Amber,
We have been using LED light bars called the LIA (LED Illumination
Assembly) manufactured by Prolume, in Monroe, CT. (email
[log in to unmask]). We have worked with Prolume for over three years, and
the LIA is an excellent produce for inside case lighting. No UV, low
heat, and adequate light levels that can be adjusted by the number of
LED's mounted in the LIA (2", 1", or 1/2" intervals). A dimmer can also
be used to control light levels. The use about 1/3 the power of the
fluorescent lamps that they replaced. We have over 150 LIA's mounted in
cases that house our large doll collection, our toy collection, and we
use them to light miniature interiors and dollhouses. We have even made
picture lights to illuminate our samplers. Each LIA is custom made to
size, but the price is quite reasonable, especially for an LED light. We
are into our third year of use in the Doll exhibit, and both curators
and conservators are very pleased with the results.
We put a lot of effort into working with Prolume to obtain the correct
color temperature white LED for our use. We determined that 3400 degrees
Kelvin is the best color temperature for our needs. Over 4200 appeared
too white or blue, and less than 3000 was too yellow. It is important
that Prolume can consistently provide different color temperatures,
because different exhibits require different "colors" of white light.
The one problem with the first generation LIA was that the LED's lost
intensity quicker than anticipated. Although they were guaranteed not to
loose intensity for 10 years of use under our conditions (7 hours a day,
everyday for 6 months each year), they lost about 50% intensity after 2
years. Prolume stands behind them and will provide replacements when we
need them. The second generation LIA by Prolume using LED's from a
different supplier are in their second year of use and are holding up
better. Prolume is developing a third generation LIA using surface
mounted LED's that are even more promising. I relate this to illustrate
the point that the use of LED's in museums is still a developing
technology with great promise but some problems still to be worked out.
The technology is changing rapidly, and I am convinced that in 5 to 10
years, much of museum lighting will be with various LED products.
Contact me off list for more details.
Richard L. Kerschner
Director of Preservation and Conservation
Shelburne Museum
PO Box 10, Route 7
Shelburne, VT 05482
(802) 985-3348 x3361
[log in to unmask]
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Amber S. Mohr
Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 4:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] LED lamps in exhibitions
Does anyone have experience using LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamps in
your exhibitions and how successful have these lamps been for you?
I manage a gallery of miniature furnishings and decorative arts, and our
case exhibitions consist of several roomboxes made out of white 1/8"
Plexi.
I'm primarily attracted to LEDs because they do not emit UV or IR light
and emit very little heat. We currently have florescent lamps, which
give us enough visible light but emit harmful spectrum and increase the
temperature in the cases daily. We tried several of the "clip" LED
lights (five small lamps per clip, which could be moved about within the
case) but the amount of visible light was far too low for display and
the lamps only backlit the Plexi boxes and did very little to illuminate
the objects within. I'm now hoping to find a solution in an LED
product, but am open to anything that will help solve my heat/UV/IR
problems.
If anyone has any experience with the product or with your own lighting
design solutions, I would be very happy to hear them.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Amber
Amber Mohr
Curator/Collections Manager
The Kruger Collection
University of Nebraska
133 Architecture Hall
Lincoln, NE 68588-0107
402. 472. 3560
http://krugercollection.unl.edu/
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