Case Study

School Auditorium House Light Upgrade

At Creative Spark, we are thrilled to have worked with Woldingham School in Surrey to upgrade their auditorium house lighting in 2019. The school sought to improve their existing system that had become outdated, inefficient, and costly to run. Our objective was to replace their old lighting setup with modern, energy-efficient LED fixtures while ensuring compliance with current safety regulations and providing a system that was easy to maintain.

The Problem

The auditorium at Woldingham School seats nearly 600 people and is used at least 12 hours every day. The lighting system, originally installed in 1997, had become increasingly unreliable. The fixtures, which were static and non-dimmable, struggled to reach full capacity when switched on, costing the school time and money. The aging system was prone to frequent failures, and the school needed an urgent solution to avoid further complications. In addition to this, the school’s lighting system was no longer compliant with modern electrical safety regulations.

Key issues included:

Outdated lighting fixtures and infrastructure
Increased energy consumption
Rising costs for consumables and sub-hires
Safety concerns related to outdated electrical components

Creative Spark’s Solution

After an initial consultation and lighting audit, we at Creative Spark devised a plan to replace the outdated system and future-proof the auditorium lighting. We ensured that the new installation would not only be more efficient but also comply with the latest safety regulations. Our team completed the upgrade in under a week, providing a hassle-free experience for Woldingham School.

Here’s what we did:

Replaced 32 old mercury lighting fixtures with highly efficient LEDs, while retaining existing wiring to minimize costs.
Upgraded the electrical distribution board to meet BS7671 standards and ensure RCD protection for all circuits, including sockets.
Installed energy-efficient LED fixtures rated at 50w (compared to the old 150w units), providing significant cost savings of up to £2,300 annually.
Replaced outdated switching systems with modern instant-on fixtures, reducing downtime and improving operational efficiency.
Comprehensive testing and certification of the entire system for safety and compliance.
Provided full training to the staff and ongoing support for any future needs.

Benefits for our client

The upgrade to Woldingham School’s auditorium lighting has delivered exceptional benefits, ensuring the school can rely on a modern, energy-efficient system for years to come. The LED fixtures provide excellent lighting quality and are simple to replace, offering a long lifespan of 50,000 hours. The system is also much safer, meeting all current safety regulations, and offers substantial energy savings.

Key benefits included:

Significant reduction in energy consumption
Enhanced lighting quality and efficiency
Lower maintenance costs and longer fixture lifespan
Full compliance with current electrical safety regulations
Increased operational reliability and flexibility

Ryan Skelly, the Technical Manager at Woldingham School who oversaw the project says,

“It had become a matter of priority to future proof the lighting in the school’s auditorium. Not only had it become costly to run, it no longer provided an adequate service and didn’t meet safety regulations. We called Creative Spark with the problem and from the very outset they were brilliant.

Dan and Claire come from a theatrical background and shared our vision for the venue, knowing just what we wanted the lighting to achieve. They listened to our concerns, recognised the pain points and provided a quote with everything set out in easy to understand sections, considering the job from all angles.

We knew at once that they were the perfect people for the job and as soon as we gave them the go ahead, they were extremely professional and made us feel at ease. Everyone we dealt with from Creative Spark was similarly minded and they worked non-stop to complete the work in less than four days.

I wouldn’t hesitate to use Creative Spark again and I would recommend them to anyone else needing a professional lighting company. There will be many more projects coming their way and we welcome their input into those future projects as well. We noticed the cost savings as soon as our next electrical bill arrived, and the students and staff alike have all commented on the huge improvement in the lighting. A brilliant outcome all round.”

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