The lighting project of Brooklyn Bridge in New York uses 24V RGBW LED system, with a total length of 2.3 kilometers. It took 14 months to complete and has been running stably for 5 years. The project customized the installation plan for different structures of the bridge (main cable, suspension cable, bridge tower): the main cable uses embedded aluminum alloy rails to lay high-density light strips (60LEDs/m), the suspension cable uses spiral winding installation, and the bridge tower combines contour outlining and projection lighting. The entire bridge is divided into 8 power supply areas and equipped with an intelligent control system to achieve 2 million colors. It has passed strict wind load, salt spray and waterproof tests (IP68) to ensure stable operation in extreme environments. The project won the IALD Excellence Award and became a model of urban lighting.
Project Overview and Technical Parameters
Project Name: Brooklyn Bridge Art Lighting Renovation Project
Implementation Time: March 2018-May 2019
Total Length: 2.3 km (including the main bridge and approach bridge)
Lighting System: 24V RGBW High-Density LED Ribbon Light
Control Method: DMX512+Art-Net Network Protocol
Total Power: 185kW (including backup system)
Panoramic View of Brooklyn Bridge Night Lighting Effect
Lighting Selection and Technical Details
Core Material Specifications
Parameters Specification Requirements Selected Brands
LED Chip CRI>90, 3000K-6500K Adjustable Cree XLamp XQ-E
Waterproof Level IP68 (3 meters underwater certification) Philips Color Kinetics
Protective Material Aerospace Grade Silicone Dow Corning 7091
Fixed System 316L Stainless Steel Customized Clamp Essentra Components
Segmented technical solution
Main cable system (total length 1.6 km)
Lamp model: CK FlexLine RGBW Ribbon Lights
Density: 60LEDs/m
Installation method: embedded aluminum alloy rail
Special treatment: UV protection coating
Suspension cable system (total length 3.2 km double cable)
Lamp model: OSRAM Flex LED Strip
Density: 30LEDs/m
Installation method: spiral winding + stainless steel cable tie
Seismic design: ±15cm swing allowed
Pylon lighting (4 Gothic bridge towers)
Lamp model: Philips eW Blast Powercore
Installation method: Outline + projection lighting
Control area: 16 independent control areas per tower
Professional installation process breakdown
Phase 1: Cable system installation
Surface treatment (took 6 weeks)
High-pressure water gun cleaning (3500psi)
Sandblasting of rusted parts
Anti-corrosion primer
Guide rail pre-installation (patented technology)
Customized curved aluminum alloy guide rail
Expansion buffer joints set every 2 meters
Using 3M VHB F9473PC tape fixation
Light strip laying
Segmented construction (one working section every 50 meters)
Use special laying device
Connection point is set at the maintenance platform
Cable installation details
Phase 2: Bridge tower lighting construction
Structural mapping (3D laser scanning)
Establish millimeter-level digital model
Customized installation bracket
Lamp positioning
Hidden wiring at stone joints
Inspection port is set at each eaves
Adopt magnetic suction quick disassembly design
Bird prevention measures
Install ultrasonic bird repellent
Install protective nets at key locations
Electrical system design
Power supply network topology
Partitioned power supply: The whole bridge is divided into 8 power supply areas
Redundant design: N+1 power backup
Power distribution specifications:
Main cable: 16mm² flame-retardant cable
Branch circuit: 6mm² waterproof cable
Overload protection is set every 50 meters
Control system architecture
Main control equipment:
2 High End Systems Hog4 console
Hot backup automatic switching
Network system:
Fiber optic backbone network
38 DMX nodes
5ms synchronization accuracy
Monitoring system:
Real-time current monitoring
Temperature sensor network
Automatic alarm system
Test and acceptance standards
Phase test items
Mechanical performance test:
Simulated 50-year wind load vibration test
Salt spray test (500 hours)
Plug and unplug endurance test (10,000 times)
Electrical safety test:
Insulation resistance ≥100MΩ
Withstand voltage test: 3000V/1min
Leakage current <0.5mA
Optical Capability test:
Color temperature deviation <3%
Brightness uniformity >90%
10,000 hours light decay <5%
Special environment test
Extreme temperature test:
-30℃ cold start test
+50℃ continuous working test
Waterproof verification:
Simulated rainstorm test (100mm/h)
Water pressure test (3 meters water depth)
Operation and maintenance system
Intelligent maintenance system
Predictive maintenance:
Life prediction based on AI
Automatically generate maintenance work orders
Quick response mechanism:
15 minutes fault location
4 hours emergency response
Smart spare parts inventory management
Five years of operation data
Indicators Data
Availability 99.98%
Maximum single maintenance time 2.3 hours
Annual energy consumption 287,000kWh
Color consistency maintained ΔE<1.5
Engineering effects and industry impact
Artistic performance results
Dynamic effects library:
12 sets of basic scene programs
Holiday special effects mode
Real-time weather linkage mode
Color science application:
Using Munsell color system
Achieve 2 million color performances
Industry awards
2020 IALD Excellence Award
2019 LFI Technology Innovation Award
2021 ENR Global Best Project
Technical reference materials
Complete engineering documentary
Technical white paper download
Real-time lighting control system demonstration