# The Smithsonian and the Getty Testing MSI LED Lighting for Museums

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2011/03/the-smithsonian-and-the-getty-testing-msi-led-lighting-for-museums/
- Published: 2011-03-16T14:27:00-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

_**Compared to the Traditional Tungsten Halogen Lighting, LED’s Provide Museums 
with Energy and Maintenance Savings. **_

_**Additional LED Advantages Over Tungsten Include a **_

_**Lack of  Ultraviolet and Infrared EmissionsWhich Can Cause Deterioration of Priceless
Artworks.**_

Museum lighting is a constant struggle between providing visitors with the light
they need to properly view displays and protecting priceless art from the damage
and fading that lighting can cause … and doing it all in the most cost efficient
manner. Museums nationwide including the Smithsonian, Getty and Natural History 
Museum of Los Angeles are currently evaluating MSi LED lighting for its potential
to provide both safe and effective lighting while delivering huge savings in both
energy and maintenance cost.

“Recent advancements in [LED lighting technology](https://greenlivingguy.com/2019/12/lighting-one-of-the-first-energy-positive-schools-cree/)
now allow them to provide accurate color discrimination without the harmful effects
caused by ultraviolet and infrared emissions making them ideal for sensitive museum
lighting,” said Bruce Johnson, MSi managing partner. “These improvements will now
allow museums to enjoy the savings that LED’s provide along with a proper light 
that will not cause damage to art the way that traditional tungsten halogen might.”

LED lighting offers many advantages over tungsten halogen lighting traditionally
found in museums – chief among them are cost savings in energy and maintenance. 
LED lights consume far less energy and produce almost no heat meaning reduced cost
for both electricity and cooling. Museums will also realize savings in the costs
of light replacement. A typical tungsten halogen light burning 12 hours a day will
need replacement every four months. The equivalent LED light burning 12 hours a 
day can last up to 13 years.  Durable LED lighting can also withstand the constant
repositioning that is required by a museums changing exhibitions.

Further advantages of LED lighting include its ability to be dimmed without any 
shift in its color spectrum. This allows museums to increase or lower lighting for
changing exhibitions without altering the color temperature of the light being produced.
LED’s also provide a more focused light without any of the irregularities that occur
when the tungsten halogen light passes through the lamp’s lens.

But perhaps the biggest advantage to using MSi LED lighting in museums is its contribution
to the preservation of the art that is housed there. Materials such as paints and
fabrics can suffer damage and fading as a result of the ultraviolet  and infrared
light waves that are produced by tungsten halogen lighting. The light emitted by
LED’s contains neither of these harmful wave lengths that can result in damage to
priceless works of art.

“The color rendering index of our newest LED’s will now meet or exceed that of the
traditional tungsten halogen lighting,” added Johnson. “That means that museums 
can now realize all the cost savings and preservation benefits of LED lighting while
allowing visitors to view objects and colors the way the original artists intended
them to be seen.”

![author avatar](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/df91669667126e1290c21ee0342c386e2da19d588d4d9ca6560bd82ed59a9641?
s=300&d=monsterid&r=g)

 greenlivingguy

 The Green Living Guy, Seth Leitman is an independent power producer, a green living
expert, and Editor of the McGraw-Hill, TAB Green Guru Guides. Seth is also an Author,
Radio Host, Reporter, Writer and an Environmental Consultant on green living. The
Green Living Guy writes about green living, green lighting, the green guru guides
and more. Seth's books range from: # Build Your Own Electric Vehicle by Bob Brant
and Seth Leitman (2nd and 3rd editions) # Build Your Own Plug-in Hybrid Electric
Vehicle by Seth Leitman # Build Your Own Electric Motorcycle by Carl Vogel # Green
Lighting by Seth Leitman, Brian Clark Howard and Bill Brinsky # Solar Power For 
Your Home by David Findley # Renewable Energies For Your Home by Russel Gehrke #
Do-it-Yourself Home Energy Audits by David Findley # Build Your Own Small Wind Power
System by Brian Clark Howard and Kevin Shea # and more green living books to follow.

 [See Full Bio](https://greenlivingguy.com/author/greenlivingguy/) [  ](https://greenlivingguy.com/author/greenlivingguy/)