Guidelines for Selecting Solid-State Lighting for Museums
In the early 2000s, LED lighting was little more than a hardware store novelty. At the time, one museum lighting specialist noted, LEDs didn't shine; they barely glowed. Coupled with poor color rendering, unknown stability, and unpredictable life span, it is hard to imagine a less auspicious debut. In the years since, LEDs have evolved to begin taking a respected place in museum displays.
As with any paradigm shift, these changes come with uncertainty and many questions. Facilities managers are attracted by the claims of energy efficiency yet ask, given the cost per lamp, whether cost recovery is realistic. Conservators are resistant to exposing the most sensitive artifacts to new light sources. Curators wonder if the color quality of LEDs is up to the task of communicating an aesthetic message as well as daylight or incandescent lighting has done for almost a century.
In answer to these questions, the Conservation Institute is pleased to make available Guidelines for Selecting Solid-State Lighting for Museums. Written by the Conservation Institute’s senior scientist, James Druzik (retired), and Stefan Michalski, senior conservation scientist, Canadian Conservation Institute, Guidelines compares LEDs to traditional lighting and points readers to high-quality Department of Energy resources for further information. It not only discusses lighting efficacy, lifespan, lumen maintenance, color rendering, cost, and payback but it is the only publication that includes warranty coverage.
In June 2014, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory conducted a survey of museums on behalf of the Department of Energy, the Getty Conservation Institute, and the Canadian Conservation Institute. The survey results and recommendations, SSL Adoption by Museums: Survey Results and Recommendations, are available from the Department of Energy.
More information on light, ultraviolet, and infrared as agents of deterioration can be found on the Canadian Conservation Institute's website.