Pharmaka Art Gallery
Greentorch, in conjunction with the Discovery Channel’s new Planet Green Network, renovated the lighting system at the Pharmaka Art Gallery, located in Downtown Los Angeles at 5th and Main Street. Pharmaka represents the first “green” art gallery of its kind in the United States.
Greentorch’s lighting solutions drastically reduced energy consumption of the gallery while extending the lighting system’s lifespan and reducing its heat production, thereby making the gallery more eco-friendly.
Greentorch ’s far exceed the energy-efficiency of conventional light bulbs, including compact fluorescents, and ’s last thousands of hours longer. Our ’s are unique because we do not sacrifice the light’s color quality to achieve the desired energy efficiency. Greentorch ’s use pigment infused lenses and other new technologies to provide a color quality previously unattainable from energy-efficient light bulbs.
Before the renovation, Pharmaka was illuminated by fifty, 75 watt incandescent bulbs housed on a track lighting system with a total energy consumption of about 3,750 watts. Shane Guffogg, director of Pharmaka, expressed to us that the incandescent lighting system was not doing the job he had originally envisioned. The lights were too powerful and overbearing for the artwork, causing focus to be shifted away from color, to texture. The incandescent system also produced excessive heat, making the gallery’s environment uncomfortable and heating the artwork.
For our new Greentorch lighting system we started by separating general illumination from accent lighting, dedicating 3-watt MR16’s for the artwork, and using 12-watt 6” Recessed Can Lights to provide general lighting for gallery patrons. We blended two different colors of MR16’s together to create balance and softness for the artwork that the previous lighting system did not convey.
With Greentorch’s new lighting system the gallery achieved superior light quality and an almost a 90% energy reduction in their lighting system. 3,750 Watts were reduced to approximately 450 watts, which saves Pharmaka approximately $6,300 in energy and maintenance savings over the next five years. Greentorch ’s are rated to last 48,000 hours, whereas incandescent bulbs last about 2,000 hours on average.
Greentorch was pleased to contribute to Pharmaka to lower their electricity costs and increase the comfort and light quality in the art gallery. Pharmaka exhibits community artwork and holds other community events such as Green Drinks.