The Bardavon Theater, located in Poughkeepsie, NY, has hosted entertainment for Hudson River Valley residents for over 130 years. Artists who have treaded the boards include Mark Twain, Frank Sinatra, and Martha Graham. A victim of suburban cineplexes, however, 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 35-ft.-high vertical blade sign were replaced with replicas that still used incandescent light bulbs.
Later, the 3,600 incandescent lamps were replaced with energy-efficient LED bulbs from LEDtronics Inc. "Incandescents were replaced for a number of reasons that include 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.
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.
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.
Aware of the LEDs' reputed long life and major power savings, Adams contacted LEDtronics. Following discussions with the company's regional representative and after testing several sample lamps, Adams purchased 3,600 LEDtronics S14-styled, Edison-screw based lamps in white, yellow, orange, red and blue-green. The S14-styled LED lamps feature 25-mm 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 six to eight hours per show about 150 times a year, which averages about 3 hours a night over the course of a year. Because the sign uses chaser circuits, all the lamps are never lit simultaneously. If they were, the signs would consume 43,362 Kwh per year using the 11-w S14 incandescent lamps. Running all the lamps for one hour consumes 38 Kwh. Over an average of three hours that comes to 114 Kwh which multiplied by an average cost of $0.08/Kwh results in a total of around $9.12 per day or $3,329.00 per year.
In contrast, the replacement LED lamps, which draw just 1.3 w each, drastically dropped the amount of energy consumed from 38 Kwh to 4.68 Kwh, bringing the annual electricity cost for the LED lamps to about $410. That adds up to an annual savings of $2,919 a year, nearly $8,757 over the three-year warranty period, and $35,233 over the typical 100,000-hour LED operating life.
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 3,600 incandescent bulbs—most of the incandescent lamps were less than two years old—the theater's maintenance staff was dreading the inevitable day when batches of incandescent bulbs would have to be changed.
For the theater's staff replacing bulbs on the marquee was relatively easy, requiring just a ladder, but relamping the blade sign was more difficult. With the top of the vertical structure 50 ft 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 1,000 hours, the incandescent bulbs would, mathematically, have to be replaced about once a year. Assuming labor for changing the bulbs is $13 an hour with 3,600 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. Add on the costs of parts, boom lift rental, and operator pay, and the total costs become prohibitive.
When it comes to choosing lights for outside applications like the theater's signs, it's hard to beat 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.
More information is available by contacting LEDtronics, Inc., 23105 Kashiwa Ct, Torrance, CA 90505; calling 310-534-1505; or visiting
www.ledtronics.comADVERTISEMENT