July 2017 - Parks & Recreation - 66

Operations

The Lowdown on LED Sports Lighting
By Mike Lorenz

ED sports lighting is all the rage as more than one-third of all pro teams in
the big four sports (MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL) have replaced the antiquated metal halide lighting systems at their stadiums and arenas with a controllable and energy-efficient LED lighting solution. Players benefit from the
enhanced lighting, fans enjoy the entertaining light shows and the facility operations
staff revel in the unmatched controllability and near-elimination of all maintenance.
Once the technology was proven, it became easier for professional sports venue operators to make the switch to LED
lighting. But, for facility operators at local parks and municipal fields, the decision to make the switch is not as simple.
There are more questions than answers,
and for most facilities, it just doesn't
seem practical to install the same lighting
fixtures that lit the Super Bowl for their
Pop Warner football games.
LED lighting manufacturers understood these concerns and after several
years of research, developed new products specifically to meet the needs of the
municipal field market. Features, like
color-temperature tuning to be optimized
around multiple sports or picture clarity

on HD TV broadcasts, that were important to professional teams were unnecessary for municipal fields. Following are
the five most common questions LED
manufacturers hear from municipalities
trying to understand how LED lighting
can work for them:
Is it true that the energy savings will
essentially pay for the system?
Although it is true that an LED lighting solution costs more than a legacy
system, with the combination of energy
savings and especially the elimination of
maintenance costs - depending upon
usage and local energy costs - most municipalities should see a return-on-investment in under 10 years. You should also

be aware that many power companies,
state agencies and municipalities offer
clean energy incentives when switching
to LED that can further reduce costs.
I'm hesitant to remove my current
lights and poles. Is that required?
We agree that this is an unnecessary
step and one that we understand. We
offer LED retrofit solutions that can be
mounted on your existing infrastructure.
You'll save tremendously on the installation costs and you won't need to shut
your field down for weeks while the old
poles are removed and the new poles are
installed. Additionally, there are systems
that are controlled wirelessly, so whether
it's a retrofit or new installation, you'll
also save on control wiring.
Light pollution is a big concern as my
fields are in a residential neighborhood - what about that?
If you already have lights on your field,
your neighbors will be thrilled if you
switch to an LED system, as the leading
LED lighting solutions deliver uniform
light on the field much more efficiently
than metal halide and significantly reduce unwanted light spill and sky glow.
For every 5 foot candles of light spillage
from a typical metal halide system, you
can expect one-half foot candles from
most LED fixtures. If you don't yet
have lights because of petitions from the
neighbors, the reduced light spill and the
ability to program the lights on customized schedules - which could serve as
security lights - might help get the installation approved.
Is it true that I can control the lights
from my mobile phone?
There are a variety of control systems

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July 2017 - Parks & Recreation

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