Heat Issues in Lighting Home Theater

[Victor Grund]

Hi,

I have a home theater in a room over a 3-car garage in a cape style
home. Being a cape, this means that along the long axis of the room the
ceiling cuts in on the left and right. It's a bit like sitting under
the letter "A" for lack of a better analogy.

Prior owners installed Juno track lighting at the ceiling along the
center of the long axis of the room. There are 6 Juno V603W-WH fixtures
in the track and they are labeled for R/BR/PAR30 type lamps, 75-watt
maximum. I'm currently using Philips Masterline PAR30L 75-watt halogen
bulbs in them and the circuit uses a standard incandescent dimmer
switch. I usually dim these lights quite a bit.

I'm happy with the Philips' lighting quality and ability to dim to low
levels for theater operation. My problem is waste heat! The room gets
very warm in short order when the lights are in operation. This is a
significant problem in spring, summer, and fall. I have air
conditioning but I find it rather stupid to pay to operate the lights,
then pay again to dump all of their waste heat.

I tried switching to dimmable 15-watt R30 CFL bulbs from GE, but they
they won't dim to the levels I normally use (they are too bright at the
lowest stable dimming level).

I also tried reducing the number of fixtures in the track but no smaller
configuration would provide suitable light for the room.

So, I thought I'd inquire with the experts here for some advice. I
enjoy the lighting configuration as it exists today and I would rather
not go to the trouble of replacing the entire system. So, my preference
is address this with replacement bulbs or worst case maybe replacement
fixtures for the existing track. I'm not sure that goal can be
accomplished, but it's worthy to ask the experts here. Any thoughts?

Victor

 

[Victor Grund]

It's a good questions that you ask, and the heat issue is a significant
one. I'd suggest that an affordable way of changing the system around
is to replace the heads with MR-16 heads with integral transformers.
These should set you back under $50, and possibly quite a lot less.
The MR-16 lamp is almost twice as efficient, so with a 50W lamp, you'll
have 30% more light for 30% less heat (in very crude numbers). They
dim well. I like the GE IR lamps, which are even more efficient, you
might want to look at their 37W lamps. 4000 hour life is nice too.

MR-16s also feel cooler as they reject the radiant heat out the back,
so you don't feel it, even though it is still added to the environment.

For home theatre, get a head which takes a honeycomb (hexcell) louver.

All the best, and let us know how you go,

Thomas Paterson
http://www.luxpopuli.com

Thanks very much for your pointers, Thomas. I have Juno "V" serious
track which doesn't appear in their current catalog, so it isn't obvious
what might work. However, I will inquire with my local lighting store
and see what's available.

Thanks again,
Victor

 

[Victor Grund]

Do contact the manufacturer direct - they are pretty much obliged to
continue to support old products, although they usually do it direct,
rather than through lighting stores. Imagine a gallery full of V
series track which suddenly can't buy an additional head!!! If nothing
else, I would expect Juno to have a stock of track adapters. If they
don't, let us know and I will not use them on future installations.

Thomas,

I stopped by my local electric supply store on the off chance they'd be
able to address my V-series track. It turns out a lot of heads for the
newer series will fit my track. I had no problem finding MR-16 heads
with integral transformers. I took home three today from their stock
(all they had) and ordered three more. I lamped them with 35W
Westinghouse MR-16s. The three heads I installed work GREAT and I'm
looking forward to installing the remaining heads when they arrive.
They throw way less heat than my 75W 12V heads and they are smaller and
sleeker too which nice aesthetic features for my lower and smaller "A"
type cape ceiling.

The supply store didn't stock louvers and, to be honest, the counter guy
seemed to think I was nuts wanting hexagonal louvers for my theater. I
figured, I'll see how they look without... Let's just say my heads
aren't totally annoying as-is but I can see where you are going with
that recommendation. I'll be back tomorrow to order some.

Thanks very much for you help! Your advice hit the mark splendidly.

Victor

 

[Victor Grund]

They
throw way less heat than my 75W 12V heads and they are smaller and
sleeker too which nice aesthetic features for my lower and smaller "A"
type cape ceiling.

Whoops. I meant 75W halogen lamps in 120V heads.