LED retrofit and dimming
Singapore, 19th August 2014
After a full day of meetings and travel back to Singapore I did not have enough energy to sit down and write my blog last night. I think that after more than 1100 daily blogs (!) it starts to weigh a bit…
Today back in the office in Singapore and confronted, not surprisingly again with dimming issues surrounding retrofit LED lamps (in this case used in chandeliers). It is reaching a stage (as I have mentioned in one of my previous blogs before) that we really have to stay away to try and dim retrofit LED lamps. Even with due diligence testing it still ends up being a lousy dimming action. It may be generally smooth in the main dimming range, but when we reach the lower end specifically we have problems with sudden cut off, not reaching nice glow levels and so on, to the point that it nearly defeats the purpose of having dimming at all. What’s the point of dimming to a level that hardly feels like it is dimmed and then to have a sudden cut off. We need low levels of dimming with smooth and soft fading transitions.
I went to site to inspect it for myself today. In fact the lamp manufacturer had flown in a sample of a patch up dimming component used in Jakarta in the same hotel where it apparently solved the problem; a current loop they call it, not surprisingly a component available from the Chinese market for 10RMB or so. We tested it and lo and behold we can now dim to 1%. It still feels like 10-20% but on the overall it creates a visible dimming action. The only problem we have is that once dimmed down to 1% and then off the lamps only come all on at 20%, there is no smooth fade in. So for now we will be programming the lighting to go down to 1% (not off) and then back up again, that works well. We also rewired the chandeliers to have 3 circuits so we can address them in 3-tiers rather then as a whole giving us more flexibility in setting ambiance levels. While not perfect at least we have managed to contain the problem.
Light watch 5-136: Impressions from site this afternoon.
The chandeliers being installed
Testing the dimming action
Is this really as low as we can go?
The magic component that will “save” us
Looping it on to the dimmer module for testing
Some lights don’t come up when we dim up from zero (testing of the RGB Cove lighting goes on in the back ground)
The main dimming power supply board
Keeping up with technology
Perth, 15th August 2014
It has been a subject from time to time in my blog and I guess the older you get somehow the further you feel distanced from today’s technology. I try to embrace it as much as I can but I feel I am drifting away further and further from this IT world. I still use pen and paper to draw, I still converse normally with my company when in a restaurant rather than uploading the latest meals I consume to Facebook. I use Skype to keep in touch with my loved ones and my team, use a laptop with touch screen Windows 8 software, but you know what, even that is under threat because every now and then the computer of my mobile phone prompts me to update to a newer version of something. Even worse, you are being pressured to update it sooner rather than later otherwise your version will be obsolete and you can no longer use it with the risk to lose all related files and applications! For many this is probably a walk in the park but to me it feels like stress and pressure!
The internet and ease of global communication means that even time zones are blurred and people don’t realise at times that they contact you after hours (or perhaps they do!), but because you are “on line” you are appearing to be still available. Only last night I got a skype call just after midnight. While my laptop was switched off, my I-pad wasn’t and so I got rudely disturbed. Per definition now I do not respond to calls (certainly not work related) after hours. Some of the devices have the option to switch off ringtones after certain hours, but then you also cut yourself off from your immediate friends and family. So don’t be offended if I don’t reply to your calls or texts after certain hours…I have got a life too, have a great (and peaceful) weekend 🙂
Light watch 5-135: Here are some images that may put a little smile on your face to help you relax into your weekend…
Photo shoot
Perth, 14th August 2014
When it comes to being in the “lime light” I have different feelings. I happily get on a stage to share my expertise and experience through my seminars and guest speaking, I do that regularly and find that very gratifying as you feel you can contribute to a world of better lighting. However when cameras are involved it becomes a different story. There are quite some nuances there as well. I am often being photographed when on stage or in conversation as part of my presentation or lecture but these are action pictures, I just do my work, present my project as if there was no one taking pictures there. Often I am totally oblivious to camera men shooting along during my presentations.
When it comes to TV or video interviews it becomes quite different as the camera man is really in your face so to speak and most of all time is of the essence. Most interviews are limited in time of have to be done within a pre agreed time duration. I have done a few of those and generally if they are done ad hoc there is little room for errors and most of all you improvise as you go along using all your knowledge and cultural understanding to answer the questions as good and expertly as you can. It helps if you know your subject and have experience in communicating in public. My very first TV interview was for the Good Morning Hong Kong TV show when I was interviewed on the side lines on the Hong Kong Light show where I was speaking. Nervous as I was I did ask them to send me the questions in advance so at least I could prepare myself. I did not understand half they were saying anyhow as most of it was in Chinese!
