Eagan High School in Eagan, Minnesota, used a RETRO-Fusion LED retrofit (RETRO-Fusion® 2.0) to address difficult and potentially dangerous lamp access above the auditorium’s sheetrock ceiling. The team’s goal was to improve light output and dimming reliability while keeping the existing houselights in place and minimizing repeat maintenance.

Working with JTH Lighting Alliance, the school evaluated retrofit options and selected Canto USA’s RETRO-Fusion® 2.0 to replace the lamps already in place.

Planning for a difficult installation

The auditorium posed a planning challenge because the underside of the existing fixtures could not be accessed during the field check. Canto USA worked closely with JTH Lighting Alliance and provided several mock-up samples to confirm the correct base and spacer sizes ahead of the install. In total, the school installed 25 RETRO-Fusion 2.0 units using five different custom-size bases and spacers.

“Canto was very responsive and made the whole process go very easily. The installation itself took less than a couple of hours,” said John Mordal of JTH Lighting Alliance.

Better light output and easier building use

The retrofit delivered more consistent, even light output across the auditorium and the smooth 0–100% dimming the RETRO Series is designed to provide. Improved lighting made the space usable for more activities beyond performances—such as testing and classroom needs—without the frequent lamp changes that previously limited use.

“They absolutely love it. Previously, they couldn’t use the auditorium as a classroom space for testing and such. They will be able to after this,” Mordal said.

By moving to LED retrofit lighting and reducing the need for frequent lamp replacement, Eagan High School also reduced the need for repeated maintenance access above the auditorium ceiling, lowering safety risk and ongoing costs related to lamp changes.

Project highlights

• 25 RETRO-Fusion® 2.0 units installed using five custom base/spacer combinations
• Smooth 0–100% phase dimming compatibility with older SCR/TRIAC/IGBT systems
• Kept existing houselights in place — no full fixture replacement required
• Reduced maintenance access above the ceiling and improved multi-use functionality

See another school project using the RETRO Series: Owen Valley High School RETRO Series LED Retrofit.

RETRO Series LED Retrofit Kits

Technische Datenblätter und mehr anzeigen

Canto USA’s RETRO Series Fully Dimmable LED Retrofit Houselights

Canto USA is proud to present our RETRO series. The RETRO-Fusion^® 2.0 and RETRO-Passive^® 2.0 are 0–100% phase dimmable (forward and reverse) variable wattage LED 2700K–6500K 80–97 CRI engines. They are designed for older SCR, TRIAC, and IGBT dimmer systems but are compatible with newer dimmer systems. As direct replacements for existing lamps, these LED retrofit solutions can be used in a wide range of applications or even new installations. Custom and standard mounting options are available.

Penn’s Grove Middle School in Oxford, Pennsylvania, had an auditorium lighting problem that was hard to ignore: several existing house lights needed repair, leaving dark spots around the room. The school worked with Illuminated Integration to design and install an updated system centered on Canto USA’s RETRO Series. This Penn’s Grove RETRO-Fusion® 500 retrofit replaced lamp elements in-place to move the room to LED while keeping much of the existing house-lighting infrastructure.

Rather than replace every house-light fixture, the project team used RETRO to work with much of the existing system. In total, the installation included 59 RETRO-Fusion® 500 units with mini-candelabra stems throughout the auditorium.

The updated fixtures brought smooth dimming and a warm 3000K color temperature to a room that previously had uneven light levels and worn house lights.

Ted Best, Lead Installation Creative for Illuminated Integration, said the fixtures were easy to install and screwed in like a regular bulb.

“The RETRO fixtures themselves were very easy to install. It took about 2 and 1/2 days to do all of them. They just screwed in like a regular bulb. Seemed to be a very quality fixture.”

House Lighting Upgrade and Stage Control

The auditorium project went beyond the house lights. The team also added ETC Source 4WRD II fixtures and ETC ColorSource PAR fixtures to the stage, then selected an ETC Element 2 lighting console for theatrical color control and its Magic Sheet feature.

For architectural control, an ETC Paradigm system was installed with button stations and touchscreens positioned around the auditorium.

That gave Penn’s Grove Middle School a lighting system that could handle school assemblies, choir concerts, musicals, and other performances with a smoother transition between everyday use and full stage production.

For Penn’s Grove Middle School, the RETRO portion of the project solved a straightforward problem: improving house lighting without replacing every overhead fixture. The 59 RETRO-Fusion® 500 units allowed the school to keep much of the existing setup while eliminating dark spots and moving the room to LED.

If you are planning an auditorium retrofit, learn more about the RETRO Series and view the product details. For a comparable school case study showing an in-place RETRO-Fusion installation, see the RETRO-Fusion LED Retrofit at Eagan High School.

