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Art Galleries
Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Canada)
Problem:
- Safety regulations: “Changes in safety regulations had made it more difficult to service the trackheads responsible for lighting the Punt Wall exhibit, making the idea of using an LED replacement lamp attractive.”
- Exhibit aesthetics: “The first attempt at replacement, undertaken by maintenance staff, used an off the shelf product from a major building supply outfit. The results were unsatisfactory. While these lamps may have reduced the maintenance required, their color temperature was wrong and color rendering poor.”
Solution:
- Leapfrog Lighting LED lighting. “Leapfrog had a product (PAR38 2700K 95 CRI) that was exactly what I needed. As well as being a Canadian company, I felt it would be possible to develop a working relationship to mutual benefit, in terms of product information and support. Leapfrog was able to supply me with an assortment of lamps to try, and from these I chose the lamp that I felt would do the job. Overall, I found (president of Leapfrog Lighting) Steve and Leapfrog helpful and a pleasure to work with.
Bob Walsh, Lighting designer, at the Royal Ontario Museum.
Results:
- Better light quality. “Upon installation, the results were found to be excellent; better color temperature and rendering, and a smooth even beam. The “Wall” looks great, and many have commented on the improvement.”
- Less maintenance: “Based on the quality of the product, our maintenance people won’t need to service the exhibit for some time to come.”
Punt Wall, a 1905 plaster cast of the original in Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, located in the Egyptian galleries at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).
Product(s) used:
Kinsman Robinson Galleries (Toronto, Canada)
Problem:
- Gallery aesthetics. “If it’s not as beautiful as it can get, people aren’t going to buy it.”
- Hot and uneven light from UV-emitting halogen lamps.“Halogen lights are hot, they have UV, and they have obvious hot spots…When you took a photograph, you always had a dark room with spots, and that just exemplified what needed to change.”
- Finding LED technology that addressed needs. “I’d been reading about LED lighting for years,” said Mr. Newman, “but we were waiting for certain things. One of our requirements is to be able to dim, so that technology needed some waiting for.”
Solution:
- Leapfrog Lighting LED lighting. “We saw a product that had all the ingredients we needed.”
Results:
- A broader, cleaner, and more even light. “It’s a whiter, cleaner light. Our client’s remark on how beautiful the gallery is. Many don’t realize what has changed; they just know the artwork looks better. And that’s all you can want.”
- Ability to move light bulbs with risk of breaking–a problem with halogens. “LEDs made it easier to do the things you need to do when changing shows.”
- Cooler gallery. “We did have a heat problem. In the summer, we were putting on our A/C units, because at any given time we have about 60 lamps on in the gallery, and that would just heat the place up enough that at certain times it would just be critical mass.”
- Savings. “We definitely knew what the savings were going to be, and we could calculate how ridiculously quick we would see a return on our investment.”
Kinsman Robinson Galleries’ Associate Director, Mr. John Newman, with Leapfrog Lighting PAR30 3000K LED light bulb.
Product(s) used:
Full customer story:
- Kinsman Robinson Galleries – How LED lighting solved Kinsman Robinson Galleries’ biggest business challenge: aesthetics.
Cube Gallery (Ottawa, Canada)
Problem:
- High electricity consumption. “The halogens I was using had the warm color temperature I wanted, but were so inefficient–they were expensive to run.”
- High maintenance requirements. “Every new art piece or installation has new lighting requirements. Whenever I moved the halogen lighting around in the gallery, they would break or fail. Plus, they didn’t have a long lifetime. I had to get out the ladder all the time to replace failed halogen lamps…which means I always had to be prepared with stock on hand.”
- Finding LED technology that addressed needs. “I tried dozens of LEDs over the years, but none emitted the color I needed.”
Don Monet, Cube Gallery owner
Solution:
- Leapfrog Lighting LED lighting. “We found a LED product that finally came in the color temperature we wanted.”
Results:
- An LED that looks like a halogen. “These are the only LEDs that actually emit light like a halogen–the color temperature we got was an exact match for our halogens that nobody noticed the change. That was the key–it looked normal!”
- Ability to move light bulbs without risk of breaking–a problem with halogens. “LEDs don’t break when you move them like halogens. They are certainly more robust.”
- Cooler gallery. “The LEDs don’t let off any heat. Big difference during the summer months. The gallery stays much cooler.”
- Savings. “We were able to match the light from the halogens that we liked, but get the benefits of the lower power consumption.”
Cube Gallery
Product(s) used:
