01 February 2013
HeronBridge College, a private school in a leafy suburb north of Johannesburg, has a new and very attractive auditorium. It has been equipped with a combination of LED and conventional luminaires, and provides users with a system that is easy to operate yet which has the creative capability to surpass regular school lighting.
Lighting consultant Denis Hutchinson did research on similar projects, and, using his experience as one of South Africa’s top lighting designers, specified the tender. The tender was awarded to DWR Distribution who supplied a list of brands including Philips Strand, Philips Selecon and Robe as well as lighting bars, associated items and the installation which was carried out in December 2012.
“One of the difficulties in specifying equipment for schools is that all too often the gear is used for three weeks of the year and gathers dust for the rest of the time,” explained Hutchinson. “This makes it very easy to overcapitalise and the trick is to find the balance between being able to do the job and not overspending. In the last few years, the downward spiral in terms of cost and the dizzying increase in efficiency for LED fixtures has now brought them to the point that they start making a lot of sense for smaller installations.
The installation is an integration of LED and conventional lighting. “Although they are fantastic for strong colour washes, the CRI on LEDs still leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to flesh tones. It’s therefore still necessary to include some tungsten in the rig if only in the fronts” said Hutchinson. “In fact the mix of LED colour with tungsten facial light works very well, and the advantages of LEDs in terms of colour mixing and minimal maintenance are clear. I’d still prefer RGBY LED fixtures because for me RG gives khaki rather than yellow, but so far I’ve yet to persuade a manufacturer! None the less, the combination installed at Heronbridge gives good solid facial visibility with and equally solid saturated colour wash which can easily be made paler with the W circuit on the LEDs.”
Hutchinson adds, “Unusually for a lighting installation, this contract also included having the rig focussed. I’ve seen too many school installations where the lights are so badly focussed that they might as well not be working; we can’t prevent the school from moving units, but as least let it start out right. A big thank you to the DWR staff who endured a focus session with me…”
The new gear comprises of:
1 x Philips Strand 200 Plus 24/48 Lighting Control Desk with Monitor
3 x Philips Strand 6 Pack 6/10 Amp Dimmer Packs
12 x Philips Selecon Acclaim Axial Zoom Spot
12 x Philips Selecon Acclaim 650W Fresnels
8 x Phillips Selecon Hui Cyc 1 A 500W Symmetrical flood
30 x Robe LEDForce 18 RGBW
1 x LDR Canto 1200 MSD Followspot
3 x Lighting Bars
1 x Patch Panels
Associated items
“HeronBridge wanted lighting that would enhance their productions,” commented Dave Whitehouse of DWR, who headed the project. “Although they have not done a show as yet, they seem exceptionally happy.”
The installation was straight-forward and without a glitch. “It was a nice job to work on and it went smoothly’” said Whitehouse. “Thank you to our team, Bruce Riley, Nick Britz, Keith Pugin, Eazy Moeketsi, Basinki Sekori, Gareth Chambers and Gedeon Mpofu.”
