New energy efficient lights have slashed Durham Cathedral’s electricity bill by nearly £6,000 a year and won it third prize in an international competition to find the globe's most sustainable lighting. Mark Tallentire went in search of illumination

IF you’re a lighting engineer, getting the chance to install a completely new setup at Durham Cathedral must be up there with your all-time dream jobs.

That was the prize that Steve Edwards and colleagues from Thornaby-based Stainton Lighting went after when they decided to enter a contest to give the 900-year-old Norman shrine its first lighting overhaul in around 30 years back in 2010.

Four years on and Stainton not only won the contract but have delivered the project – on time and on budget.

“We were extremely proud,” Steve says, reviewing his work from outside the Cathedral’s iconic North door.

“We were up against much larger organisations. Perhaps that we were local and we spent a lot of time on site understanding the building helped us to win the job.”

The Cathedral’s previous lighting consisted of around 19 large floodlights, each emitting cold, white light and burning at a pricey 1,000 to 1,500 watts, or 25 kilowatts overall.

In 2010, Durham County Council came into some funding to pay for a new scheme for the Cathedral and neighbouring Durham Castle.

For the Cathedral, the resulting £600,000 project meant 141 smaller LED floodlights – some on the ground and others on the roof – which are less obtrusive, save on energy costs and more effectively bring out the building’s stunning architecture.

The total load is 13 kilowatts, saving 74 per cent on energy use, or nearly £6,000 a year – roughly double the initial target; and it is hoped the setup will last for 20 to 25 years.

“We’ve got a better lighting system for cheaper cost,” says Phillip Abson, the Cathedral’s straight-talking building services manager.

The new lights, installed by AK Lighting and Signs, of West Auckland, were officially unveiled in February last year by council chairman Linda Marshall.

Councillor Bob Young said they allowed the jewels of the Durham City skyline to shine, while Canon Rosalind Brown said they presented Durham’s Unesco World Heritage Site at its best.

Light levels are automatically altered using wireless computer technology to suit the seasons, the time of day and bat migration and can also be manually adjusted, including to suit the Cathedral’s many special events.

Usually, the lights will be at “normal” level from dusk to 11pm, when the towers dim to half power and the main building goes down to 25 per cent.

At 2am, further dimming occurs, down to minimum levels needed to maintain the building’s security.

“We spent a lot of time trialling it and it does what we expected it to do,” Steve says, being overly modest.

The scheme was shortlisted for the heritage prize in the Lighting Design Awards, was highlighted in the outdoor category at the Lux Lighting Awards and took third place in the the global Auroralia Awards for sustainable lighting.