Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (October 18, 2019) – Caribbean Entertainment Technologies (CET), is pleased to announce the completion of an LED retrofit for the popular 400 seat Central Bank of Trinidad & Tobago (CBTT) auditorium. This auditorium used 40000 watts of architectural lighting of dimming and warm-colored mirrored lamp and was looking for a lighting solution to both reduce energy costs and improve light levels for the interior of the facility. The CBTT took advantage of new LED lighting provided by CET to increase the light levels on the property while at the same time achieving their primary goal: not losing the original design of the specialty lamp that was used in the legacy system. “Our reputation for innovation is unrivaled in our industry and this year we’ve raised the bar even higher. Our latest LED innovation will create an enabling service for customers that deliver benefits beyond illumination.” Said CET Project Manager
The project entailed replacement of 40000 watts of dimming and warm-colored mirrored existing lights with an affordable 120volt main dim solution with long-term support and manufacturer consistency in both the lamps and the dimmers, which is very difficult in the LED market. After several bench tests CET made a deal with a manufacturer who developed a led lamp that mimics the visual performance of the legacy incandescent lamps and a professional-grade dimmer that allowed for the smooth dimming to 1% that was needed for a professional theater – a very difficult item to achieve with a 120volt dim with LED lamps. By simply swapping out the majority of older specialty lamps and inefficient light sources with up-to-date LED technology lamps, the auditorium has gained better lighting quality and a reduction of energy use and maintenance costs.
CET Project Manager commented “Finding the right lamp and dimmer for a proper theater acceptable dim to 1% with no flicker or strobe off was very difficult without the budget to use specialty theatre fixtures. So we had to order and bench test several lamps and dimmer options, and then whatever we were considering then had to be reviewed as a long term supplier with consistent products. A single 5 button wall plate was used for user control with preset scenes and slow fades.”
LEDs are such a boon in terms of maintenance savings because they last at least 2-4 times as long as virtually all conventional lighting solutions. This means the organization saves by not needing to repeatedly purchase replacement bulbs but also, and perhaps more significantly, on the cost of the recurring labor required to replace bulbs and maintain the facility in good working order. “Our auditorium energy consumption went from 40000w to about 600w, and the heat load for the air-conditioning from the lighting reduced by over 95%” CBTT spokesperson commented. The LED took 2 days to be installed, products used include Doug Fleenor Designs Dim8DMX, Archipelego lighting, Doung Fleenor controller and dmx merger
