Showcase lighting for museums and galleries

Perfect showcase lighting in 5 steps

We demonstrate how to create a perfect lighting scenario in 5 steps, and what you should pay attention to if you wish to illuminate sensitive exhibits in showcases.

1. Selecting the right showcase luminaires

Opt for showcase luminaires with a discreet design and compact luminaire dimensions. The exhibits should be in the foreground whilst the luminaires inconspicuously remain in the background. Showcase luminaires with LED technology are long-lasting and with low maintenance, meaning that the showcases do not need to be regularly opened. To create a high-quality overall impression, the showcase lighting should fulfil at least the same lighting quality requirements as the rest of the exhibition lighting.

2. Find the right mounting options

When choosing your showcase lighting, make sure that you can select the mounting method and location flexibly: recessed and surface-mounted installation which is possible both in the ceiling and on the floor, provide design flexibility in planning. Illuminate from the ceiling or with high stem luminaires if you want to illuminate flat exhibits such as historical papers or books. If you wish to emphasise the dimensions of elongated and upwardly projecting exhibits such as sculptures, you should ideally illuminate from the floor.

3. Select the right light distribution

Showcase luminaires, like museum spotlights in track, allow a choice of light distributions. You are most flexible with luminaires with interchangeable lenses to adapt the distribution ideally to the exhibit. Narrow distributions of less than 20° such as "spot" are suitable for very small exhibits or when an especially strong accent is required. Wide distributions greater than 30° such as "wide flood" cast a uniform light on larger exhibits and illuminate particularly evenly without creating highlights. Accessories such as snoots and honeycomb louvres minimise the view into the luminaire, making your showcase lighting even more magical.

4. Use a spectrum to match the exhibit

The choice of light spectrum is crucial according to the material or surface you want to illuminate in the showcase. Cool white light colours (e.g. 4000K) are ideal for illuminating metallic surfaces, concrete or shiny jewellery. Warm white light colours (e.g. 3000K) enable you to optimally illuminate warm-toned materials such as fabrics, wood and leather. The colour rendering index determines the quality of the rendition of colours. A CRI value >90 should be selected for showcase lighting.

5. Determine the correct brightness

To prevent any damage, sensitive exhibits should not be illuminated unnecessarily brightly. When specifying suitable showcase luminaires, it is therefore particularly important to ensure they are infinitely dimmable. At the lowest dimming level, an illuminance of <50lx should be possible even at a short distance of 0.30m. As well as infinitely variable dimming, ERCO neutral density filters ensure that the illuminance can be further reduced so that your exhibits are only illuminated as brightly as needed.

What you should pay attention to with good showcase lighting

Your showcase lighting should be flexible

Your showcase lighting should be adaptable to different lighting scenarios and different types of showcases. Features such as tool-free attachment and extension of light heads, for example using magnetic connections, enable flexible lighting concepts without long changeover times. The simple changing of lenses to achieve different light distributions and adding filters and anti-glare elements also makes your showcase lighting flexible in use.

Only the best LED quality of light belongs in your showcase

Showcases house the most fragile and valuable exhibits. Therefore, make sure you use the highest quality LED lighting. Compare luminous flux maintenance, colour rendering and colour location fidelity. The luminous flux maintenance should have a specification of L90 B10 over an operating life of 100,000 hours. Excellent colour rendering of up to CRI 97 ensures that exhibits appear true to life. An identical colour location is just as important: with at least 1.5 SDCM, you ensure that the light from each luminaire is identical. ERCO showcase lighting has been developed to meet these requirements and thus exceeds usual market standards.

Protect exhibits using luminaires with a low damage factor

Showcases protect the most valuable treasures of a museum or jewellery store from environmental influences. The lighting is intended to ideally present the exhibits whilst at the same time conserving sensitive artefacts. You should therefore look out for particularly high-quality LED spectra with a very low damage factor of from 0.140 to 0.187mW/lm. Just as important is low heat radiation so that the temperature in the showcase remains constantly low.

Tested safety: pay attention to the ENEC and UL certification

The CE mark on products is merely a self-declaration by the manufacturer confirming compliance with standard specifications, but an ENEC or UL mark goes a significant step further. Products with ENEC or UL certification have been independently tested and confirm that all necessary requirements are met. With showcase luminaires for example, this concerns specifications for routing cables in the case of tiltable or height-adjustable luminaires. Thus a fixed stop ensures that cables are not crushed or can become wrapped around the luminaires. ERCO Axis is currently the only showcase lighting that, in addition to the CE mark, has also been approved by an independent body with ENEC and UL certificates.

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Showcase lighting

Perfect showcase lighting in 5 steps