| Press
Release: for 2nd August 2005, USA
LEDs Headline at Historic Theater
 Sunbursts
on the Bardavon Theater's marquee erupt with the warm shades of sunset
while white light races around the listing of featured performers.
Up
on the 35-foot high blade sign the white lights within the open channel
letters etch the name "Bardavon" on the evening sky. This
festival of light is created by 3600 direct-incandescent replacement LED
light bulbs that replaced incandescent light bulbs in the marquee and
blade sign. The installation of the LED bulbs resulted in improvements in
aesthetics, maintenance and energy efficiency. "Incandescents were
replaced for a number of reasons not limited to power savings, replacement
cost savings, and a new look and feel of the marquee ingeneral,"
explains Jason Adams, who orchestrated the project for the Bardavon. The
Bardavon Theater, located in Poughkeepsie, New York, has hosted
entertainment for Hudson River Valley residents for over 130 years.
Artists who have treaded the boards include author Mark Twain, crooner
Frank Sinatra and dancer Martha Graham. A victim of suburban cineplexes,
the Bardavon closed in 1975 and was slated for demolition when local
residents rescued the elegant venue. As part of the renovation project,
the Bardavon's original three-sided 1940s era marquee and the vertical
blade sign were replaced with replicas that still used incandescent light
bulbs as light sources. Later, the 3600 incandescent lamps were replaced
with energy-efficient LED bulbs from LEDtronics Inc., a manufacturer of
LED lamps. A grant from the New York State Energy
Research & Development made it possible for the nonprofit Bardavon to
switch to LED-sourced lighting. Installation of the
LED lamps was a win for both the theater and the agency. The agency
fulfilled its mandate of promoting energy efficiency through innovation
and technology. And, the Bardavon lowered its operating costs because LED
lamps reduced by ninety percent the amount of energy consumed by the
marquee and the blade sign. Knowledgeable about LEDs'
reputed long life and major power savings, Adams contacted LEDtronics.
Following discussions with the LEDtronics' regional representative Jeff
Mizel and after testing several sample lamps, Adams purchased 3600
LEDtronics S14-styled, Edison-screw based lamps (part number
DEC-S14L-120A) in the colors of white, yellow, orange, red and blue-green.
The S14-styled LED lamps feature 25mm Edison-screw bases that enabled them
to be installed into existing sockets without requiring pricey
modifications. The marquee and the blade sign typically operate for 6 - 8
hours per show about 150 times a year, which averages about 3 hours a
night over the course of a year. Due to the use of chaser circuits all the
lamps are never lit simultaneously. If they were, the signs would have
consumed 43,362Kwh per year with 11W S14 incandescent lamps. Running all
the lamps for one hour (38Kwh), multiplied by the average of 3 hours is
118Kwh multiplied by an average cost of $0.08Kwh results in a total of
around $9.44 per day or $3445.00 per year. LED lamps drastically dropped
the amount of energy consumed from 38,000W to 4680W. The LED lamps draw
1.3W each at $0.08 kWh. The annual electricity cost for the LED lamps is
about $124.40. That adds up to an annual savings of $3203 a year, nearly
$9609 over the three-year warranty period, and $35,233 over the typical
100,000-hour LED operating life. The annual energy saved is
38,237Kwhs. Besides lower energy costs, the
Bardavon has benefited from the installation of the LED lamps in another
substantial way - less maintenance. LED lamps have virtually eliminated
it. Even though in the two years since the theater's signs were
reconstructed the Bardavon had only replaced about 50 of the 3600
incandescent bulbs, the theater's maintenance staff was not looking
forward to the inevitable day when batches of incandescent bulbs would
have to be changed. (The low number of failed bulbs can be attributed to
the fact that most of the incandescent lamps were less than two years
old.) For the theater's staff replacing bulbs on
the marquee was relatively easy, requiring just a ladder; however,
relamping the blade sign was more difficult. With the top of the vertical
structure 50-feet above street level, a boom lift was needed. If the
marquee and blade sign operate for an estimated 1,095 hours a year and
incandescent bulbs lasts for an average of 1000 hours, the incandescent
bulbs would, mathematically, have to be replaced about once a year.
Assuming labor for changing the bulbs is $13 an hour and there are 3600
lights that have to be replaced, the labor costs alone amount to close to
$51,246.00 for one year if all the bulbs had to be replaced at least once
during the year. Now, add on the costs of parts, boom lift rental and
operator pay. That's a bottom line that can bring down the curtain. When
it comes to choosing lights for outside applications like the theater's
signs, it's hard to best LED lamps. Sealed assemblies make LED lamps able
to take the punishment of seasonal weather. Impervious exteriors safeguard
the electronics from water while the hardy polycarbonate globes protect
the LEDs from incidental impact and the deteriorating effect of the sun's
UV rays. Solid-state circuits withstand the
electrical stress from the use of chaser circuits. Each time an
incandescent lamp is turned on the filament within the glass globe weakens
and eventually breaks. LEDs don't have filaments to break. Their
solid-state electronics enables LED bulbs to be turned on and off any
number of times without worry of burnout. What's more, LED cluster lamps
continue to provide light even if one or more individual emitters
fail. With a yearly savings of $57,271 in power
savings and maintenance, the LEDs paid for themselves in no time at all.
Reducing energy and maintenance expenses freed up resources for the
theater's other restoration projects. LED lamps helped the theater achieve
its goals of reducing energy consumption, avoiding future maintenance
expenditures and updating the theater's facade. Press
release: LEDtronics
Link to: Lighting
Directory.com
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