PAR lights

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PAR-30 spotlight with frost film in front and floor stand

A par cans ( English parabolic aluminized reflector ), and Par Can ( English PAR-can ), is in the event technology frequently used headlights .

A distinction is made between the original long form ( longnose ) and a short form ( shortnose ).

The diameter of the standardized housing - or the circular light exit surface - is noted in eighths of an inch . Commonly used are PAR 16, 20, 30, 36, 38, 56 and 64. The most common manifestations are the PAR 64 long nose and PAR 56 short nose for area illumination and PAR 36 as a point source ( pinspot ).

history

The PAR spotlights formerly known as "Punchlight" were created in the USA in the late 1950s. The American manufacturer Altman was probably the first to produce these headlights in large numbers. Up until the 1970s, only heavy steel was used for the housings, which were still laboriously manufactured with internal cooling plates. From 1978 onwards, the housings were made from a round piece of lightweight aluminum sheet without cooling plates.

Later the design was further perfected. Nowadays you can find spotlights with integrated splinter protection, snap locks for holding the filter frame or other attachable elements (such as barndoors, i.e. anti-glare blades)

technology

PAR lights
Multi-colored LED floodlights, digital multiplex (DMX), similar to PAR

The lamp , which can be rotated in the longitudinal axis, is located under the cap at the rear end in order to be able to align the asymmetrical opening angle in some lamps . On the front there are usually brackets for colored discs and door panels .

Bulbs

The usual lamps for PAR 64 are sealed beam lamps (integrated reflector) with the LIF code CP / 60 (cp / 60) to 62 with 1  kW each , and CP / 86 to 88 with 500 W power. There are also so-called ray light reflectors, which allow the use of cheaper, reflectorless burners (GX 9.5 / GY 9.5). However, these produce a more uneven light and the lack of glass puts more strain on the color filters.

Further, landing lights -Lighting (28 volts) is available, which, in series are connected to groups of eight pieces (8 × 28 V) used, to produce a "finger" effect (shadow). In the industry, these groups of eight are called ACL (air-craft-landing = landing lights). The lamps are usually available in sizes for PAR 30, PAR 56 or PAR 64 and have a nominal output of 250 W or 650 W.

Small PAR-36 lamps have a halogen bulb with 6 volts / 30 watts, integrated in a paraboloid reflector made of sheet metal and / or pressed glass. They are also available in color and serve as a light accent or the illumination of mirror balls . A suitable transformer is usually integrated.

LED technology

Since 2006, PAR lights have been available in different sizes with LEDs and are increasingly replacing conventional light sources. The LED PARs can be individually regulated in terms of light color and light intensity via digital multiplex (DMX). Usually they also have a strobe effect or pre-installed color macros. With the introduction of more powerful LEDs with a strength of 1 to 3 watts and the so-called “tri-LEDs”, the difference is no longer that great. With the addition of additional LEDs, cold white LEDs (approx. 5600 K), warm white LEDs (approx. 3200 K) or yellow LEDs (amber), the LED lamps are also suitable for conventional lighting of stages. Especially with colored light, the lighting effect of headlights is achieved with obsolete incandescent lamps with an electrical output of up to 1 kW.

Significant advantages are the significantly lower power consumption, the lower self-heating, the longevity and the flatter design made possible by LED panels. In addition, the light in the LED PARs is generated from the basic colors red, green and blue (often supplemented by other colors or white), so that a headlight can display many colors. The brightness control is carried out by means of a pulse width modulator, which is usually built into the device and controlled via DMX signal. The latest generation of LEDs is so small that it sits in a reflector again (COB, chip-on-board technology ) and can hardly be distinguished from previous light sources. The disadvantage of LEDs - especially in cheap LED PAR spotlights from the semi-professional environment - is their often poor color rendering .

Dimensions of bulbs

Designation
(with Ø in eighths) 		Ø
[inch] 		Length *
[inch] 		Ø
[mm] 		Length
[mm] 		annotation
PAR 16 2 3 1 ⁄ 100  50.8 81.3
PAR 20 2 ½ 3 ⅜ 63.5 85.7
PAR 30S 3 ¾ 3 ⅝ 95.2 92.1 short nose
PAR 30L 3 ¾ 4 ½ 95.2 114.3 long nose
PAR 36 4 ½ 2 ¾ 114.3 69.8
PAR 38 4 ¾ 5 5 ⁄ 16  120.6 134.9 often in EU *
PAR 56 7th 5 177.8 127.0
PAR 64 8th 6th 203.2 152.4

* Pressed glass lamps in the spot or flood version, with 230 V tungsten double helix with 100 or 150 W power, E27 screw base, splash-proof reflector glass in sockets with silicone lip seals, found widespread use in shops, apartments and gardens , at least in DA-CH . Replaced by a slightly more efficient 80 W halogen version with 680 lm since around 2015 .

Beam angle

Bulbs with different beam angles are offered:

Spot

  • VNSP (Very Narrow Spot) → approx. <10 °
  • NSP (Narrow Spot) → approx. 10 °
  • WSP (Wide Spot) → approx. 16 °

Flood

  • MFL (Medium Flood) → approx. 25 °
  • WFL (Wide Flood) → approx. 40 °
  • VWFL (Very Wide Flood) → approx.> 40 °

application

In event technology, PAR lights are usually suspended from so-called 4 or 6 bars , with the cable routing often being integrated into the bar . This corresponds to the usual six division of the channel strips on lighting consoles . In the area of ​​club lighting (discotheque), light bars with 4 circuits are also offered, as classic club lighting is designed for 4-channel light mixing (light organ). Another type of application are so-called floor spots or floor mounts , in which the spotlight is mounted on a base plate or provided with two brackets for setting up.

For general lighting purposes, PAR 16, PAR 30 and PAR 38 lamps are mainly offered for direct operation in normal household electricity networks. With conventional incandescent lamp technology , radiation angles of approx. 12 ° (“spot”) and approx. 30 ° (“flood”) are customary, with energy-saving lamp technology or with LEDs, the radiation angles are often close to 100 °. LEDs now also reach angles of up to 20 °.

equipment

In order to display the light in various colors, there are special color filter foils that can be attached in front of the headlight using a bracket. To secure the spotlights and accessories, as is generally mandatory in stage and event technology, safety ropes in the form of steel cables are used that can be attached to the spotlights (see DGUV regulation 17 § 7).

literature

  • Michael Ebner: Lighting technology for stage and disco. A handbook for practitioners. Elektor-Verlag, Aachen 2001, ISBN 3-89576-108-7 .
  • Michael Ebner: Lighting technology for stage and disco. A handbook for do-it-yourselfers. Elektor-Verlag, Aachen 1992, ISBN 3-928051-12-1 (6th edition, ibid 1996).
  • Wilhelm Gerster: Modern lighting systems for indoors and outdoors. The practical reference work for do-it-yourselfers. Compact, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-8174-2395-0 .
  • Tobias Pehle: Light effects for parties in the house and garden. Falken, Niedernhausen 1997, ISBN 3-8068-1798-7 .

Web links

Commons : PAR lights  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ PAR-38 halogen light-effect lamps conrad.at, accessed February 19, 2020.