The theatre wished to replace its existing house-light system, which comprised traditional 40-60W tungsten candle-lamps and cold cathode tubing, with an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly system. The new system was to be retro-fitted with no impact on the fabric of this historic site.
Given the spectacular nature of the interior, the installation was to replicate as closely as possible the way in which the auditorium had traditionally been lit, in order that the detailed architectural features could be seen to best advantage. The original requirement was for a wireless system throughout and to this end the management at the Savoy invited GDS in conjunction with installers White Light to consult over the best way forward. A further specific requirement of the project was that the house lights should be controllable from the stage door area as well as from the auditorium, for the convenience of staff closing the theatre at the end of a working day.
In order to exactly satisfy the demands of the brief, GDS released its new ArcLamp product into the fray. These are 4.8W LED candle-lamps in both clear and frosted types. The existing 40-60W tungsten candle lamps were replaced by equivalent ArcLamp fittings and the cold cathode tubing (around for example the ceiling edges) was replaced by LED strip(19.2W/metre) with GDS' exclusive Wireless Constant Voltage Drivers
The final piece in the ArcSystem jigsaw, ArcLamp allowed the application of a solution that had been hitherto impossible to attain. The lighting on the circle fronts, for example, could in theory have been replaced with existing mains LED options, but crucially, these options could not be fully and uniformly dimmed from 100 to 0. ArcSystem technology enables this smooth, uniform dimming to be achieved and so the creation of ArcLamp combines the capacity to retain the integrity of the feature-lighting (only possible with a candle lamp in such settings) with perfect dimming.
In total, a combination of 269 clear and frosted ArcLamp fittings were installed at the Savoy, wirelessly driven by 52 D4 drivers via two transmitters, controlled from 3 x 8 button panels. The requirement that the system could also be controlled from the stage door area presented a different challenge. The great distance from the auditorium to the stage door prevented the use of a wireless signal and so with a typical example of on-the-spot problem solving, GDS modified one of the eight button panels to run as wired rather than wireless from this location.
Matt Lloyd, managing director at GDS comments, "To our knowledge ArcLamp is the world's first low voltage candle-lamp which dims from one hundred to zero absolutely smoothly. Fundamentally, up to this point that was simply not possible and that's what makes this development such an exciting achievement. ArcLamp completes the whole ArcSystem picture for us and opens up a world of possibilities. The results at the Savoy Theatre speak for themselves and it is fitting that our latest innovation should find a home in a venue of such historical magnitude."
Simon Needle, special projects director at White Light adds, "The ArcLamp fixtures are show stealers. To have created a low voltage candle-lamp that can be retro-fitted somewhere like The Savoy Theatre and not only be quickly and easily installed but also offers the kind of dimming control that it does, is some achievement."
(Jim Evans)
