A special lighting system for the famous Central Vista -- comprising the iconic North and South Block buildings of the Indian government - with 16 million colour combinations, displaying a wide range of patterns and themes during night with colours changing every few seconds will be inaugurated on Wednesday, an official statement said on Sunday.
With the investment of Rs 15.40 crore, the new lighting will be on show from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. all through the year with full capacity prime time lighting from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Installed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), under the Urban Development Ministry, the new dynamic faeade, lighting over an area of 21,450 square metres of the two famed buildings, will have 25 per cent electrial load during 7 to 7.30 p.m. and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. while the load will be 50 per cent during the remainder of the night.
The new lighting will be switched on by senior-most support staff of Home Ministry, Mahipal Singh, on Wednesday at 6.30 am.
The present famed special lighting, which covers an area of 16,750 square metres, on eight select days in a year and a few hour every night faeade lighting of the North and South block buildings, will move from being static to dynamic, said the statement.
"The entire network of new dynamic lighting, using the state of the art RGB LED technology with 40 kms of unified power and data cabling, has central computerized control with automated selection of colour combinations. It also has technology of selection of timing, dimming and switching on and off facility, individual and combined control of light fittings through Ethernet based controller," it said.
It has a multitude of advantages over the present conventional special lighting show on special occasions like Independence Day and the Republic Day and some national festivals and faeade lighting, it said. "The lights and fixtures are more durable, cost effective, energy efficient and environment friendly."
"The annual saving on account of new lighting of 21,450 square metres of faeade area will be Rs 86.40 lakh. The life of the new LED light fittings is over one lakh burning hours, coming to about 25 years as against only 10,000 burning hours for the existing.
"Energy consumption by the present limited conventional lighting using LED, Metal Halide and Sodium Vapour light fittings is Rs 17 lakhs per year, double that of the extended year round new dynamic lighting with an energy consumption of only Rs 8.40 lakhs per year."
The new light fittings are dust, vermin and moisture proof with outdoor weather protection of the highest order (IP-66) with robust design, the statement said.
"The CPWD informed the Ministry that the initial investment of Rs 15.40 crore for the new lighting will be recovered in just six to seven years and thereafter the system becoming virtually free of cost as against the costs being incurred every year now."
Under the present lighting system, 50,000 three watt LED bulbs in strings nailed on the walls of the iconic buildings are being used for special lighting on eight occasions in a year besides 170 lamps of 400 MW or 250 MW Metal Halide and Sodium Vapour for faeade lighting and 72 LED lights for security lighting.
"The new dynamic lighting system with 800 fittings will do away with all of these," it said.