Bridgewater Hall, the home of the Halle orchestra in Manchester, is a shining example of the reliability of Multiload's VoltMaster intelligent transformer and the extended lamp life it brings. 80 dimmable VoltMaster intelligent transformers drive some 800, 12 volt lamps that make up the suspended 'wave of light' in the auditorium, which is an important aesthetic feature of the £42 million international concert venue.
"Reliability and extended lamp life are very important to ensure the wave of light is kept looking good and because we only have the opportunity to lower it once a year for lamp changes", said The Bridgewater Hall's deputy technical manager Jonathan Rowland. He added, "We only have to replace at most 50 lamps a year because of VoltMaster and so it has certainly brought a maintenance and cost gain."
Interestingly, ten years on from the original installation, VoltMaster has extended lamp life such that with only one in sixteen lamps changed each year, and dimming levels generally set at 90%, a remarkable lamp life of 65,000 hours is being achieved.
Lighting designer Mark Sutton-Vane originally specified VoltMaster for the project not only to extend lamp life but also to overcome positioning challenges. All control gear and transformers had to be positioned outside the acoustic envelope of the hall so that performances were not effected by buzz and hum, up to as far as ten metres in some cases. He explained, "Nothing else could have operated the lamps at such distance and deliver a stabilised voltage so that the lamps gave identical output. It was also fully dimmable and could be linked with scene setting."
Mark summarised, "The proof of the pudding is shown in the success of the project ten years on. We were absolutely right to specify VoltMaster as it has performed exactly as promised, achieving remarkable longevity."
