By Jim Lucy, Chief Editor
From the world’s largest LEED building to the renovation of an 1869 opera house,
EW picks some of the most interesting construction projects.
[Excerpt follows]
Blending the Best of Old and New
Bardavon Theater, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Way too many Main Street cinemas from a bygone era have been crushed by the
omnipresent multiplex movie monstrosities at shopping malls. The Bardavon 1869
Opera House, located in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., has survived, though, with the help
of some innovative lighting design and a grant from a public agency promoting
energy efficiency.
Hosting entertainment for Hudson River Valley residents for more than 130 years,
the Bardavon's list of performers include author Mark Twain, crooner Frank Sinatra
and dancer Martha Graham. A victim of suburban cineplexes, the Bardavon closed
in 1975 and was slated for demolition when local residents rescued the elegant
venue. As part of the renovation project, the Bardavon's original three-sided
1940s era marquee and the vertical blade sign were replaced with replicas that
still used incandescent light bulbs as light sources. Later, the 3,600 incandescent
lamps were replaced with energy-efficient light-emitting-diode (LED) bulbs from
LEDtronics Inc., a manufacturer of LED lamps based in Torrance, Calif.
A grant from New York State Energy Research & Development made it possible
for the nonprofit Bardavon theater to switch to LED-sourced lighting. Knowledgeable
about LED's reputed long life and power savings, Bardavon's Jason Adams contacted
LEDtronics. Following discussions with LEDtronics regional representative, Jeff
Mizel, and after testing several sample lamps, Adams purchased 3,600 white,
yellow, orange, red and blue-green LEDs. The LED lamps feature 25mm Edison-screw
bases that enabled them to be installed into existing sockets without requiring
pricey modifications.
The marquee and the blade sign typically operate for six to eight hours per
show about 150 times a year, which averages about three hours a night over the
course of a year. The theater was hit with an annual electrical bill of $3,445
for the 11W S14 incandescent lamps, while electricity for the 1.3W LED lamps
with their 100,000-hour lamp life cost $124.40, an annual savings of $3,220.50
a year, approximately $9,615 over the three-year warranty period, and $35,233
over the typical 100,000-hour LED operating life. The annual energy saved is
38,237Kwhs.
Besides lower energy costs, the Bardavon has benefited from the lower maintenance
costs. The older incandescent lamps, which had a lamp life of approximately
1,000 hours, had to be replaced approximately once a year, and a boom truck
had to be rented for the maintenance. Assuming labor for changing the bulbs
was $13 an hour, the cost of replacing the 3,600 lights, including the cost
of labor, new lamps, boom lift rental and operator pay was more than $51,000.
The 100,000-hour lamp life of the LEDs eliminates this annual relamping. LEDtronics
estimates that the theater annually saves more than $57,000 in power savings
and maintenance, and that these savings quickly paid for the LEDs. Reducing
energy and maintenance expenses freed up resources for the theater's other restoration
projects.