The Grand Hall Ballroom at Historic Union Station

BEFORE: AFTER:

Background:

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Crowne Plaza at Historic Union Station is housed with America’s first “union station.” Union Station’s majestic red-brick and granite “headhouse,” built in 1888, is recognized as one of the finest Romanesque Revival-styled structures in America. – Crowne Plaza

Challenge:

Down the center ceiling of the Grand Hall Ballroom, there is a 120′ long by 35′ wide, stained glass window barrel ceiling, which is illuminated only by artificial light from above. Through special passageways on the south stairwell, lies a catwalk on either side of the ceiling running parallel to the massive artistic feature. Lining both sides of this 130+ year old structure were a total of (30) 400w Metal Halide Flood Lights. Reaching these were physically difficult, involved a fair degree of danger for the electrician, and also risked damage to the stained glass structure itself. The challenge was to work with the property’s electrical contractor to illuminate the stained glass feature appropriately to reveal its true beauty, while saving energy, and providing a controllable light output for the various special events that the site holds on a regular basis.

Execution:

To maximize light coverage with constraints provided, we ended up specifying a Galleon LED Area Light Fixture from Cooper Lighting‘s McGraw-Edison line-up. These offered best in class optics, allowing us to reduce the numbers of fixtures needed from thirty to ten, to both direct light efficiently and effectively, and reduce the overall energy footprint.

Additional measures were taken with the selection of an 80 CRI index and a 3000K color temperature to maximize the brilliance of colors used in the stained glass. A simple 0-10V dimming option allows the property to adjust the light output for special events, which also further reduces the overall energy consumption of the lighting.

Before:

• (30) 400w HID Flood Light Fixtures
• Est Annual Electric Cost – $11,343.43
• Est Annual Maintenance Cost – $3,375.00

 After:

• (10) 445W LED Area Light Fixtures
• Est Annual Electric Cost – $3,703.29
• Est Annual Maintenance Cost – $170.00

Results:

• ROI = 1.86 Years
• 7.7 kW Reduction in Annual Energy Use
• Impressive Color Pop in this Historic Architectural Feature
• Controllable Light Levels for Special Events
• Reduced Maintenance
• Sustained Color Brilliance of this Beautiful Stained Glass.