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Technical environment

Technical environment

Global standard 220V-240V/50Hz-60Hz
Standard for USA/Canada 120V/60Hz, 277V/60Hz
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A comparison of lighting technology

Projection and reflection: where is the difference?

Spotlights, floodlights and wallwashers are flexible and efficient lighting tools for the effective presentation of art. The quality of lighting technology is not only important for the precise distribution of light and a qualitative art experience, but also for the long-term cost-efficiency of the lighting installation.
Luminaires are efficient if the energy deployed reaches the target plane in the form of light. For this reason ERCO uses individually arranged LEDs and an in-house developed lens system consisting of collimators and interchangeable Spherolit lenses. Conventional optical systems however consist of chip-on-board (COB) LED modules and a reflector. Here several LEDs are arranged below a phosphor layer and form a large luminous surface. Not all light beams can be directed with this construction – this creates spill light (the red lines). The result - the optical system has less efficiency and precision.

A comparison of lighting technology

Projection: light control via lenses

Lens systems feature high precision and efficiency. High uniformity in terms of brightness and colour constancy is generated within the light beam. Imperfections or spill light losses are avoided because all light rays are guided through the lens system. This means that operators benefit from high efficiency (lx/W). Even very narrow light beams for striking accents can be implemented.

A comparison of lighting technology

Reflection: light control via reflectors

With light control via reflectors, only the light rays emitted to the side are controlled. Therefore very narrow light beams are not possible. Furthermore, high spill light losses (red lines) or not clean beams (e.g. halos) occur. Unfocused and sometimes coloured edges to the light beams may also occur as well as a non-uniform distribution of illumination in the centre.

A comparison of lighting technology

Wallwashing: Achieving uniformity with vertical lighting

Uniformly illuminated vertical surfaces in exhibitions are suitable for the effective display of paintings and photography. Only a few luminaires are needed for this purpose. This is demonstrated by a direct comparison of lens technology and reflector technology on a wall with a length of 10m and identical illuminance (200lx) and uniformity.

A comparison of lighting technology

ERCO Spherolit lens technology:
The special light distribution of the ERCO lens wallwasher achieves high levels of uniformity even with wide luminaire spacing.

A comparison of lighting technology

Conventional reflector technology:
With reflector-based luminaires, the application requires more luminaires to achieve comparable horizontal and vertical uniformity.

ERCO lens wallwashers enable uniform vertical lighting with wide spacing between the luminaires. Despite the spill light component, a higher quantity of wallwashers with conventional LED reflector technology is needed to achieve comparable uniformity and illuminance.

Wallwash wallwasher reflector
Wattage per area (W/m2) 4,0 8,4
Uniformity (Emin/Ē) 0,66 0,5
Luminaires per 10m of wall 8 11

A comparison of lighting technology

Washlighting: Displaying with differentiated light distributions

Illuminating large-format works of art is efficiently achieved with floodlights. Lenses enable precise light control. Linear exhibits for example can be illuminated with oval light distribution instead of three conventional spot light distributions. This reduces investment costs as well as installation and connection costs.

A comparison of lighting technology

ERCO Spherolit lens technology:
A range of light distributions such as oval flood enables light beams to be specified according to the exhibit.

A comparison of lighting technology

Conventional reflector technology:
With a limited selection of light distributions, several light beams may need to be installed in sequence for an exhibit.

A range of interchangeable light distributions gives exhibition organisers the flexibility to select the light beam according to the exhibits. This dispenses with resource intensive solutions with complex installations and several luminaires.

Oval flood flood reflector
Connected load (W) 15 69
Efficiency (lx/W) 19,0 6,9
No. of luminaires 1 3

A comparison of lighting technology

Accentuation: Creating hierarchies with lighting levels

Spotlights effectively accent exhibits, emphasise individual objects and create hierarchies of perception. ERCO Spherolit lens technology guides the light of the LEDs precisely onto the target plane – without any spill light. Compared to luminaires with reflectors this enables highly efficient lighting solutions.

A comparison of lighting technology

ERCO Spherolit lens technology:
With its LED spotlights, ERCO utilises the efficient principle of projection via lenses – all light beams impact the target plane.

A comparison of lighting technology

Conventional reflector technology:
LED spotlights with reflectors have high spill light loss that significantly impairs the efficiency of the system.

Precise Spherolit lens technology enables accent lighting with high efficiency (lx/W). The energy converted into light is projected onto the target plane and does not escape uncontrolled into the room in the form of spill light.

Spot spot reflector
Connected load (W) 8 17
Efficiency (lx/W) 35,1 15,4
Illuminance (lx) 281 261

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