By Tom Kessler
Visitors to WaterTower Theatre productions at the Addison Theatre Centre see lots of set changes and costume changes. What they don’t see is another change that’s underway – the lighting system used to bathe the onstage action.
The Theatre Centre is in the process of transitioning from energy-intensive standard lighting fixtures to new automated fixtures that use far less electricity. The ATC’s older standard lighting fixtures use halogen lamps that typically use 1000 watts per fixture. The new system uses high intensity discharge (HID) lamps that run at 250 watts.
And while there are newer, more energy efficient standard models as well – about 25 percent of WaterTower Theatre’s standard inventory consists of 575 watt fixtures – the older fixtures can only serve a single purpose for the stage. This means they are focused on one area with one color and/or one template.
In contrast, the new automated fixtures bring a new world of flexibility and efficiency. They can pan, tilt, change color, color mix, strobe and refocus all from the control of the lighting console.
“These type fixtures 10 years ago were $10,000 a piece – now they are $2,000 and, quite frankly, are better. They can do more, they look better, they last longer,” said Scott Guenther, technical coordinator at the Addison Theatre Centre. “At the end of the day, they do the work of twice as many lights and they use significantly less electricity.”
The automated fixtures are significantly more valuable and more affective at providing a variety of looks while not requiring more lights to be hung. Moving lights still require some electrical power for panning, tilting and other changes, but this amount is very small compared to the demand of standard lamps.
Guenther said the system delivers savings in three ways:
- Energy costs savings – There is a roughly 50 percent to 75 percent savings single fixture to single fixture
- Energy savings multiplier – One automated fixture can do the work of 10 or more standard fixtures.
- Labor savings – Since the automated lights can move, fewer standard fixtures are needed to be hung per show.
Guenther projects that with 20 automated fixtures replacing 200 standard fixtures during a seven-show season, the theater should save $7,875.00 in electrical demand over one year. And that figure does not include HVAC savings — much less heat is produced by the new lights — nor does it reflect the labor savings.
See the Addison Theatre Centre’s lighting system in action: Get tickets at WaterTowerTheatre.org.
Tags: Addison Theatre Centre, Scott Guenther, WaterTower Theatre
