomplished without compromising the historical integrity of their pasts.

Notre Dame Cathedral after Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

Notre Dame Cathedral

“The lighting must be efficient, but without overpowering the beauty of the architecture, just highlighting it,” Armand Zadikian explained. Zadikian is a lighting designer who refashioned the lighting of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, with LED solutions in honor of its 850th anniversary.

Notre Dame Cathedral after Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

Switching to a complete LED lighting system brings the famous landmark into the modern age. Philips Color Kinetics and Philips LED fixtures highlight the front gallery, altar, organ, and pulpit of Notre Dame. The solution delivered energy savings and easily controllable dynamic lighting. These are often the reasons many churches seek new solutions.

Cathedral of San Ildefonso after Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

Cathedral of San Ildefonso

The Cathedral of San Ildefonso, a 416-year-old stone cathedral, had many lighting concerns. As the center of Mérida, Yucatán, México, the church is a beacon within the area. When updating both the interior and exterior lighting system, many worried about the preservation of the building materials. Philips Color Kinetics LED fixtures do not emit infrared and ultraviolet rays which can deteriorate fragile exteriors like that of the grand Mexican cathedral.

Saint-Gertrudis Church after Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

Saint-Gertrudis Church

Saint-Gertrudis Church in Nijvel, Belgium, is 968 years old and has some of Europe’s most prized religious art and architecture. With an LED lighting system from Philips Color Kinetics, the art stands out and the magnificent architectural details of its high ceilings come out of the shadows. With long useful life, LED sources solve the challenge posed by hard-to-reach incandescent lamps, which need frequent replacing.

Church of the Immaculat after Philips LED upgrade. (LEDinside/Philips)

Church of the Immaculata

Even 20th century worship spaces are getting in on the LED fun. Church of the Immaculata in San Diego, California, USA, updated its lighting system from the original 1950s system to illuminate the beautiful details around its altar and in its domed ceilings.

Temple B’nai. (LEDinside/Philips)

Temple B’nai

Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, relies on Philips Color Kinetics products to produce a cloud effect above its golden Eternal Light, an LED fixture wired to run even in the case of a power outage.

Flushing Ganesh Temple, a Hindu temple in Queens, New York, USA. (LEDinside/Philips)

Flushing Ganesh Temple

Flushing Ganesh Temple, a Hindu temple in Queens, New York, USA, uses Philips Color Kinetic color-changing lights on its exterior to produce light shows for the surrounding community.

The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, California, USA. (LEDinside/Philips)

The First Congregational Church

The First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, California, USA, was struggling with dim lights and shadows before it updated with an installation of white lights to brighten the church and to dazzle parishioners with colored light against the organ. After the switch, its attendance rate increased by 100 percent.

All of these houses of worship also reported an energy savings between 30% and 80%. The added benefit of cost savings was highly attractive to non-profit establishments serving religious communities. Churches also appreciate the benefit of low-heat light output that helps reduce air conditioning costs in warm-weather locations.

It is also an increasing trend to film worship services, so LED fixtures have to play double duty by illuminating a space and providing adequate light for broadcast. Philips Color Kinetics fixtures are flicker-free at most camera frame rates, can be digitally adjusted for any situation, and have no noisy moving parts.

Places of worship looking to update their visitors’ experience without endangering the integrity of the building’s material, architecture, and other details can find an easy solution in LED lighting suited for retrofit situations. The addition of modern lighting can even kindle spirituality.

“LED lighting produces a large spectrum of colors,” said Dayo Kolawole, a member of the Technical Crew Unit at The Waterbrook, a new generation church in Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, installing Philips Color Kinetics products. “When these colors are properly mixed and synchronized with audio and video, it sets the mood to attract and connect the minds of the congregation, thus facilitating the ambiance for true worship.”