There has been a lot of argument regarding green technology, including LED lighting, giving small to medium businesses the operational and maintenance-free edge in order to remain competitive with big management companies.
However, what happens when big business starts to invest into green technology? We have to give big kudos to the property managers of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican for electing to retrofit the entire facility with LED lighting products. You heard right; the Sistine Chapel has gone green with their lighting. While the energy savings were a big part of that decision, there were other factors influencing this upgrade:
Energy Savings
Yes we did mention savings as a big decision to make the change, but in case you were wondering. The lighting energy consumption will be reduced by 60% compared to the existing lighting that was there (halogen).
Reducing Eye Strain
A big issue for the 5.5 million annual (wow!) visitors was the eye strain they suffered when visiting the chapel. The frescoes were hard to see with the halogen lights and it took a real toll on people’s eyes. With new LEDs and tactical lighting angel setup the artwork now pops up and is easily visible at all times.
Lighting as angled so that it is in tune with natural lighting which comes from the windows and not to contrast the lighting which comes from the outside. The combination of both makes the artwork look livelier than ever.
Did we mention that the LEDs were discreetly placed as to not interfere with the artwork? Barely visible in the image below:
EU Subsidies
While there are no estimates on the subsidies that the EU provided, it was backed by the EU and helped get the project initiated. Much like programs available through local power authorities in Canada, Europe is backing the investment into green lighting.
So what exactly does this mean? It means that both governments and larger institutions are aware of the untapped potential in all of the LED advantages compared to alternative lighting.
Often when facilities personnel talk about energy saving it relates to reducing the power usage, or installing economical appliances, solar panels – which are all great ideas…but an easy first step would be to reduce consumption from something every facility relies on: lighting.