Project highlights

• 59 RETRO-Fusion® 500 units installed with mini-candelabra stems
• Warm 3000K color temperature and smooth dimming for assemblies and performances
• Installation completed without replacing the majority of existing house-light fixtures
• Integration of theatrical (ETC) fixtures and a Paradigm architectural control system for flexible use

The project provided a straightforward solution to uneven house lighting and worn fixtures while keeping the existing infrastructure in place where feasible.

Why RETRO-Fusion is a good fit for auditorium retrofits

• In-place lamp replacement preserves existing housings and hardware when those elements are serviceable.
• 0–100% phase dimmable behavior addresses both older SCR/TRIAC/IGBT dimmers and newer dimmer systems.
• Variable wattage and warm color options provide consistent, audience-friendly house lighting for assemblies and performances.
• Simple installation—teams on this project completed the RETRO-Fusion installs in about 2½ days—reduces downtime for schools and venues.

For product details and mounting options, view the RETRO Series product page.

RETRO Series LED Retrofit Kits

Technische Datenblätter und mehr anzeigen

Canto USA’s RETRO Series Fully Dimmable LED Retrofit Houselights

Canto USA is proud to present our RETRO series. The RETRO-Fusion^® 2.0 and RETRO-Passive^® 2.0 are 0-100% phase dimmable (forward and reverse) variable wattage LED 2700K-6500K 80-97 CRI engines. They are designed for older SCR, TRIAC, and IGBT dimmer systems but are compatible with newer dimmer systems. A direct replacement of existing lamps, our LED retrofit can be used in a wide range of applications or even new installations. Custom and standard mounting options are available.

Related case studies: RETRO-Fusion LED Retrofit at Eagan High School and Township Auditorium RETRO Series Installation.

Township Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina, has been part of the city’s entertainment history since 1930. The historic venue was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 and continues to host concerts, performances, and community events. This RETRO Series installation modernized the auditorium’s house lighting with a Canto USA LED retrofit to restore brighter architectural lighting while preserving much of the existing infrastructure.

Over time, the auditorium’s architectural lighting became noticeably dimmer. To improve the room’s appearance while reducing the maintenance and energy demands of older incandescent lamps, the venue worked with Productions Unlimited, Inc. on an LED retrofit. For product information and the RETRO Series product line updates referenced in this project, see Canto USA’s announcement about updates to the RETRO Series.

Bringing More Light Back Into the Auditorium

According to Ceili Hesselgrave, Senior Project Specialist for Productions Unlimited, the aging house lighting was starting to detract from the appearance of the historic room.

Township Auditorium hosts a variety of events throughout the year, and while their space is a beautiful and historic landmark for the city of Columbia, SC, the degree to which the architectural lighting system had degraded over the years was casting a dark shadow on an otherwise grand space. Upgrading their house lights has brought new life into their space!

Ceili Hesselgrave, Senior Project Specialist, Productions Unlimited

Productions Unlimited recommended the RETRO Series because the existing incandescent lamps could be replaced without requiring a completely new house-light system.

Matching the Lighting to a 100-Foot-Tall Space

One of the biggest challenges was the auditorium itself. Fixture heights vary dramatically throughout the room—from roughly 8 feet above the floor in some areas to nearly 100 feet at the highest points. A single optical configuration would not provide the right coverage everywhere.

After two site visits and testing with Productions Unlimited’s Canto USA demo kit, the team selected different stem heights and reflector combinations for each location.

The final configuration used 2¾-inch stems along with a combination of 15-degree and 70-degree reflectors. The different optics helped the installation team provide appropriate coverage at both the lowest and highest fixture positions.

Three Days to Install the RETRO-Fusion Fixtures

Productions Unlimited used two RETRO-Fusion models throughout the project:

• 112 RETRO-Fusion 700 fixtures
• 37 RETRO-Fusion 300 fixtures

That put 149 RETRO units into the venue, with the installation wrapped up in about three days.

One issue during installation was ensuring the mini-candelabra bases were fully seated in the older sockets. After some testing, the team determined that most units that initially failed to illuminate needed to be tightened further into the socket. A few additional problems were traced to damaged sockets in the existing fixture bodies.

Richland County project records independently confirm that the Township Auditorium lighting project called for Productions Unlimited to retrofit 149 existing can lights with LED lighting. Richland County SC

A Brighter Look Throughout the Historic Venue

Once the project was completed, the difference throughout the auditorium was immediately noticeable.

Hesselgrave said the venue’s management was excited to see the room’s architectural character become more visible again after years of declining light levels.

The wider coverage provided by the new RETRO fixtures also helped improve the overall atmosphere throughout the auditorium.

Wir sind alle sehr zufrieden mit der Leistung der RETRO-Serie von Canto USA im Township Auditorium. Die Atmosphäre des Raums hat sich durch die Leuchten mit größerer Wurfweite deutlich verbessert.

