The Willis Tower recently received an upgrade to its antenna lighting that allows one person to use a smartphone or computer to change the lighting color in a matter of seconds.
Previously, lighting changes meant a crew of two electricians had to journey to the 109th and 110th floors of the 1,729-foot tower and manually place color pallets over each light. The process could take up to four hours. When the lighting was no longer needed, the crew would need to remove the palettes by hand, as well.
Photo courtesy EQ Office.
See Also: Willis Tower elevators receive upgrade as part of $500 million update
It isn’t just the speed with which the colors can be changed that has been upgraded, but also the amount of colors available. The old technology could only display 12 colors. The new technology produces so many colors, some of them aren’t even detectable by the human eye. It can also light up each antenna with several color rings or animate up and down the antennas.
The LED lights emit 337,248 lumens and are expected to save the tower more than 70% in antenna-lighting energy costs.
Photo courtesy EQ Office.
See Also: $500 million investment will modernize Chicago’s Willis Tower
Related Stories
| Feb 28, 2012
LUMEnergi names Weinbaum president and CEO
Weinbaum’s experience spans communications, nanotechnology, electronics components, consumer products, semiconductors, software, wireless and lighting.
| Jan 24, 2012
U of M installs new lighting at Crisler Player Development Center
Energy efficient lighting installed at PDC reduce costs and improves player performance.
| Jan 9, 2012
Lutron appoints Pessina president
In his 35-year career with Lutron, Pessina has acquired broad experience in the engineering, quality assurance and manufacturing areas.
| Dec 13, 2011
Lutron’s Commercial Experience Center awarded LEED Gold
LEED certification of the Lutron facility was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact the project itself and the broader community. These features include: optimization of energy performance through the use of lighting power, lighting controls and HVAC, plus the use of daylight.
| Nov 23, 2011
Griffin Electric completes Gwinnett Tech project
Accommodating up to 3,000 students annually beginning this fall, the 78,000-sf, three-story facility consists of thirteen classrooms and twelve high-tech laboratories, in addition to several lecture halls and faculty offices.
| Nov 17, 2011
Campus-wide energy-efficiency program aims to deliver $3.5 million in energy and operational savings
Merced College and Honeywell will use the school’s energy usage statistics to develop a course curriculum on sustainability, and raise awareness among students of the positive impact conservation practices contribute to the community.
| Oct 17, 2011
Schneider Electric introduces UL924 emergency lighting control devices
The emergency lighting control devices require fewer maintenance costs and testing requirements than backup batteries because they comply with the UL924 standard, reducing installation time.
| Oct 14, 2011
MaxLite receives 2011 Lighting for Tomorrow honorable mention
The judging panel was particularly impressed with the performance of this fixture.
| Oct 11, 2011
Pink light bulbs donated to Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
For every Bulbrite Pink Light Bulb that is purchased through the Cancer Center Thrift Shop, 100% of the proceeds will be donated to help support breast cancer research, education, screening, and treatment.