CS101 Amsterdam Welcomes New Age in Museum Lighting Case Study 20150330 ©2015 Lumileds Holding B.V. All rights reserved.

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customized using a magnetic mounting scheme with remotely-

positioned driver. The light racks contain 3,800 StyllD fixtures

with Fortimo LED Spotlight Module Tight Beam containing

LUXEON S LEDs.

Ceiling lighting was provided by approximately 1.8 kilometers

of Fortimo strip up-lighting, also positioned within the light

racks. This approach allows seamless coherent lighting of the

ceilings of varying heights in the galleries.

LED Advantages

One benefit to the combination of Philips Fortimo LED SLM

Tight Beam and LUXEON S LEDs is the small light emitting

surface (LES). Small LES allows a smaller optical reflector

design, enabling very narrow beams, including 5° and 10°

beams with high center-beam candlepower. In museum

applications, a uniform and sharp beam pattern is possible

with a crisp single-point-source shadow, which enhances the

texture and sparkle of artifacts. To minimize glare from the

light sources, an internal glare shield was developed for the

StyllD fixture.

When not directed at the artwork, the Rijksmuseum lighting

mimics the color rendition of natural daylight (5000K).

Additional benefits to the use of LED lighting over halogen

include a typical lifetime that is 10x longer, significantly

impacting maintenance costs, little heat generation and no

ultraviolet radiation, which are known to damage artwork.

Control and Future-Proofing

The lighting control scheme was designed to enable museum

staff to set lighting levels on individual works of art. The

Philips’ Dynalite DALI control system and web-based control

interface were installed to provide flexibility in lighting

including the dimming via a mobile application and iPad.

Using DALI-controlled Xitanium drivers, practical dimming

cut-off levels were set at 10%, which proved adequate for all

but a few artifacts where neutral-density glass lenses were

incorporated. The control system also addresses light output,

which is constant, ensuring long-term lumen depreciation of

the LEDs.

Even given the long lifetime of LEDs, repair-ability and

upgrade-ability must be considered. Philips designed for the

future with Zhaga-compliant LED modules. Both the spot

fixtures and LED strip up-lighting can be upgraded or repaired

at a later date using standard Zhaga-compliant modules.

Viewing the Rijksmuseum

The renovated Rijksmuseum reopened to the public on April

13, 2013. It is the largest gallery space lit by LEDs, containing

¾ million LEDs. All parts of the museum including the exterior

and façade use LED lighting.

To encourage visitation and education, the museum has

made high resolution versions of 125,000 of its painting and

artifacts available on its website, www.rijksmuseum.nl. While

online viewing can provide insight into the luminance and

color rendering delivered in these artworks, only a visit to

the Rijksmuseum can fully reveal the beauty that LED lighting

elicits from the works of the Dutch Masters.

“At the heart of all the decisions we take are two aspects, the visitor’s experience of

the museum and the preservation of our art. We chose LED lighting for firstly, the high

quality of the light emitted, and secondly the color rendering of LED lighting, which is

very close to that of daylight. This allows the art to be viewed in the best light possible

to bring out all the colors and details that the artist intended us to see.”

— Tim Zeedijk

Head of Exhibitions, Rijksmuseum