| August
1, 2005
LEDs Headline at Historic Theater
LEDtronics
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 in general," 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.
For
additional information on how to incorporate LEDs into your designs,
contact LEDtronics (data sheet:
www.ledtronics.com/ds/DEC-S14L/)
toll free at 1-800-579-4875, telephone 310-534-1505, fax at 310-534-1424,
e-mail webmaster@ledtronics.com or
mail at LEDtronics Inc., 23105 Kashiwa Court, Torrance, CA 90505.
Visit our website at www.ledtronics.com.
Link to: Utility Safety Online Magazine
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