Historic Playhouse Square in Cleveland is giving TCP’s energy efficient cold cathode lamps rave reviews. TCP donated 1,150 three-watt cold cathode lamps to light the marquee of the Ohio Theatre replacing the theatre’s current incandescent light bulbs. The estimated energy savings from the cold cathode lamps is approximately $220 per month, adding up to more than $21,000 over the projected eight-year life of the lamps.
“The lamps use only about a quarter of the electricity used by the incandescent lights they replace, but actually look brighter,” said Brad Wiandt, national sales manager for TCP. “The cold cathode lamps use only 3 watts, compared with 11 watts for the lamps they replace. The new lamps burn as long as 25,000 hours, versus the 750 to 1,000 hours for the typical incandescents.”
Cold cathode lamps easily operate at lower wattages in colder temperatures, which was especially important to the theatre management given Cleveland’s typical harsh winters. Their longer performance life reduces the frequency of replacing the bulbs, which offers a dramatic impact on operations in terms of maintenance costs. A special phosphor coating provides excellent color consistency and is resistant to fading and the effects of ultraviolet radiation. Non-leaded glass provides better lumen maintenance over the life of the bulb, and all of the cold cathode lamps are UL listed for indoor and outdoor use.
The Playhouse Square Center, in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, is the second-largest theatre complex in the US, second only to New York City’s Lincoln Center. Constructed in a span of nineteen months in the early 1920s, the theatres were subsequently closed down but were reopened through a grass-roots effort.