List of Blizzard Fixtures and Cost Efficiency

[Bubby4j]

I was comparing some of blizzard lighting's fixtures in excel and thought someone else might find this useful as well. It's interesting how some of the most cost efficient fixtures are under $200. The pricing I've listed is the cheapest price I've been able to find on the internet for 1 new fixture.

Also, for some of the fixtures I estimated the blue Lux, any of the ones that don't have red or green, but have blue, are estimated.

Also, the rokbox total lux is estimated, they only give each color's lux.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3IslntC01-eekNFVFVCLVZxSzg/edit?usp=sharing

 

[RickR]

I think you may have missed a key photometric point.

The lux values they provide are only at the center of the beam. So the width of the beam is ignored with the narrow beam fixtures looking like they put out more light than the wider ones when the reverse is true.

If all you want is the punch then you're good to go.

 

[Bubby4j]

I think you may have missed a key photometric point.

The lux values they provide are only at the center of the beam. So the width of the beam is ignored with the narrow beam fixtures looking like they put out more light than the wider ones when the reverse is true.

If all you want is the punch then you're good to go.

I had that in mind when I made it, beam angle makes a big difference. I should of included beam angle as well. Another thing that effects it is RGBW vs RGB, the W LED will be much brighter than any R, G, or B LED. You just have to be careful when comparing fixtures as some are apples and oranges.

 

[flyweed]

I thought I'd just throw in some "real world" numbers here for all of you as well. We replaced (24) 750 watt -6 inch Fresnels with 24 Puck Pro Zoom LED fixtures. on our stage elecs. We did a cost analysis with our energy company, and we are saving a little over $3,000 a year on electricity by making that switch. Now, granted the Pucks don't put out quite as much light as the old fresnels, but they come close, and are excellent units in every other aspect.

Anyway, just a little FYI

Dan

 

[derekleffew]

... We did a cost analysis with our energy company, and we are saving a little over $3,000 a year on electricity by making that switch. ...

Provided my math is correct, one would have to burn all 24 750W Fresnels at 100% for an average of 3.5 hours 365 days a year to use $3000 worth of power (at 13¢ per kWh, the average for WI). Color me incredulous.
.

 

[Esoteric]

Yeah, every time I do an "energy savings analysis" for a client on LEDs the energy saving component is usually $300 a year or something like that. The savings isn't really in energy savings, but rather instead of having to hang a 3 light overhead you only have to hang/cable/focus/lamp/gel one light. Usually over the life of the unit that is where the savings comes from (particularly for spaces with rep plots).

Mike

 

[techieman33]

You can't compute savings by just looking at the electricity the fixtures use. The greatly reduced heat load also needs to be taken into account. There is also the gel savings to take into account.

 

[Bubby4j]

You can't compute savings by just looking at the electricity the fixtures use. The greatly reduced heat load also needs to be taken into account. There is also the gel savings to take into account.

And also the bulb savings.

 

[len]

Color me incredulous.
.

Is that a new Rosco color or a Lee exclusive?

 

[sk8rsdad]

Is that a new Rosco color or a Lee exclusive?

More likely an Apollo color. Rosco and Lee tend to be a little more conservative with their product names.

 

[RickR]

Must be a sick olive green not far from JEALOUS.

 

[church]

LED fixtures are a wonderful tool in the lighting design toolbox because of their wonderful capabilities there is a tendency to overlook the capital replacement cycle.

It is not unusual to see a conventional fixture still in use after 15 years of service, granted lamp holders may have been replaced. I own LED fixtures and I love what you can do with them but I expect to replace them every 10 years: component failures, newer technology etc. I know everyone quote the 50,000 hour lifetime of the LEDs but how many years do you expect to be able to buy a replacement electronics board to replace a failed one? I can repair electronics at the component level so I can work around this but if the Programmable Interrupt Circuit (PIC) fails I cannot work around this because I cannot get the firmware to program a new PIC.

The LEDs can and do fail prematurely and need to be replaced, when the fixtures are built the manufacturers "bin" the LEDs to achieve colour matching when you are 5 or more years into the life of a fixture do not be surprised if you find replacing an LED results in a change of colour. This may or may not be a problem but it is not fixed by dropping in a new piece of filter.

So when you push the power savings and the reduction in thermal load in the facility are you also considering that you should depreciate the value to $0 in 5 or 10 years with a replacement cycle of 10 years. If your rig includes a significant LED content then you will need to ensure you do your capital planning accordingly.

 

[AEGProduction]

Also keep in mind that when you buy the cheapest lights you can find (even if its a company that represents the fixtures in your country), they may have other issues that may require you get extra equipment or work around's for fixture "problems."

Only reason I am bringing this up is I recently bought pixel strips from said manufacturer. Everything appears to be working great, except for when I do a fast 'white' chase. I have found that the quick full on movement of the LED's seem to cause interference with the on-board computer. This causes the strip to lock up, and I have to cycle power to get them working again. I bought a large quantity without realizing this factor, and now I either have to tell all the techs that use them to stay away from white chases, include switch packs to turn them on/off when they lock up, or sell the strips and re-invest in better ones. All options are headaches that I did not plan for.

 

[Bubby4j]

I updated the original spreadsheet with beam angles and also some new fixtures.

 

[BillESC]

I thought I'd just throw in some "real world" numbers here for all of you as well. We replaced (24) 750 watt -6 inch Fresnels with 24 Puck Pro Zoom LED fixtures. on our stage elecs. We did a cost analysis with our energy company, and we are saving a little over $3,000 a year on electricity by making that switch. Now, granted the Pucks don't put out quite as much light as the old fresnels, but they come close, and are excellent units in every other aspect.

Anyway, just a little FYI

Dan

Worth consideration, for a 3 color wash with the old fresnels there would only be 8 fixtures per color vs. all 24 LED's per color.

 

[Bubby4j]

Updated to include the EXA fixtures.

 

[Bubby4j]

Added RokSpot series.

 

[Esoteric]

You can't compute savings by just looking at the electricity the fixtures use. The greatly reduced heat load also needs to be taken into account. There is also the gel savings to take into account.

Even with those savings and the lamp replacement savings, it can still be difficult for some spaces to get an ROI before the LED units must be replaced. Also, keep in mind, electricity is cheap here in Texas were we do the majority of our work. As with all things ymmv.

For full disclosure we are a Blizzard dealer as well as our own private line of LED products.

Mike

 

[Bubby4j]

Updated prices on various items, most interesting is you can get the HotBox RGBA for $160 each, $20 cheaper.