As part of the lighting scheme, around 330 LED lighting modules were installed, enabling certain delicate and ancient objects to be illuminated for the first time.
Dave Russ, an engineer working for the museum, explains that the warm-white LEDs allowed the replacement of many halogen light sources resulting in minimal maintenance costs and a vastly reduced energy budget.
"Most importantly, due to the low heat output and zero UV emission from the LEDs, we are able to illuminate sensitive parts of the collection in a much more aesthetically pleasing manner," says Russ. "The result is a stunning display of many objects that have not been presented to the public before."
Buckpuck drivers from Luxdrive provde a constant current source of 700 mA, and coupled with Microchip PIC12F683 microcontroller provide a PWM signal that allows the complete system to be gradually dimmed when the area is unoccupied.
Russ says it was not possible to acquire LEDs from the same bins, due to the small scale of the project. However, the LEDs were sorted so that each display case used devices from the same bin.
