“Brighter, more efficient and easier-to-install, TFT's Led Contactless System gave the exposition a new light.”

– Gilles Vincent, Botanical Garden Director

 

The Magic of Lanterns is a great light festival occurring in the impressive China Garden at the Montréal Botanical Garden, the second largest of its kind in the world. Each year this event welcomes more than 200 000 visitors.

 

 

 

 

On the eve of its 16th edition, the Botanical Garden was facing major issues. They were approaching their maximum electrical capacity of 40 KWatt. They needed to add more lanterns, but this would have increased the electrical demand to 64kWatt. They also needed to light up lanterns floating on water, which can be a safety issue. Moreover, they had problems of reliability due to the performance of incandescent bulbs in poor weather conditions. As a result, they had increasing costs related to a lengthy and complex installation, high maintenance and increasing energy consumption. This three-month exposition had become a costly and stressful event. The Botanical Garden was looking for solutions to more efficiently carry on the tradition of the Magic of Lanterns.

 

 

HEICO Lighting™ has developed patent-pending Contactless LED modules, the Virgolite™, that are capable of converting nearly 100% of the energy into light. The Contactless module is almost double the efficiency of any other emitting-diodes systems on the market. The Virgolite™ projects uniform light and allow designers to place and move the modules wherever they want on a single stranded wire, to mix the color of the modules without modifying the power supply and to select the luminosity desired on each module independently. This product platform was an ideal fit for this unique exterior architectural lighting project.

 

 

To overcome their issues, the Botanical Garden lighting was modernized in 2008 using HEICO Lighting™’s Contactless LED System – with the Virgolite™. A total of 10,312 modules were installed. The implementation of this system was a total success. It reduced energy consumption 12 fold, improved safety, and increased reliability even in poor weather conditions. HEICO Lighting™’s system also added tremendous flexibility during installation allowing designers to create outstanding lantern shapes and a colourful exhibit. Featuring the industry’s most impressive performance, energy efficiency and security, the Virgolite™ system allowed the Montréal Botanical Garden to save about 80% in energy costs compare to incandescent bulbs used in previous editions.

 

“We are working hard year-round to plan the Magic of Lanterns event. Previously, we had to plan a month ahead of time to set up the exhibition. The installation would interrupt the high tourist season and making it unpleasant for visitors. With HEICO Lighting™’s system we have reduced the installation time to two weeks. Everyone is in awe of this technology: our designer, the electricians, even visitors.” – Gilles Vincent, Botanical Garden Director.

The change also had a tremendous impact on the maintenance and safety concerns. This LED system greatly reduces the labour associated with inventorying and replacing incandescent bulbs. Moreover, the diodes (LEDs) have a 50,000-hour life span.

HEICO Lighting™ has been a proud partner thanks to the new technology of the Contactless LED System, the traditional Chinese lanterns are lit up with even more visual effects.