OTOH, it takes a LOT more time to hang an all
LED plot from scratch.
But think of all the time you save on cutting and inserting
gel.
There have been powerline systems as early as the 60s. Dirk Epperson's thesis project was a
dimmer on every light and data over
power lines. I assume wireless will probably
beat powerline today but a separate
system entirely - lower
voltage to reduce wiring requirements - does seem to have possibilities. One architectural lighting company - Pathway (not the ones we know) - does
LED down lights and uses a central rack mount
driver (EldoLED) with Class 2 wiring I think. That would not be quite as simple for
RGB+++ lighting but a concept.
Strad - I suspect in my and your lifetimes it will be less expensive to stay
tungsten. Anytime I look at renovation, unless all new branch circuits and feeders and having to
build a
dimmer room, its very hard to justify the conversion. You would have to do a pretty careful study to see how much more it would cost to convert, but probably significant. An overtime conversion spreads it out but probably increases the cost. So just look at all at once - move to
relay panels and all
LED fixtures - may not need to be 1 for 1 if some are for color of course. Figure out what you spend on lamps and
gel (probably disappointingly not much in this context).
My guess is it might in sya 10 or 20 or 50 years not be so bleak - especially if the
tungsten lamps are not available - but still hard now.
