[Nhcoll-l] LED lighting

[Anderson, Gretchen]

All light will cause damage, given the intensity, duration and the wavelength to fur, feathered and other materials.  As Cathy mentions, UV damages the structure of the hair. Visible light (and UV) will cause fading and infrared causes heat - which will also cause damage through desiccation etc.
LED lamps significantly reduce the IR (heat) end of the equation.  However you do have to look at the spectrum of the individual types of light to determine how much (if any) UV is included.  The other thing to note is the color temperature - this determines how the colors are rendered - that is how we see the color. There is a wide range of color temperature that you can get - depending on what you want - and you may have to use colored filters to get the look you want.
For more information on LED, check out Art Preservation Services (www.apsnyc.com<http://www.apsnyc.com>)  for Steve Weintraub's article on the subject - published for AIC News 2010.

Gretchen Anderson, Conservator
Carnegie Museum of Natural History

From: nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Jim Druzik
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2014 9:08 AM
To: Dan Brooks; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] LED lighting

Are LED lights damaging to animal mounts?

No more so, and probably slightly less than tungsten or quartz-halogen.
But lighting without damage is an impossibility - a fool's errand some might suggest.

The following technical note came out a few days ago and tackles three myths about LED damage.

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/pdfs/true-colors.pdf

I also strongly suggest anyone with an interest in this topic goggle the "U.S.
Department of Energy GATEWAY Reports" and you'll find three or four museum case studies on solid-state lighting conversions.

Also Stefan Michalski and I are working on a revised version of "Guideline for Assessing Solid-State Lighting for Museums".  The earlier version is a little outdated at this point in terms of the lamps we show but the color science and technology of LEDs is still accurate. We also include best practices in exhibition conservation lighting. I'm still making it available.

James Druzik
Senior Scientist
The Getty Conservation Institute



>>> Dan Brooks <dbrooks at hmns.org<mailto:dbrooks at hmns.org>> 10/20/2014 4:21 AM >>>
Greetings all,

We are installing a new TX wildlife hall, and the gaffers swear the new LED lights have NO damage to the specimens.  But they also asked if I want UV filters on the lights!

Are LED lights damaging to animal mounts?


Thanks,
Dan

Daniel M. Brooks, Ph.D.
Curator of Vertebrate Zoology
theHoustonMuseumofnaturalscience

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