Under the hand rails yellow/green neon tubes were originally installed, running the entire length to match the color scheme of the rest of the hotel. Over time, the neon deteriorated and faded significantly, and the high cost of repairs made it difficult to keep it looking good. The Hudson Hotel reached out to Barbizon's NYC offices just a couple blocks away for help with improving their main entrance and updating their escalator lighting.
After assessing the situation and looking at the options, a great solution was City Theatrical's QolorFlex NuNeon, an LED product that resembles neon tube, could be a solution for this project.
NuNeon can be cut to length on site, bent easily, and unlike neon, can be controlled to produce any color. And unlike fragile glass neon tubes, NuNeon is unbreakable. NuNeon also produces a complete straight line the entire length of the escalators instead of being broken up by power inputs for the neon tubes.
The NuNeon was installed into an aluminum extrusion in the hand rail. This was done with Velcro to
accommodate the curvature of the hand rail and the lack of material to screw the extrusion to.
City Theatrical supplied D3 Dimmers to control the NuNeon on this installation. The D3 Dimmer has a built in user interface that allows level settings to be made without the need of a lighting controller.
The D3’s were installed in a control room and the wiring was run to each individual leg of the NuNeon on the escalator. Power was then run to the top of the escalator to power one half of the strip and the other end was powered from below. This allowed the two sections to meet exactly in the middle without a gap.
After all four runs were installed the NuNeon was adjusted to the chosen color using the level set
feature on the D3’s user interface. After one D3 was set the other three were matched in settings to
duplicate the color set on the first one.
The Hudson Hotel replaced an old and fragile lighting technology at their main entrance and reduced
power consumption and maintenance costs, while producing a great new visual experience for guests arriving at the hotel.
If you'd like a proposal to update your existing system or would like to add a NuNeon highlight to your space contact your local Barbizon office today.
