Case study: Capital Museum

Beijing’s Capital Museum reopened to the public at its new address located in China’s capital city in 2006. The museum is a magnificent, technologically advanced building that echoes Beijing’s historic and cultural significance and its cosmopolitan aspirations. In order to bring optimal lighting effects to its exhibits, the Capital Museum chose the GRAFIK 6000 light control system from Lutron with the patented RTISS (Real Time Illumination Stability System) technology to prevent light flickering.

To create an effective lighting design that is also energy efficient, Capital Museum deployed the GRAFIK 6000 light control system throughout the museum. “The GRAFIK 6000 is perfect for future expansion due to its ability to work at different scales of complexity,” said Wang Rui, of the museum’s engineering department. The GRAFIK 6000, which connects multiple controllers to centrally or individually control 512 zones and 4,000 circuits, is especially suitable for the museum’s various exhibition areas.

In a museum, lighting is the key to bringing out the best qualities of the artifacts. The Capital Museum needs different lighting effects that best fit the different scenes, exhibition halls, or exhibits being displayed, in order to put the installations in the best light and the visitors in the most appropriate ambience. For example, in the hall showing Buddhist statues, lights were projected from top to bottom giving the statues a solemn appearance and emphasizing the facial expressions on each Buddha. Fluorescent lights were also used to sketch the statues’ contours.

Another critical area to consider was possible color fading on materials like pottery, paintings, or jades as a result of prolonged exposure to light.

“One challenge we encountered is that the standard of lighting design in China is not as high as that abroad. Therefore we needed a solution which allows each circuit to be dimmed independently to produce different lighting effects,” explained Wang. “The easy-to-use preset function of Lutron lighting control system which can recall the appropriate lighting environment at the touch of a button can definitely meet the needs of our museum.”

“We benefit from the easy and centralized control of the Lutron GRAFIK 6000 system integrated with our audio visual facilities and building management system. The GRAFIK 6000 is also connected to the museum’s security, video monitoring, and fire protection systems,” said Wang. Lighting in a particular zone or the whole museum will be turned on and flashing in case of intrusion, which can act as a deterrent and alert.

Wang added: “The Lutron system was chosen because of product quality, reliability, and long history. Lutron’s positioning is very much in line with the museum as “being the best and advanced in technology.” She was particularly impressed by the easy control, clear interface, and reliable performance of Lutron solutions. “Lutron has been very helpful from installation to programming and maintenance, which made the whole process very smooth,” said Wang.

In addition, Lutron dimming systems can save energy and extend lamp life. Dimming light level by 10% will double lamp life and reduce energy consumption by 10%. Lamp life can be extended 20 times by dimming half of the light level. ln the long term, this can significantly reduce the depletion of resources and help protect the environment, which is in line with the green design of the museum.