LED Replacement Lamps
Demonstration of LED Lamps at Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in Eugene, Oregon
Abstract
This project was performed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s GATEWAY demonstration program for solid-state lighting technology. Objectives included demonstrating quality and performance of new, directional LED replacement lamps in a museum environment. BPA and Eugene Water and Electric Board were interested in demonstrating the energy and cost savings potential of this new technology, and partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to document the performance and the acceptance of these lamps for critical viewing applications, by visitors and museum staff.
This demonstration showed that carefully chosen LED replacement lamps can provide an equivalent or even preferred appearance of art in comparison to halogen lamps, while using only a fraction (14 percent in this case) of the latter’s energy use. Both the artist and the museum staff, who were expected to have high standards for visibility and color rendering of artistic details, had high praise for this technology and are looking forward to testing it on future exhibits.
Project Team
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
Eugene Water and Electricity Board
Timeline:
2010 - 2011
Report
Demonstration of LED Lamps at Bonneville Power Administration Headquarters in Portland, Oregon
Abstract
This report describes the process and results of a demonstration of solid-state lighting (SSL) technology in the lobby of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) headquarters building in Portland, Oregon. The project involved a simple retrofit of 32 directional track lights used to illuminate historical black-and-white photos and printed color posters from the 1930s and 1940s. This simple changeout of lamps has raised the visibility of the lobby’s historical photos and posters and improved their appearance. Even though the color temperature was around 2700K for all three lamps, color quality improved with the switch from fluorescent to LED lamps. Power quality also improved with these LED lamps, although that may be a function of the electronics design of these lamps, rather than a feature of LED lamps universally.
This demonstration offered several lessons in directional LED lighting. For accent lighting, replacement lamps should be compared on the basis of light distribution, rather than just lumens or watts. LED replacement lamps can improve color quality and power quality compared to compact fluorescent. Good-quality LED replacement lamps are more economically viable in spite of their high initial cost, when the cost of replacing burned out bulbs is high, hours of operation are extensive, or artwork presentation and preservation is a priority. It is also important at this stage in product development to see several samples installed before committing to a large order or specification of replacement lamps.
Project Team
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
U.S. Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
Timeline
2010 - 2011
Report
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