PL3 LED
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Product Application Case Study North Kentucky University Implements their Green Initiative with PL3 LED Luminaires and Palette VL Console When university technical directors are looking for ways to update their existing lighting systems, many have to begin the process by approaching their respective budgetary committees to plead their case as to why the system update is needed. It is not often that discretionary funds are approved. When Northern Kentucky University (NKU) decided to implement a school-wide “Green” initiative, lighting designer Terry Powell leapt at the opportunity, and worked with Adam Hayward at Vincent Lighting Systems to overhaul his lighting rig with twenty-four (24) PL3 Wash luminaires from Philips Selecon and a Palette VL control console from Philips Strand Lighting. “In the past, my boss and I had been talking about LED technology and all the benefits we would get by using it in the theatre,” began Powell. “So when the University established a pool of money that was to be used for sustainability, we jumped at the opportunity to put together a proposal, and contacted our longtime friends at Vincent Lighting Systems to get the project going.” “Vincent Lighting is very proud to have been involved with NKU for a number of years,” added Hayward. “We first became involved with this particular project over the summer when we received a phone call from Terry detailing the initiative that was taking place at the University. We started right away to develop a list of potential LED products that could meet all his lighting needs.” Located in the suburb of Highland Heights, seven miles southeast of Cincinnati, NKU has more than 15,000 students, and produces four main stage productions inside the Corbett Theatre where the lighting fixture renovation would take place. A Scene from “Our Town” Production at Northern Hayward continued, “With the Corbett Theatre in particular, NKU really wanted Kentucky University Featuring PL3 LED Luminaires to focus on the lighting fixtures and getting them up-to-date with the latest technologies. But the necessity was also that the fixtures chosen had to be completely useful with the new LED fixtures being an equal replacement for the incandescent fixtures currently hanging in the rig. They didn’t want to simply buy ‘Green’ technologies; they wanted to make sure that the fixtures chosen would perform how they expected.” Powell added, “While we were enticed by LED technology for the reduction in consumable supplies and their color-mixing capabilities, the primary attribute we had to have was intensity. We wanted to be able to have one fixture replace 2-3 of our current fixtures, and if we were going to replace the Fresnels, we wanted to replace all the Fresnels.” As Powell and Hayward knew the criteria for the lighting fixtures, they decided it would be best to see how the potential fixtures actually performed inside the Corbett Theatre. In setting up the LED shoot-out, Hayward brought Powell four possible LED Wash fixtures to choose from, including the PL3 Wash luminaire from Philips Selecon. “During the selection process, I researched several fixtures online and we did a demo with few different LED lights,” said Powell. “When I first saw the PL3 Wash, the thing that I liked the most was that it looked and felt like a traditional Fresnel. With some of the other fixtures we looked at, you changed the beam spread by essentially putting diffusion media in the fixture itself, but with the PL3 Wash the zoom is built into the light so that was a big plus for us. But what really sold me on the light was how much brighter it was than its competition and that was what we really needed.” The Philips Selecon PL3 has a zoom range from 15 to 55 degrees and outputs over 6000 lumens. Hayward added, “When we went down to the theatre space to do the shoot-out we brought four different products, and the PL3 Wash was clearly the superior option. I love the ease-of-use with the fixture. With its zoom capabilities, you don’t have to use any extra lenses, and with the colormixing you don’t have to use any type of color filters which may cause loss of output. Plus the quality of light is extremely nice, and it makes the PL3 Wash a very appealing yet practical LED solution.” With their choice now made, NKU was able to take possession of 24 PL3 Wash luminaires. While the original proposal only called for 20 fixtures, the affordability of the fixture allowed them to purchase 24 that were loaded into the theatre which was about to open its first production of the new school year. “We first used the new lights on our production of Our Town and the show looked great,” said Powell. “The multitude of color choices was outstanding, and while we knew the LED technology would give us more color options, once I was able to see all of them together, it was quite surprising.” Continued on next page. For more information on any of our products, visit www.seleconlight.com or www.strandlighting.com.

Continued from previous page. Product Application Case Study As the production began, Powell served as the director, but it was a student lighting designer, Chris Carter, who got to take the PL3 luminaires on their initial production run. “Our Town is about the magic of ordinary life in New England at the beginning of the 20th century", explained Carter. “It is quaint and romantic, very picturesque, and the playwright really pushes the lighting elements. The first Act begins just before dawn and ends at night which demanded that careful attention be paid to every time of day as the Act...