Illuminating a theater requires a combination of speciality lighting.
Choosing the best light for high ceilings depends on two things: the overall ceiling height in the building and building usage. In each environment, the ceiling height and the illumination of desired space affect what light type is best. For example, high pressure metal vapor lamps are perfectly suited for gymnasiums and manufacturing but inappropriate for a vaulted ceiling in the residential home.
Vaulted Residential Ceilings
Vaulted residential ceilings are between 12 to 16 feet above the floor. While many lighting options are available, you should also consider the interior architecture and decorating scheme to create a pleasing internal ambiance. So when designing a lighting scheme, you can accomplish the overall illumination with recessed can lighting. The can light fixture is recessed into the drywall surface. The light bulbs for them can be traditional incandescent spot lamps or halogen spotlights. For specialty or accent lighting in the same type of room, you can outfit 3- to 4-foot track light fixtures with individual halogen spot lamps. These can provide accent illumination throughout the room.
Gymnasiums and Community Centers
Gymnasium and community center ceilings are typically 18 to 24 feet above the floor space. This setting is perfect or high-pressure sodium, mercury or halogen vapor lamps. High pressure vapor lamps produce illumination by sending electricity through the which turns into an electrified plasma. A common high-pressure vapor lamp includes a 250 watt bulb that creates around 87 lumens per watt of power. This makes this long lasting light bulb economical to use and highly efficient. A 250-watt high pressure vapor lamp will put out between 12,000 and 21,000 lumens during its lifetime.
Auditoriums and Theaters
Theaters and auditoriums have ceilings which are three to four stories above the floor space. Properly illuminating these cavernous rooms requires a combination of the two light sources listed above. General lighting for when theater patrons enter and exit the building are a combination of vapor lamps suspended from the ceiling and traditional incandescent light fixtures attached to the walls and hanging from chandeliers. After the general lighting is turned off, stages are lit with 240V halogen spotlights during the performances. Tripod-mounted 240V spotlights are positioned across the rear of the auditorium. These specially designed theater spotlights are able to use colored filters to change the mood during the performances and follow performers across the stage. Individual spot lamps hang from movable scaffolding and are pointed to specific spots of the stage.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing facilities require bright illumination and thorough lighting throughout the plant, which features ceilings three to four stories above the work floor. Because of their long lifespan, high output and reliability, metal vapor lamps such as sodium, mercury or halogen HID vapor lamps are common in modern manufacturing settings.
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