OSRAM Opto Semiconductors imitates the natural lighting environment of the sea at the Israel Aquarium

Israel -- 15/03/2018

The Israel Aquarium is the first public aquarium in Israel and therefore a major attraction. It is also a conservation center to educate and raise awareness of the challenges facing Israel’s many and diverse aquatic habitats with emphasis on the seas of Israel. The aim is to make the wonder of the sea accessible to the general public and show the simple measures that need to be taken to protect this unique environment. At the Israel Aquarium visitors can dive into a wondrous world. The 6000 square meter building holds around 30 large aquariums with sharks, barracudas, cownose rays and lots more.

The challenge was to light each aquarium with the right spectrum and spread of light which is needed to simulate the natural lighting environment of the specific species. The natural habitat of sharks for example is deep water. To mimic their natural environment the lighting for the 400,000 gallon shark tank (more than 1.5 million liters) had to have a color temperature of 20,000 and 14,000 kelvin. To highlight the phosphorescent colors of the fish from the Red Sea, color temperatures of 10,000 K and 16,000 K were needed.

“To meet all the requirements we chose a unique combination of different types of high-power LEDs that allowed us to reach the high color temperature and still maintain the wide spectrum and vivid colors needed in large aquarium tanks. Each tank is different from the rest in terms of size and shape, and we were able to provide tailored optic solutions by using a LEDIL optic system. We also designed a barndoor accessory to help reduce glare on the front of the water tanks.”,said ORSENSO’s co-founder and CTO, Yaron Ronen.

“Because of the short time we had to complete the project we were worried we might see separation of colors in the water, but the outcome was absolutely gorgeous. The uniformity and the spread of light are above and beyond what OSRAM Opto Semiconductors promised us,” said Ofer Keshet, co-founder and CEO of ORSENSO. “Not only does the new LED lighting imitate the natural habitat of the sea creatures almost perfectly, but we are also saving on costs.”

OSRAM Opto Semiconductors provided core components for the LED lighting at the Israel Aquarium, specifically in applications such as aquarium lighting, harsh environment lighting and area lighting. In view of the highly varied and in some cases highly specialized requirements that the lighting had to meet, OSRAM’s OSLON SSL and OSLON Square were selected for their special features. OSLON SSL has an emission angle of 80°, a compact footprint of 3 mm x 3 mm and very low thermal resistance. OSLON Square has the same footprint as the OSLON SSL and offers superior robustness, high reliability and long lifetime. A total of 620 of OSLON SSL LEDs in deep blue (450 nm) and blue (470 nm) and a total of 4,700 OSLON Square LEDs with 3000 K and 6000 K were installed.

The illumination for the Israel Aquarium was a collaborative effort by different companies. ORENSO, the lighting manufacturer, conducted comprehensive research and testing which led to the design of a solution that was approved by the customer. The solution was based on a custom-made series called MARLIN that ORSENSO created especially for the Israel Aquarium. OSRENSO chose Lightwheel, a “LED Light for you” partner, to provide the customized LED modules, PCB design and layout for the MARLIN series. Cooperation was a great success and showed once again the importance of the partner network, providing tailor-made solutions with a fast turnround.

This project was realized with LLFY, the network that brings together customers and LED lighting solution partners from all over the world. The network has a broad spectrum of expertise to provide optimum support for any LED lighting project.