Prilux renews the lighting on the west façade of León Cathedral. The replacement of the old lighting has resulted in savings of more than 65% with our modular HEXAGON PLAY floodlight.
Architectural lighting
Architectural lighting enhances the beauty of bridges, monuments and facades of historic and emblematic buildings of the city. Through an adequate lighting study and scene control, we are able to emphasise the aesthetics of architecture and improving the citizen’s visual experience.. The right light is able to enhance a night scene of urban architecture and public spaces by creating a safe, welcoming and pleasing environment for the eyes.
Decorative architectural lighting acts as a lure for tourists by transforming cities into attractive and changing destinations depending on the time of day they are visited while boosting the surrounding economy. At Prilux we know that monumental lighting is key to highlighting the heritage of cities. positioning its historical and cultural identity.
The new light on the façade of León Cathedral
Due to the constant need for maintenance work on the old metal halide and partner floodlights in the surrounding buildings, together with the limited lifespan of the lamps whose chromatic consistency was almost non-existent and the high installed power, it was decided to give a new light to the emblematic façade of León Cathedral.
The high energy and maintenance costs and the annoying beams of light emitted by the old floodlights were the main reasons why it was decided to provide a solution that would reverse this situation and provide the cathedral with lighting to match.
The main objective of this lighting was to achieve the best light tonality to enhance the natural colour of the stone itself. improving the night scene and, not least, using LED technology to reduce energy consumption, maintenance and replacement costs, improve performance and achieve a more efficient installation. To this end, we offered the HEXAGON PLAY 3X modular floodlight combining RGBW modules with white single-colour modules 827.. In this way, in addition to achieving a wide range of colours for special occasions, we manage to reduce the power by illuminating it in a natural way.
“One of the benefits of these projectors is energy efficiency because the consumption has been more than halved compared to what we had before”.
– Miguel Ángel García, head of maintenance at León City Council.
Technological evolution and development have made it possible tolighting management through timelineswhere it is possible to configure from fixed colours to a combination of colours and movements. In the case of the façade of the cathedral of León, due to the infrastructure of the installation and the number of projectors to be controlled, the wireless DMX communication protocol was chosen for the automation of the control, which makes it possible to bridge long distances where it is not possible to install cables.
“We have to bear in mind that the first phase of the renovation of the lighting on the main façade has now been completed, but we still have to change the apse part. One of the requirements was to have colour dimming, and as there are a lot of projectors, we opted for Prilux’s recommendations to install the DMX communication protocol, which provides greater versatility compared to the traditional DALI system, which is more limited in this case”.
– Pablo Zapico, head of the energy section in León City Council.
With DMX we manage in real time different static and dynamic scenes with instant response with light and sound effects, creating different types of shows if required.
“The DMX system has advantages such as dimming and, above all, remote control. Before, to manage events or to have to switch off the cathedral at a given moment, we had to travel and program the clocks, but now we can do it from anywhere without having to travel, with the savings in resources that this entails”.
– Miguel Ángel García, head of maintenance for León City Council.
Prilux solutions for the lighting of the façade of the Cathedral of León
Today, the façade of León Cathedral has a modern and robust system that requires very little maintenance.. Luminaires have been installed with a high level of heat dissipation and low demands on the LED to guarantee more than 100,000 hours of lifespan.
We provide a mixed lighting solution specifically designed for the project. that takes advantage of RGBW modules and white modules while using different optical solutions to optimise the emitted flux and reduce light pollution. This, of course, has been accompanied by a technological upgrade of the electricity grid that is easy to access and maintain. Overall, 35 HEXAGON PLAY 3X modules have been installed, consisting of two RGBW modules and one white single-colour front module.
Another particularity of the project was that, in order to take into account the aesthetic requirements of Heritage, our R&D department designed a special envelope for the floodlights that are mounted on the surrounding poles on the perimeter of the cathedral.
“The floodlights were made to measure, with an envelope specially designed for the project with a specific RAL to maintain harmony with the surroundings. We were looking for a floodlight that would give us the versatility to choose a very particular warm tone that would enhance the natural colour of the stone without altering it and would be approved by Patrimonio de la Junta de Castilla y León. The implemented system allows us a customised regulation where we can adjust the desired warm tone”.
-Pablo Zapico, head of the energy section in León City Council.
The results of change
From an ornamental point of view, at Prilux we have implemented a lighting solution that highlights the natural colour of the stone, the design and every detail of the architectural space, every curve, every contour, as if the building were alive, telling a story through the play of light and shadow. It is not just about illuminating a façade, monument or building, but about creating an immersive experience that transports citizens and tourists to another time and place.
“We chose Prilux on the one hand because they offered us a good technical service and on the other hand because the price-quality ratio seemed very interesting to us. In addition, it is a product made in Spain and that was very important to us. The support and advice service has been up to the mark as it is one of the main manufacturers in the lighting sector in Spain”.
– Miguel Ángel García, head of maintenance at León City Council.
On the technical side, the main objective in replacing the old metal halide and sodium projects with Prilux architectural lighting solutions was to achieve considerable energy and maintenance savings. And we have succeeded. Thanks to the renovation of the electronic systems and the change to LED technology, the new lighting on the façade of the León church has seen savings of up to 65%.
“The change has been very positive, firstly because of the significant reduction in consumption and the need to have a more efficient lighting installation. Secondly, because we have begun to be part of a necessary technology that provides us with many facilities, especially in day-to-day management”.
– Miguel Ángel García, head of maintenance at León City Council.
At Prilux we provide customised solutions that can be adapted to the requirements of the client and the space in all areas of lighting. We guarantee after-sales satisfaction and technical service.
We assist and advise you from start to finish.
PRILUX.
