Falls Church High School in Northern Virginia has an active performing arts program that includes theatre, band, orchestra, choir, guitar, and music theory. With the auditorium regularly supporting school performances and community events, improving the houselighting could make a noticeable difference without requiring a complete redesign of the room.
For this auditorium lighting retrofit, Canto USA’s RETRO Series was used to improve brightness, coverage, and energy efficiency while keeping the school’s existing lighting positions and dimming infrastructure in place.
Updating an Older School Auditorium
Built in the 1960s, the Falls Church High School auditorium had been operating with 38 200-watt long-neck A lamps.
Rather than replacing the existing fixtures or changing their locations, the project focused on upgrading the light source inside the existing system. All 38 original lamps were replaced with 3000K RETRO-Classic® 500 units without reflectors and fitted with lamp extenders.
The RETRO-Classic® 500 was an earlier generation of Canto USA’s RETRO product family. The current RETRO Series LED retrofit kits continue the same basic approach of upgrading existing fixtures while preserving as much of the original installation as possible.
Working With the Existing ETC Dimming System
The auditorium uses an ETC Sensor3 dimmer rack with standard D20 modules.
The RETRO units were able to work with the existing dimming system, so the school did not have to relocate fixtures or make major mechanical changes to the auditorium’s lighting positions.
That was especially useful for a space that was already in regular use. The goal was to improve what the school had rather than turn the project into a larger renovation.
– The auditorium became 200% brighter according to the installed-lighting measurements provided by the installer
– Lighting distribution evened out to better cover walls and seating areas
More Light With Less Power
After the retrofit, the school reported several noticeable improvements:
- Power use decreased by approximately 75%
- Room intensity increased by 200%
- Light distribution became more even across the auditorium
- Walls and seating areas received better coverage
- Existing lighting positions and dimming equipment remained in use
Michael Wysolmerski of Artistic Concepts Group (ACG), the dealer for the installation, explained:
“The client was really interested in improving the overall coverage in the room. Because the RETRO was able to have adjustable optics, we were able to change coverage in the auditorium without having to make modifications to any of the existing lighting positions.”
That flexibility allowed the installer to improve how the room was lit without moving the existing houselights.
A Brighter Auditorium Without Rebuilding the System
Teachers and administrators immediately noticed the difference after the new lighting was installed. The auditorium was considerably brighter, and the improved distribution made the room more useful for performances, events, and everyday activities.
Dwain McMillan, Lead Sound Support and Lighting Tech for Fairfax County Public Schools, described the finished project simply:
“The best solution by far; money well spent.”
For a heavily used school auditorium, the project showed how an LED retrofit could improve the room without requiring the school to replace the complete lighting system.
See the Falls Church High School Before and After
Want a closer look at the installation?
View the Falls Church High School before-and-after project.
The project page shows the original 200-watt lamps alongside the 3000K RETRO-Classic® 500 installation with lamp extenders.
Why RETRO Works for Auditorium Lighting Retrofits
Auditorium houselights can be difficult and expensive to replace when the existing fixture locations, wiring, and dimming system are still usable.
Canto USA’s RETRO approach is built around upgrading the light source while making use of existing infrastructure where the application allows. Depending on the fixture and project, different bases, extensions, reflectors, and other options can be used to fit the existing installation.
At Falls Church High School, that flexibility helped improve light output and coverage without moving the existing fixtures.
Want to view a before and after gallery slider of this job? Click Here
Why RETRO works for auditoriums
The RETRO series is designed to retrofit existing theatrical and auditorium fixtures while maintaining or improving dimmer compatibility and lighting coverage. In this project, the adjustable optics of the RETRO-Classic units let the installer improve wall and seating illumination without moving existing fixtures. For readers interested in more technical details on the RETRO-Classic® 500, see our related case study and product information: Revitalize Your Space with RETRO-Fusion® 2.0 500.
Project credits
Dealer: Artistic Concepts Group (ACG)
Project location: Falls Church High School, Northern Virginia
RETRO-Fusion® 2.0
Want to learn more about the RETRO-Fusion 2.0? Click Here
RETRO-Passive® 2.0
Want to learn more about the RETRO-Passive 2.0? Click Here
