Infrared heating chandeliers of St. Aignan Church
Griselles – France
FOUR INFRARED HEATING
GLASS CHANDELIERS
Seraph (etymology): “the blazing”, “the burning”
The twenty-four seraphim in bas-relief that adorn these chandeliers form a delicate and elegant glass corolla. A Paschal Lamb, for the chandelier above the the altar, and a Holy Spirit, for the three other ones, decorate the central parts.
Highlighting the building
Designing heating chandeliers for a church mainly consists in conceiving lighting chandeliers whose design integrates with taste and simplicity to the interior architecture of the building. The chandeliers will be visible and used as such all year long, while their heating components will only be used a few dozen hours a year.
The difficulty of this project was to aesthetically integrate these heating elements in order to obtain a harmonious and elegant design.
Church heating
The sensation of warmth provided by infrared radiation is instantaneous. As it is only switched on during celebrations and concerts, its annual consumption remains very low, less than other existing heating systems. The height of the chandeliers avoids the “hot head/cold feet” effect, and the system remains silent.
Building and artworks preservation
Infrared radiation neither alters the hygrometry of the place, nor causes air movement, which could be harmful to the thermal equilibrium of the building, and to ancient artworks such as paintings, sculptures and organs. It does not emit any radiation in the ultraviolet spectrum.
Specifically designed for the church
The themes of the 28 glass sculptures were designed in accordance with the parish community, in order to create a unique set dedicated to the church.
The glass work - the glasses were first thermoformed then bent - required more than two months of kiln forming.
A bishop’s crozier appears on the reflectors, in relation to St Aignan, bishop of Orleans and patron saint of the church.
See also : Church heating – Case study
Specifications
Four heating chandeliers in thermoformed and bent glass
Dimensions: Ø 4.7 ft ; H 0.98 ft
Weight: 77 lb
Lighting: LED lamps 230 V
6 infrared lamps of 2 000 W, per chandelier
Project owner :
Municipality of Griselles (France)
October 2022
St Aignan Church
The name Griselles comes from “little church” (”petite église”, in French), later deformed into Égliselle, then Égriselles, and finally Griselles.
The first church, which disappeared during the Hundred Years’ War, was replaced by a seigneurial chapel. The present choir of the church corresponds to this one.
Some vestiges of the 12th century remain: the baptismal font and the arch framing the wall where the door of the sacristy opens.
With the contributions of
La Fondation du Patrimoine
and the Loiret Sponsors’ Club
FRANCE 3 Centre-Val de Loire, JT 19/20 – 2022/11/02
TV News by K. Baila / I. Racine / P. Richard-Tremeau
© FRANCE 3