Today I went out for a photo shoot required for a magazine spread to be published later this year and which will feature our of my recently completed project. We had to have the right light, the right location and back ground and did pretend compositions as if I was hard at work, pointing to and explaining lots of things. It all make believe….but surely will look nice in the magazine when it comes out. 🙂
Light watch 5-134: Dutch master Rembrandt was a genius when it comes to playing with light in his compositions and portraits. Here are some of his famous paintings.
The joy of professionalism
Perth, 13th August 2014
I think we have all been there, working with professionals. It is such a breath of fresh air when you can meet and interact with true professionals. I had such project meeting today in Perth where each and every minute of the meeting felt useful, not a moment I felt I was wasting my time. Too often unfortunately we are in meetings with juniors or unprepared representatives with little cloud or knowledge which waste your valuable time. You are not in control of these situations other than making sure your input or your teams presence represent the best possible you can offer. It is very much a matter of respect to your client and your fellow team members. Having said that also the client sometimes can be bothered to have their top notch representative in attendance leaving us with a non-executive who can only act as mailman without any power or limited authority.
Today’s meeting was the way it should be, every team member well prepared, knowledgeable in their area of expertise and every input or comment constructive and to the point. Decisions are easy to make because of clarity about our direction and our limitations. The most interesting of all is that as a result of the professionalism, the project runs well within schedule, documentation and issues all done, settled or clear and most of all everything seems to be progressing within the allocated budgets (which we put together as a team). There are no discussions about quality or performance because all that was presented, discussed and agreed during concept stages. Client has taken the professional recommendations on board and time and money issues were logged in accordingly. As a result everyone is clear and can focus on the deliverables without this nagging issues in the back ground…and you know what, not surprisingly the client is an excellent and timely paymaster!
Oh how I wish all my projects and clients were like that!
Light watch 5-133: Like in our meetings light and architecture go hand in hand. One of the design websites recently carried a series of photographs by an Iranian student (Mohammad Domiri) immortalising the intricate and complex details of Iranian culture and architecture. He did so by photographing the domes, ceilings and walls of Iranian mosques. The mosques pictured are Shah Eman Mosque, Palace of 8 Heavens and Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan, Jameh Mosque in Yazd and Nasir al Mulk Mosque in Shiraz.
Culture shocks
Perth, 12th August 2014
As you travel around the world and are exposed to different cultures, climates and ways of life you realise how different people are, how different peoples perspective on life can be. In the developed “western” world we are used to comfort, quality and professional service. But in lesser developed countries these acquired “rights” are often hard to find and as a designer you need to understand the culture of the places you visit or the places for which you design your lighting. While Singapore maybe well developed and quality criteria have been raised to higher levels, many Asian countries have little standards in place to assure quality and comfort. And even if they have their standards there is little recourse to enforce them.
When I left Europe for Singapore I was given a book called “Culture Shock – Singapore” which was compulsory reading for every expatriate moving to the that part of the world. These books exist for every major country in the world and are supposed to prepare you for the way people live and do things in the country you are moving to. While the reading was interesting it is hard to understand without the actual context. Now more than 25 years and hundreds of travels in the region later I have become part of the culture, I know the way of living and doing things whether in Singapore, China or Australia.
Yet as a professional designer I do always set my standards high, aiming for the top, only to come crashing down to the reality I am all too familiar with. My little breakaway to Phuket last weekend showed me again that when you forget about all your work and professional standards life just goes on; people make do with what they have, with what they can afford. All those lofty standards seem then far away! It makes you think… do I really need a $200 down light or ccan I just do with a bare bulb on a wire…but now back at work I have hidden again behind our lofty quality and comfort standards.
