Energy Efficient Stage Lighting

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Design Guide Energy Efficient Stage Lighting Building on the introductory fact sheet on energy Setting an overall power limit on In order to estimate the energy requirements efficient stage lighting, this design guide aims to the rig of the rig for your performance, map out each provide a more in depth overview of energy efficient luminaire used for the performance. Tvhe table stage lighting design opportunities. In order to set an overall power limit on the rig, you below demonstrates an example power requirement need to know your power requirements. Energy check for a two hour performance (the number of Theatrical lighting gear is changing at a very fast efficiency should be considered at all stages of the instruments and percentage of show time used rate and newer, more efficient technologies are lighting design of a production. Our checklist on may not be representative for a real performance). increasingly gaining popularity. The greatest energy efficient lighting design of stage productions challenge in implementing energy efficiency provides a good framework for integrating energy measures in lighting design is to achieve balance efficiency into designing the plot. Lighting W/ No. of % show kwh between visual artistic outcomes and energy Instruments Instrument Instruments time consumption. The first step toward reducing the stage lighting on Rig power consumption for a performance is to Given that the creative integrity of the lighting estimate your current power requirements Profile’s 800 8 60 7.68 design is not affected, energy efficiency actions considering the following aspects: may include: • What is the estimated show running time? • Setting an overall power limit on the rig Fresnel’s 1200 10 60 19.2 • Approximately what is the total number of stage • Equipping the rig with the least amount of light lights to be used? sources as possible Par Cans 100 10 80 1.6 • Approximately what is the total number of spot • Designing a mixed rig of both old and new lights to be used? Wash 300 9 70 3.78 lighting technologies. • Approximately how long will the individual lights be used during the show? Movers 1500 8 50 12 • How many hours before the show begins will Dimmer the stage lights be switched on? 4000 8 90 57.6 racks • How many hours will the stage lights stay on after the show has finished?i Total wattage Total kwh 66,100 101.86

This Activity received funding from the The views expressed herein are not necessarily the Department of Industry as part of the Energy views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Efficiency Information Grants Program. Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein. 2 Simple Tip: Newer lighting technologies may include: Case Study Switch off discharge lighting between the end of • Lower wattage instruments The Gold Coast Arts Centre has installed 36x 80V the reset/rig check late afternoon and the half hour 1200W Rama High Performance Fresnels which • Dimmers to lower power supply call before the show starts, and between matinee have now completely replaced all the older 2000 and evening performances. Research for the Mayor • LED stage lighting / 2500W Fresnels in the 1139-seat Arts Theatre. of London’s Green Theatre Plan carried out in “The upgrade from 2000 and 2500 watt Fresnels 2008 suggests that if all central London theatres Lower Wattage Instruments to the new Philips Selecon 80 volt 1200 watt Rama challenged the age-old practice of keeping stage High Performance Fresnels has more than halved lights on and only switched them on half an hour There are stage lights such as beam lights or our power consumption on stage. The stage area before the performance, they could collectively save automated moving spots that use considerably less is much cooler, yet we keep nearly the same over £100,000 a year in energy costs. This shows wattage producing a similar light output as lights luminosity as previously.” iv that energy efficiency measures do not have to with far greater wattage. Consider whether these be expensive or difficult to manage to make a big are available and suitable for your requirements. difference. ii LED Stage Lighting Dimmer to lower power supply/ Low A few years ago it was unimaginable that LEDs Equipping a rig with the least voltage lamps could produce similar light quality as traditional stage amount of light sources as possible lights. By now, multiple manufacturers have created Philips Selecon has developed high performance LED profile and wash fixtures that can create stage Throughout the process of mapping out the Fresnels and Ellipsoidal Reflector Spotlights (ERS) washes, pin spotting, and even warm front light luminaires used during the show, determine that run on reduced voltage. The 80V Power System with equivalent light output and colour rendition of whether comparable visual outcomes could be attached to the lighting instruments delivers a conventional tungsten halogen lighting instruments achieved with less luminaires. considerable reduction in energy requirements for consuming significantly less power and generating major theatres as energy reductions of up to 50% next to no heat. While LED lamps produce around can be achieved. The 1200W 80V lamp can deliver 95% light and 5% heat, halogen lamps emit about Designing a mixed rig of both old the output of a traditional mains voltage ERS and 95% heat and 5% light. Colour rendering is a key and new lighting technologies the high performance Fresnel creates a beam with lighting characteristic and describes how a light the appearance of a 2000W Fresnel. In addition to source makes the colour of an object appear to There are two main constraints to new lighting the saving on the lighting energy consumption, the human eyes - on a scale from 0 to 100 per cent, technologies – suitability for the purpose and reduction in the load on the air conditioning plant new LED stage lighting technologies are at the 97- budget. Recognising that not all newer technologies iii entails a major saving. 98 per cent mark. As the Greener Lighting Guide of can produce comparable lighting outputs to the Broadway Green Alliance announces “the days conventional technologies, consider designing a of energy efficient fixtures not being able to do the mixed rig of both old and new lighting technologies. job of stage lighting are drawing to a close.”

