One of Canto USA’s RETRO Series LED retrofit products has been a go-to houselight retrofit option for Artistic Concepts Group, and Fairfax High School is one of those projects. This article revisits the Fairfax installation to review long-term performance of the RETRO Series LED retrofit.
About three years after the installation, we checked in with Andrew Redmon, Field Services Technician for Fairfax County Public Schools, to see how the system was performing.
“The system has performed fantastically since installation. Both the school and I love how much brighter it is, and the whole idea of never needing to do a huge lamp replacement job again.”
The Fairfax High School RETRO Installation
The auditorium originally used 105 500-watt E11 mini candelabra lamps. They were replaced with 105 3000K RETRO-Classic® 500 units with E11 bases and short reflectors, operating on an ETC Sensor3 dimmer rack.
The retrofit reduced each house light from 500 watts to 49 watts, cutting the total load from 52,500 watts to 5,145 watts — a reduction of more than 90%.
The school also reported a 30–40% improvement in perceived room light quality. Prior to the retrofit, older lamps could begin burning out after only two to three months, making it difficult to keep the auditorium fully lit.
Key results from the Fairfax install
- Energy reduction: total house load dropped from 52,500 W to 5,145 W (over 90% reduction).
- Light quality: the school reported a 30–40% improvement in room light quality.
- Maintenance: greatly reduced lamp replacement cycles and related labor compared with the older lamps.
Andrew confirmed the installation continues to meet expectations:
“The RETRO series continues to be a fantastic product. It is a great solution for us because we can go LED, get high-quality dimming, and typically be brighter than before, all without having to replace fixtures, tear up a ceiling, or run new wire. I look forward to continuing to use the RETRO line in the future.”
See the Fairfax High School before-and-after video (recorded with a smartphone; some iris/aperture adjustments may be visible as the house lights dim).
¿Quieres ver una galería deslizante del antes y el después de este trabajo?
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.
Learn more
For guidance on choosing the right RETRO product for your project, see Which RETRO is Right for You?