Light watch 5-132: Simple life, simple lighting…
The last few stages
Perth, 11th August 2014
Back to work after a long weekend break in Phuket, courtesy of Singapore’s national day celebrations. I had a long day in Jakarta last week to review the progress of the installation works on a hotel project that is due for partial completion by the end of this month. Workers had slowly trickled back to work after celebrating the end of Ramadan, some only due at work this week. The last few stages in a project are as important as the first ones. While in the first ones we make sure that we get the basics right such as concept, budgets and so on, the last few stages are possibly even more crucial as they will determine the final outcome the final look of the project, your heritage to the world so to speak. I am on my way to Perth as I write this as there as well we are handing over another project, tweaking and programming the last bits and pieces before we officially hand over to the client and can sign off with satisfaction on another job completed.
The job in Jakarta is far more tricky and sensitive as short cuts and deletions have been applied by the client without consultation with the respective consultants. Rather than walk away we have put in our fair share of effort to try make the best of the situation. We are obviously disappointed that quality had to make way for lesser value. I spent the best part of the day testing the installation to assure myself of basic quality and ability to achieve (as many as possible of the) desired lighting effects. Specifically testing the dimming circuits so I can play around creating mood and ambience. The biggest challenge to overcome is the extremely poor workmanship, something very common in Asia, cove lighting generally being the number one problem.
To my delight however the local supplier, though clearly lacking the experience and quality, surprised me with excellent dimming actions and great personal effort to get things completed to my satisfaction. In these kind of situations where it looks like everyone is compromising a great attitude and commitment towards finishing the job as good as possible in time is a breath of fresh air!
Light watch 5-131: Understanding the minimum and maximum light output and its impact in the finished space for each of the circuits is critical for final programming. Here are some pictures going through this motion
Communication 2
Jakarta, 6th August 2014
Now here is another piece of communication that comes totally out of left corner. Before I left Singapore this morning where I still had a submission deadline to complete, I was also confronted with a piece of miss-communication that I found quite eye-opening. I received feedback from one of my colleagues on site in the process of commissioning a prestigious renovation project. As is often the case in commercial renovations, time is of the essence and everyone works on a tight time line to make sure everything is completed in time. As you can understand there little room for error…
Today we were informed that there was there was insufficient loading in the dimming system to allow dimming of the cove lighting. We are commissioning the ballroom and the pre-function area as part of a staged implementation with a big function planned in about 3 weeks! Fingers were pointed towards KLD but we rebutted that as we pointed out that this was an internal matter between manufacturer and local supplier. I am sharing this as this may happen to others.
We had provided our specifications, control and dimming schedules on which the contractor was awarded. Dimming systems and cabling was installed to accommodate the dimming of the respective light fittings, in this case linear LED cove lighting. Of note is that the manufacturer of both the linear light as well as the dimming system is the same! Along the way it became clear that there was an upgrade of the linear light and its controller (this happens a lot in this new fast paced LED world). The communication that did not take place was that the new LED controller had far higher energy (watt) consumption than its predecessor, so much so that it resulted in drawing 6 Amps more per cove! Not surprisingly the circuits are now overloaded, the current wiring cannot handle it and the dimming system does not have enough capacity now…great!
We made clear that the contract was awarded on our initial specifications, the dimming system designed and executed accordingly. When a manufacturer changes (or replaces) a product for whatever good reason, they need to communicate any possible impact. This is obviously a serious oversight from the manufacturer and their local supplier, which will result in them taking the brunt of rectifying this. Never assume anything!
Light watch 5-130: In continuation of yesterday’s architectural communication: A textured Winter Garden in Brisbane and a world cup stadium reconfigured to house residential units now aptly named Casa Fussbal.
Communication
Singapore, 5th August 2014
It is not a secret that in our line of work, communication is key. There are many ways to communicate and there is a very obvious difference between the written and spoken words. We have several projects on the go where communication, let alone coordination is lacking from all sides, not in the least because the clients are aloof or not understanding of the importance of clarity and direction. One such clients has the financial means, the political power to make things happen and has appointed a professional consultants team that should be able to handle any problem. How different reality is.
First of all the project managers that represent the client have to report to a board of directors and whatever they present, put forward and is agreed is a “set in stone” directive for the team. The unfortunate thing however is that the information provided to them is flawed and full of holes. This is due to poor communication, poor administrative management and plainly said poor understanding of the key issues of the project. So with a mid-cadre management that is scared of what their “bosses” say, they deflect every responsibility to the project team and hide behind the “bosses” directives which they created in the first place.
