Bright Lights, Big Savings

In broadcast studios and theaters, halogen lights are increasingly being replaced by LED technology because they are more economical and eco-friendly. Furthermore, they fulfill the requirements of camera capability and varying color temperature. But halogen lights that are still in good condition don’t have to be tossed out. Thanks to the ReLite LED-Kits, they can be quickly and cost-effectively retrofitted to LED.

 

At the studio of the German regional broadcaster MDR in Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, 40 DeSisti Leonardo 2 kW lights were retrofitted with the Coemar ReLite LED Kit’s 250-watt variant. Power consumption was, therefore, reduced from 2,000 W to 250 W per light. The LED unit, which is inserted in the lamp socket, is available in Tungsten, Daylight, and Vari-White color temperatures. VariWhite offers a flexible color temperature ranging from 2,700 K to 6,500 K. Thanks to an external control unit that is attached to the light frame, the ReLite LED Kit can be controlled via DMX.

 

The original LED Retrofit-Kit was designed as a compact unit to replace a conventional light source of 500 W or 1 kW lights. It was composed of a cooling element, an LED chip, completely integrated electronics, and a standard lamp socket. Despite its compact construction, it didn‘t fit all models. “That’s why the ReLite LED-Kit was developed”, explains Claas Ernst, Managing Director of VisionTwo, Coemar’s German distributor an service partner. “Meanwhile, the light’s housing only contains the cooling element with the LED chip inserted in the original lamp socket.”

 

The electronic control is set in a separate box either on the light or beside it. By placing the electronics outside the lamp, it is possible to implement a DMX interface so that the light can be operated without a dimmer directly by a DMX desk. “The LED chip matrix can consist of daylight as well as artificial light. The advantage is that the conventional light receives both a DMX control as well as an adjustable color temperature.”

 

In addition to their use in Fresnel lights, there are ReLite-Kit variants that can be inserted in profile spots to provide for homogenous illumination from the beam of light. “We can retrofit a broad spectrum of Fresnel lights, and profile spots from various manufactures up to 2,000 W”, says Claas Ernst. There are also no upward limits for performance power. “One day, we’ll be able to retrofit 5 kW halogen lights.”

 

Photo: © VisionTwo

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