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LEDtronics Products in the News
Museum Receives Support to Go Green
23-MAR-11

Responding to a letter from a long–time friend of the museum criticizing the use of chemical pesticides on its lawns, in 2008 the museum administration directed its lawn are contractor to suspend the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides anywhere on campus.

The commitment proved to be an initial step in a greening process for the museum. Beginning with that choice, the Farnsworth resolved to become a leader in environmentally sustainable practices through modifications to the museum’s practices.

Converting the entire museum from halogen to LED light bulbs is a major part of that decision. The effort will make the Farnsworth one of the first—if not the first—art museums in the nation to use LED lighting for all of its galleries. The lights will dramatically reduce the museum’s energy consumption, allowing the Farnsworth to allocate more funds for programs and exhibitions.

For the LED project the museum has partnered with Efficiency Maine and LEDtronics, an LED light bulb manufacturer. The relamping will not only help protect displayed artwork by reducing the potentially harmful effects of standard lighting on works of art, but it will also provide budget relief while promoting a healthier environment by reducing energy use.

The Farnsworth currently has over 480 bulbs in its galleries with an average of 75 watts per bulb. The museum hopes to replace all of its 75 watt halogen bulbs with 15 watt LED and 14 watt CFL bulbs. The resulting savings on electricity is estimated to be $15,800 annually. Additionally, with the reduction of unwanted heat that the LED CFL bulbs will provide, the project is expected produce a savings of 127,950 of unwanted BTU’s per hour and a savings of 10.6 tons per hour of cooling.

As part of the collaborative agreement with Efficiency Maine, the bulbs received third party independent testing. With the test outcome more successful than expected, Efficiency Maine has agreed to assist the project with a commitment of $13,354.25 towards material costs. That commitment gives the Farnsworth confidence that the project is a worthy one and will assist Efficiency Maine in their goal to provide greater access to energy efficient products for businesses and inpiduals across the state of Maine.

With oversight by the Farnsworth’s curatorial department, a rigorous review process identified two specific bulbs that satisfy lighting requirements for most of the museum’s galleries. The LED Par 30 will provide soft and unfocused light; the LED Par 30 Spot provides more focused light. Not only do the lamps adequately light the works of art, but the bulbs also offer a wider spectrum of light more closely approximating natural light, thus eliminating the adverse color effects of typical incandescent bulbs.

The new lighting has already been installed in the Library Gallery. Installation in other galleries and work areas will follow. The LED project is a multi–year effort that will make the museum a leader in environmentally responsible practices. The project is supported in part with a grant from the Maine Arts Commission and also supported by Efficiency Maine


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