This Activity received funding from the The views expressed herein are not necessarily the Department of Industry as part of the Energy views of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Efficiency Information Grants Program. Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for any information or advice contained herein. 3 Greener Lighting Guide The main lamps in use on stage are: Please note that the spotlight table shows a comparison at white, while the floodlight table • tungsten (including tungsten-halogen), and demonstrates a comparison at blue. These The Broadway Green Alliance has developed a comparisons show that when using colour, LED • light-emitting diode (LED). database with green alternatives to typical lighting lamps are significantly more efficient than halogen instruments. The guide is arranged in a way that is With significant improvements in LED lighting lamps. To replicate such a comparison for other easy to understand for both, lighting people (lighting technology in recent years, discharge metal halide luminaires, the required information can be designers, master electricians and programmers) lamps are used increasingly less in stage lighting. requested from suppliers. This may help to make and non-lighting people (artistic directors, company While discharge lamps are more energy efficient a more informed decision when purchasing new managers, technical directors). All data is self- than halogen lamps, they cannot be controlled or lighting inventory. reported by manufacturers and a blog for user dimmed. Some moving lights and follow spots still feedback is provided. The guide is available at: run on discharge lamps, but now, discharge lamps Further cost savings, which apply when using LED are mainly used for display lighting in foyers. fittings, are: http://www.broadwaygreen.com/green- lighting-guide/ The following tables show a comparison of • LED fittings are DMX controlled and do not exemplary lighting instruments in terms of lumens require dimmers per watt, price and energy costs using data provided • No dimmer heat produced Useful Resources by Philips Selecon. As there is no standard yet to measure the lumen of multi-coloured LEDs, many • No losses due to cabling from dimmer to The Lighting Handbook is a tool for all theatre, suppliers quote the wattage and lighting output lighting bar corporate and event technicians. It displays detailed of all colours at once (which is not a usable light) • No procurement and labour costs related to lamp information on nearly 1000 moving lights, Dimmers, and exclude the power consumption of the lighting change needed Consoles, Conventional fixtures & Effects with instrument itself. This is not a true performance downloadable manuals for each fixture. reflection and more accurate product information • No lighting gel needed is often difficult to obtain. Hence, the tables The Lighting Calculator allows you to calculate composed for this design guide show the wattage several useful day to day measurements. Calculate and lumen of LED luminaires at the actual light a required beam size, Lens size or throw distance. output for the entire lighting instrument, which But also work out gobo1 image sizes based on makes a comparison to halogen lamps more throw distance and gobo size, or work out what size feasible. For the halogen lamp lumens per watt you need a gobo to be in order for a pre-determined figures, the loss of light output through the optical image size. system (Fresnel) and the lighting gel (Cyc) has been taken into consideration. These Tools are available as Apps at: http://www.lightingappstore.com

1 A gobo (or GOBO) derived from “Go Between” or “Goes Before Optics” is a physical template slotted inside, or placed in front of, a lighting source, used to control the shape of emitted light.

Exemplary Lighting Acclaim PLFRESNEL1 Exemplary Lighting PLFRESNEL1 Hui Cyc Instrument Fresnel LED Luminaire Instrument LED Luminaire

Wattage 650W 77W 4 Wattage 500W 30W2

Lumens/ Watt 18.96 lm/w 5 25 lm/w Lumens/ Watt 0.9 lm/w3 25 lm/w

$350 + $1,110 + Price $1000 + GST Price $1,200 + GST GST GST Energy Cost/ Energy Cost/ 41.6 cents 4.9 cents 32 cents 1.9 cent Performance ( 2h)6 Performance ( 2h)6

2 Watt at blue chip only, including LED engine i Greater London Authority, 2008. Green Theatre – Taking Action on Climate Change, http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/green-theatre-report. pdf 3 To get a dark blue light using lighting gel, the lamp uses 500W to produce a 15W light output. Hence, the lamp only generates 3% of the lumens it would produce at white. ii Greater London Authority, 2008. Green Theatre – Taking Action on Climate Change. http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/green-theatre-report. pdf 4 Watt at warm white (3000k), including LED engine

iii 5 Philips Selecon Website, 80V 1200W Power System, http://www. The output of the lamp decreases by approx. 15-20% through the optical seleconlight.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop. system depending on the zoom range. Hence, 15% have been subtracted product_details&flypage=shop.flypage.p1&category_id=125&product_ from the lumens figure to get a more realistic lighting output. id=40&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1&lang=en

6 Calculated at $0.32 per kwh iv Philips Selecon Website, Arts Centre Gold Coast http://www.seleconlight. com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&catid=2&id=2849