The poor project team manager is sandwiched between the clients’ management team on one site and the consultants’ team on the other side who scream fire and murder because their professional recommendations and experience is hardly acknowledged through poor board room decisions. That leaves both sides frustrated and stressed.
The communication by email therefore becomes extremely protective and accusatory as everybody from both sides wants to make sure they don’t end up with the hot potato so to speak! When you however pick up the phone as I decided to do today to diffuse tensions, you find that the other party is actually thinking along the same lines with similar frustrations and that simply talking it through eases the way to compromise and solution. In the end we all need to bring tis to a good end and sometimes picking up the phone and have a chat, is all what is needed…
Light watch 5-129: A great way to “communicate” is through the use of colours and many architectural designs use colour as a way of expression. Of course colours without light do not exist!
Lighting manipulators
Singapore, 4th August 2014
Really when you think about it lighting designers are manipulators…our task is to control and manipulate light into a shape and form that makes sense and produces a performance that is the right light at the right place. You can of course argue high and low about what is “right”. In a measurable sense right is probably related to lighting standards, lighting levels that are needed and have been agreed to as being “right” to properly execute visual task with ease and comfort. To that extent we use lighting calculation programs with manufacturers’ photometric data, to establish whether we have enough light where we needed it. While you may not think this is manipulation, lighting designers are known at times to “manipulate” the calculations in such way that the outcome complies to the desired result, because really no one will see the difference between say 92 lux and 105 lux. So a more than 100 lux average on a calculation sheet when 100 lux is the minimum standard to comply with, of course satisfies those assessing the lighting design. And if later on site lighting measurements show insufficient light, there are hundreds of other reasons that can be listed as the cause. Of course this manipulation only makes sense when it comes to minimal differences and calculations are a real good tool to see how “right” your design is.
A part which is much more sophisticated and requires much more experience when it comes to manipulation is the 3-dimensional effect of light. Calculation are generally 2-dimensional and don’t give you the visual feedback on what light does in space. Light has volume and hence when projected on to a horizontal surface (think down light for instance) may be intercepted by vertical surfaces on the way down. Classic examples are unwanted scallops on bulkheads, walls and so on, As a result lighting design has to include the manipulation of those lighting beams to harmonise with the architecture and be aligned with artwork. There is more manipulating then you think when it comes to lighting design…I enjoyed manipulating light today…
Light watch 5-128: There is manipulating light in terms of space but there is also manipulating light in terms of technology!
Percent for the art
Singapore, 1st August 2014
Australia has a Percent for the Art scheme that require any developer, whether private or government, to spend a percentage of the development costs on art. The policy requires the developers to allocate 1 percent of the construction costs above $2 million to be spent on developing exciting artworks on public buildings, schools, public infrastructure etc. The thought behind is twofold, not only does it stimulate and support the local artists but it also enhances the built environment with nice artworks.
We have been involved with these schemes through our relationship with artists notably and one such project was recently commissioned. We received the official photography a few days ago and being the end of this week I thought of sharing this with you. For this project we worked together with Rick Vermey, a well-known and established visual artist in Western Australia. The brief that Rick received was to develop an artwork that would enhance and create some buzz on two, otherwise pretty nondescript, sound walls, that were being built to screen off the adjacent residential area as part of major road reconstructions.
As Rick developed his idea of using graphically perforated steel to depict locally relevant imagery this quickly fermented into the use of lighting as a major element in the artwork. Rick and I, who know each other from other successful collaborations in the past, sat down to develop a lighting concept that would not only validate and enhance the artwork to greater heights, but in the process also stringently keep an eye on road and public safety. The result is a lighting design with amazing visual effects which brings an element of pleasance and peacefulness in an otherwise nondescript amenity wall.
While initially designed to be just a white backlight, the client became excited about the prospect of using colours after seeing one of our demonstartions and subsequently the budget was increased to allow for full DMX controlled lighting effects. A colour scheme was developed in respect to the local indigenous calendar where 6 different colours represent the 6 different seasons of the Nnoongar people. To further assure public safety we designed the timing of the colour changes to fade gently with running times that runs exactly parallel to the traffic light stopping times. The result are some stunning images that have brought a sense of proudness to the local residents…I myself am very pleased with the end result which is a fine display of art and lighting combined with sustainable cutting edge lighting technology.
Light watch 5-127: Here are the images…have a great weekend!
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