Museum in the Park

The Museum in the Park is set in Stratford Park in the center of Stroud, Gloucestershire in the UK. Like many museums in the country, it uses tungsten halogen fittings to light its exhibition spaces. As a result, even with good tungsten halogen color rendering, the 296 lamps, each using 50W, were a constant thermal, energy and maintenance issue for the museum. Based on the poor experience with its current halogen lighting solution, the museum curator and staff were eager to find other lighting options. The right solution would first provide a high-quality light to properly illuminate the collection, and enable energy savings, while reducing maintenance time and costs.

In general, the museum and gallery curators are extremely well informed about the value of the correct light and lighting effect within their spaces. Unfortunately, curators increasingly have to manage a complex mix of cost and environmental issues that impact their very limited budgets. With so much on their plates, some naïveté has emerged

when it comes to LED lighting solutions which resulted in the early adoption of retro LED lamps. These solutions nearly always end in disappointment and an unwelcomed compromise in light quality.

Here, the challenge exists in that the museum has a very eclectic mix of spaces. The ideal solution for this situation includes high-quality LED light on a track mounted to the existing system that is dimmable and offers a range of changeable beam angles. To develop this LED lighting solution, High Technology Lighting leveraged its long-time relationship with LED module manufacturer, Xicato. Since 2008, High Technology Lighting has developed an extensive range of spot lights and accessories with Xicato’s Artist Series LED modules. Ultimately, High Technology Lighting’s UK range of Quartet LED spot lights with Xicato’s XSM were chosen for this project.

Once the project was completed, feedback was extremely positive and additional lighting projects are being planned due to this success. Kevin Ward, the museum’s development manager, said, “The LED spot lights have made visible new details in objects and paintings that were previously hidden. We have a wonderful large painting at the top of the mansion main stairs of a view across Stroud from Rodborough that was painted around 1848. With the new LED lighting, the sky now looks blue and the clouds are white without an orange tinge, and we even noticed that one of the Victorian ladies had a lovely green sun umbrella─not black as previously thought.”

With careful attention, it’s possible to select the right lighting solution providing high-quality light and energy savings and longevity. It’s no longer necessary to sacrifice one for the other. It’s clear from the experience at Museum in the Park that quality light can provide everyone with new perspectives.