Ceili Hesselgrave, Senior Project Specialist, Productions Unlimited

The project allowed Township Auditorium to modernize its house lighting while continuing to use much of the existing infrastructure—a particularly useful approach for a historic venue where preserving the existing architecture was an important part of the job.

The original RETRO-Fusion models used for this project have since evolved into the current RETRO-Fusion® 2.0 line. Canto USA currently offers both 300 and 700 versions, with the Fusion 2.0 300 operating at a 30-watt load and the Fusion 2.0 700 at 72 watts, along with 0–100% phase dimming and multiple mounting options. For background on the RETRO-Fusion product series, see the RETRO-Fusion introduction post.

RETRO Series LED Retrofit Kits

Canto USA’s RETRO Series Fully Dimmable LED Retrofit Houselights

Canto USA is proud to present our RETRO Series. The RETRO-Fusion^® 2.0 and RETRO-Passive^® 2.0 are 0–100% phase dimmable (forward and reverse) variable wattage LED 2700K–6500K 80–97 CRI engines. They are designed for older SCR, TRIAC, and IGBT dimmer systems but are compatible with newer dimmer systems.

A direct replacement of existing lamps, our LED retrofit can be used in a wide range of applications or even new installations. Custom and standard mounting options are available.

View spec sheets and more.

The Theater of the Arts at the University of the District of Columbia has hosted symphonies, jazz competitions, gospel and concert choirs, and other performances for many years. In late 2019 the university began a planned update of the venue that included modernizing its houselight system with Canto USA’s RETRO Series retrofit.

UDC worked with Theatre Consultants Collaborative, Specified Electric, and Barbizon Lighting Company to coordinate upgrades to the performance lighting, distribution and control systems, cable management, and houselights.

Project overview

The university selected a RETRO Series LED retrofit for the houselights because much of the existing infrastructure—particularly the dimming and the original fixture housings—could remain in place. That approach reduced the need for new fixtures and extensive rigging work in a high-ceiling venue.

Steve Siegmund of Theatre Consultants Collaborative explained: “Canto USA’s RETRO Series was the right product for the job. The existing ceiling was so high that installing new fixtures and running new control just wasn’t practical. We had existing dimming, and the existing fixtures themselves were still in decent shape. So, putting the RETRO in saved the customer money in terms of installation cost and all the complexities that would have gone into a complete fixture retrofit.”

Scope & timeline

The installation was scheduled to minimize venue downtime. The theater was offline for the month of December 2019 and the early part of January 2020 while the houselight retrofit and related work took place. The full project timeline, including houselight retrofit and panel upgrades, spanned about four months; approximately two months of that period were dedicated to electrical work to add wiring and conduit infrastructure.

Organizing the work around existing systems allowed the project team to limit interruptions to the venue’s performance calendar while completing the electrical and control updates needed for the RETRO retrofit.

Installed units

A total of 60 RETRO Series LED houselights were installed as part of this project:

• 24 RETRO-Fusion® 150 units
• 15 RETRO-Fusion® 300 units
• 21 RETRO-Fusion® 500/700 units

The RETRO retrofit allowed UDC to modernize house lighting without replacing fixture housings that were still structurally sound or rebuilding the entire dimming and control infrastructure.

Why the RETRO Series was chosen

The RETRO Series is specifically designed to be a drop-in LED retrofit for existing houselight fixtures and dimming systems. It supports phase dimming and is compatible with a wide range of dimmer technologies, which made it a practical choice for the Theater of the Arts where the existing dimming infrastructure remained in place. Choosing a retrofit kit instead of replacing entire fixtures simplified logistics in a high-visibility, high-ceiling installation and reduced the amount of new rigging and control wiring required.

Because the RETRO product family is offered with different output sizes (the Fusion 150/300/500/700 designations used here), the project team could match output and beam characteristics to the venue’s needs while keeping other systems stable and familiar to house technicians.

For more information on the product line, see the RETRO Series details and spec sheets: RETRO-Fusion® / RETRO-Passive® product page.

Results & benefits

The practical outcomes of the UDC RETRO retrofit included a modern LED houselight system with phased dimming compatibility, minimal venue downtime, and reduced installation complexity. Reusing existing dimming and fixture housings helped limit labor and rigging costs that would otherwise be required for a full fixture replacement. The new LED houselights can also reduce maintenance needs and energy consumption relative to older lamp technologies, supporting a lower total cost of ownership over time.

The approach used at UDC—retrofitting functional fixture housings and preserving existing dimming—represents a practical path for venues that want modern LED performance while limiting disruption and capital outlay.

If you want to review another RETRO Series case study, see how the RETRO Series was used at The Old Globe theatre: Canto USA’s RETRO Series Brings LED Retrofit Energy Savings to The Old Globe Theatre.