The International SSL Alliance (ISA) selected the massive project to relight the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel as winner of the top award in its 2015 Global SSL Showcase Top 100 awards. The project, done by the Osram Italy unit of Osram GmbH, Munich, Germany, and unveiled in 2014, used LED lighting technology to set a new standard for energy efficiency and quality of light.
“The requirement for completely glare-free illumination that complies with strict conservational specifications and the immense historic importance of the Chapel and its globally unique works of art necessitated a technically individual, high quality lighting solution,” Osram said in a release about the award.
The lighting design used a total of 7,000 LEDs and produces far better illuminance levels than the previous lighting system – around 50 to 100 lux versus 10 to 15 lux with the previous installation – while protecting Michelangelo’s masterpiece from accelerated aging due to lighting. The lighting solution also consumes up to 90% less power than the previously installed version.
The ISA uses the Global SSL Showcase TOP 100 to present the world the best showcases of SSL (solid-state lighting) applications “in order to expand influence of the SSL industry, establish a positive image, and raise public awareness,” the ISA website says.
