The installation of LED lighting systems for auditoriums and conference rooms, despite their advantages, has not had a high impact due to their still high cost.
Having an adequate work environment is essential for the efficiency and effectiveness of people and lighting has a fundamental role, especially when they are shared spaces with groups, such as in conference rooms and auditoriums.
Depending on the tone and intensity of the light, it will awaken different sensations among the people inside the enclosure. Lighting can become a reason for distraction, cause sleep or on the contrary, arouse interest in the event or make you think that you are on a sunny day even if you are outside in winter.
Experts in the field do not hesitate to point out that due to savings, efficiency, decrease in ambient temperature and innovation, LED lighting for these spaces is increasingly gaining strength.
Edgardo Boqué, president of RGB Lighting Systems of Argentina, explained that one of the main aspects of LED lights is savings. "The difference is great between an allogeneic bulb to an LED, the latter can consume up to 80% less energy than the former."
He added that they are also characterized by their duration, which can reach up to 8 years, so they are perfect for conference rooms and auditoriums, because in many cases the lights are located in places of difficult access to replace them constantly.
In operating hours, the difference is great. An allogene bulb can last 3,500 hours and loses intensity as time goes by, while an LED bulb can last between 30,000 and 40,000 hours before starting to decrease its intensity.
In addition, the control of the lights allows that when the intensity is decreased, the efficiency is not decreased as it happens with the allogeneic bulbs.
But according to Ricardo Villagomez Estrada, general director of Stage Lux de México, although LED bulbs have characteristics such as being compact, lightweight, producing little heat and weighing little, although they still do not reach the power of allogens.
In new buildings, LED lights are also being used for safety signs or floor or armchair guides.
Feelings
All LED bulbs have a mini driver that is the one that is feeding the current and intensity inside the device. This allows an electronic system to be installed that controls each light without being very expensive or difficult to implement.
This way you can control the lighting in an auditorium. If there is a video screen it can be left in the dark so that it is not too washed with the ambient light, but leave the rest of the room illuminated.
The same goes for a speaker in a boardroom or in an auditorium. It can be avoided that it remains in the gloom or that the rest of the public can not read because they are totally in the dark. This can also be done with traditional lighting, but with LEDs it is much easier to assemble, operate and produce less heat.
Due to the experience of the companies consulted, in Latin American countries in general the concern for the use of LED lighting has been growing.
According to Edgardo Boqué, Argentina is one of the countries that is characterized by being quite advanced in the use of LED lighting. In contrast, Brazil, which is the largest in Latin America, is the one that has advanced the least work on this issue.
"The countries with the highest purchasing power are the ones that are most promoting the use of LED lighting systems. Moreover, the same governments in Latin America are promoting its application and people are also becoming more and more interested, as they get to know how it works."
Difficulties
One of the main problems facing LED lighting is that the costs are still relatively high. This was assured by Ricardo Villagomez Estrada.
In the same sense, Edgardo Boqué said that when moving in auditoriums and conference rooms from a traditional lighting system to an LED one, it can be difficult and expensive, due to the technical and distribution difference they have from each other.
This situation, Boqué added, is directly reflected in the market. While the replacement of allogeneic lighting systems by LEDs is slower due to the impact that does not make it as attractive, in new construction, when taken into account from the design, it can help save money on cables and control panels.
Thus, during 2010 the change of the lighting system in the region in old buildings grew by 5%, while in new works the growth reached 15%.
Villagomez Estrada said that "in the market there is a wide range of LED bulbs that are economical but of poor quality, especially in Chinese products, so it is advisable to buy good brands, it is essential to buy a good brand that guarantees that it is a quality product".
Today LED lamps are the way to go, probably in a few years a new technology will appear to replace it, but today and for several years they will continue to be the vedette.
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Characteristics
Jenaro Briñón, Project Engineer and advisor to the Colombian company ProLED, explained what the ideal characteristics of a lighting system for auditoriums and conference rooms should be:
a) Light intensity appropriate for each area of the enclosure, with the possibility of controlling the light intensity.
b) Direct light in the case of auditoriums and diffuse in conference rooms.
c) Color temperature between 4,500 and 5,500ºK
(d) HR greater than 0,85.
e) Continuous light (without 60 Hz oscillation.)
(f) The highest possible efficiency in lm/W.
g) Light that does not increase the temperature of the enclosure.
h) Possibility of highlighting a specific sector of the venue, where the exhibitors are located.
i) Possibility of dimerization of light in other sectors.
j) Courtesy lights for access in minimum light conditions.
In addition, it should be borne in mind that the efficiency is given by several factors, such as: lumens delivered per watt consumed, duration in hours of the lighting system that allows to calculate how many replacements of the old luminaires can be saved, saving capacity in air conditioning by avoiding overheating of the enclosure, quality of the light emitted by the system, among others.
Only a thorough analysis of all the factors involved in making a decision will allow us to deduce which is the best system to illuminate a given enclosure.
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