Success Story: Johnson GEO Centre

Aug 13, 2018

Johnson GEO Centre is a geological interpretation centre in Newfoundland in which 85% of the building is underground. This means that there is no natural light to highlight the geological exhibits within the centre. A large, glass-encased entry, standing 2.5 storeys high, is the only part of the building above ground, leaving approximately 85% of the building’s 2,970 square metres (33,600 square feet) of floor space underground.

The facility opened in 2002 after four years of research, planning, design, and construction. Recently, the facility decided to upgrade its lighting system. Lighting experts from Standard suggested a solution that would enhance the existing lighting and save energy by updating the traditional lighting technology with LED equivalents:

• incandescent lamps and CFLs were replaced with LED PAR30, MR16 , PL and Omni lamps

• fluorescent T12s were replaced with LED T8 and T8 Safety Max lamps

The administrators of the facility were happy with the recommendations, which took into consideration their need for a seamless change of light level and the installation an energy efficient system.
The interpretive panels are as visible as before: the level of lighting is the same as before the update. However, there are now fewer fixtures. The visitor’s experience in the centre remains unchanged, while maintenance costs and energy consumption have been reduced.

Photo credits: Standard. This article was first published online by Standard: http://www.standardpro.com/wp-content/uploads/Success-Story_Geo-Centre_EN.pdf