How do you upgrade the 14-year-old dimming system of a 33,000 sq. foot ballroom that utilizes low voltage wiring? Simple: a retrofit installation utilizing the LYTEmode™ Architectural Lighting Control System.
At the Philadelphia Marriott, in Philadelphia, PA, this was the task at hand that was given to Larry Fine, Senior Architectural Representative for Lightolier®.
“During the original installation the analog control signals in the Room Combine Panel were reversed,” stated Fine. “It was necessary to replace the existing master stations that were utilizing the analog signal with the new LYTEmode Master Stations that use a digital signal, all the while keeping the same low voltage wiring in place.”
The LYTEemode Architectural Lighting Control System has been designed to offer powerful lighting control with uncompromising quality and performance. Distributed intelligence places the processing power and configuration settings into each respective Master or Remote Station, eliminating the need for a central processor. Standard Cat5e cable supplies both data transfer and power for all LYTEmode Master and Remote Stations, simplifying the system design and installation.
Fine continued, “This installation is the poster-child for retrofit dimming installations. The lighting system is so large that the dimmer panels are literally separated by a city block. The competition looked to throw out the entire system, but with LYTEmode that wasn’t necessary. It’s a great indication of the longevity and the capability of the LYTEmode system by Lightolier® Controls.”
The 33,000 sq. foot ballroom now has the ability to break into 13 separate partitioned rooms. In order to maintain control of all 13 rooms, Fine brought in 14 LYTEmode Master Stations all located behind panels in the wall. The LYTEmode Master Stations allowed the ballroom to upgrade from eight channel 5-scene master controls to 16 channel 13-scene master controls.
LYTEmode Master Stations provide individual channel control, 13 scenes plus “Off”, adjustable fade times, and graphic representation of channel intensities. Multiple Master Stations may be linked together for control of up to 128 Channels, and 13 preset scenes. Combine the Master Stations with the LYTEmode Remote Stations to provide remote access to scenes, Master Raise/Lower control, Multi-room partition control, or Master Station Lockout.
“Now when the banquet manager configures a room, they have the ability to configure it in a variety of ways.” continued Fine. “They can go to any master station and adjust the lighting by mimicking the others, with no lock-outs. You can divide the room in any way that you wish. That is the beauty of this system.”
LYTEmode Master Stations are easily programmed using the front panel buttons, without removing the Master Station from the wall, and without the need for a computer. They are also compatible with both Lightolier® Controls Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) Dimming Cabinets as well as Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR) Dimming Panels.
To control the dimming for the ballroom, Fine brought in six LM-8080 Dimmer Panels, two LM-1616 Dimmer Panels, and one LM-4040 Dimmer Panel.
The LYTEmode LM-8080 Dimmer Cabinet is a rigid enclosure designed to hold eight single or dual LYTEmode System Dimmer Modules. The LM-1616 Dimmer Cabinet is a rigid enclosure designed to hold eight Quad-Pack Dimmer Modules. And, the LM-4040 Dimmer Cabinet is a rigid enclosure designed to hold four single or dual Dimmer Modules.
All the LYTEmode dimmer cabinets are wall mounted and may be either recessed or surface mounted. The cabinets will maintain proper airflow through the dimmers regardless of whether recessed or surface mounted, thus ensuring satisfactory operation of the equipment within an ambient temperature range of 0° to 40° Celsius, without the use of fans. The ILS dimmer cabinets can be fed from a single or 3-phase normal/emergency feed and normal house power (sense feed).
Fine concluded, “The Philadelphia Marriott trusted us to complete the project, and due to the technical capabilities of the LYTEmode Architectural Control System, we were able to successfully bring the ballroom technology up to the 21 st century. We now use this installation to showcase to other clients. It’s been a great relationship.”
For more information about Lightolier Controls, visit www.lolcontrols.com.
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