It’s reported that The Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium has added new LED bulbs from Marktech LED Lighting of Lathem, New York in the Museum's Broughton Gallery. In order to improve its energy consumption and to enhance the appearance of exhibits in the gallery the Museum has installed fifty new 12W LED Bulbs. The new solid-state PAR30 LED Bulbs were used to replace outdated incandescent track lighting that had been previously used to light the section of the Museum. Marktech says that the new LED Lighting will decrease the Museum's energy consumption while reducing electric bills and lower the overall exhibit room temperature.

Marktech's CEO Mark Campito was excited by the opportunity to display their new 12W LED Bulbs at the Schenectady Museum. He noted that Marktech's focus is on LED lighting products and fixtures that can directly replace existing incandescent, fluorescent and halogen bulbs in any household or commercial application. LEDs have an average life of 50,000 hours and can last 50 times as long as a typical incandescent, Campito explained. Savings from reduced maintenance costs and downtime quickly return the capital investment expenditure, and LED bulbs require 70-80% less operating power on average than their incandescent equivalents, making them as friendly to the environment as they are to the operating budget.

Schenectady Museum Director of Building Operations, Paul MacDonald, said LED technology can make the Museum more efficiently. In this case, they have the opportunity to display cutting-edge technology to the public, and enjoy real cost savings at the same time.

In addition, Paul stressed that LEDs offer other important benefits to the Museum, such as improved artifact care: LEDs offer no ultraviolet rays and give off very little heat. Heat and UV rays can damage artifacts and original images over time; improved visitor comfort: Less heat translates into a cooler, more comfortable gallery; LEDs are also full spectrum, which means they produce a more natural light then the yellow light offered by most incandescent lights.