Tag Archives: Lights

Would LEDs Have Kept Us In The Light At The Super Bowl?

Posted on by
1

Super Bowl Lights OutFor Baltimore Raven’s fans, today is the best day ever winning the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers 34 to 31. However, it could have easily gone the other way with help from what is now called the ‘Superdome Blackout.’

During the third quarter for more than a half-hour, the lights went out in New Orleans for what is yet another Super Bowl malfunction. For 34 minutes, officials were trying to figure out what exactly went wrong.  Why did the power go out and yet some of the lights were on for half of the stadium? Even the CBS audio for Jim Nantz and Phil Simms went down. Rumors are endless on the Internet from the 49ers causing the outage to disrupt the Raven’s lead to a possible cyber terrorist attack on the power grid.  Even going as far as saying the power was handled by a Venezuelan company called Corpoelec and they deliberately caused the outage. Others just state that Beyonce’s halftime performance was too ‘electrifying.’

Super Bowl LightsOther reports say that the stress on the New Orleans power-grid was just to demanding and simply went out, causing yet another strike against the city still struggling to regain its infamous name since hurricane Katrina. Auxiliary power kept the playing field from going total dark but escalators, credit-card machines and all the concourses were only lit by emergency lighting. Even halftime host James Brown said a ‘power surge caused the outage.’

FBI officials have since ruled out terrorism and New Orleans fire department dismissed any reports that a fire caused the outage so the question remains. Some reports go on to say that a piece of equipment from Entergy New Orleans, the city’s power company, sensed an abnormality in the system and shut itself down as a safeguard. So for now the speculation remains.

So if the power supply required was to great at the Superdome then it lends to ask why did they not use a more energy-efficient light source like LED lighting? Most stadiums currently use 1000-watt metal halide Sportslighters to light their field. LED lighting manufacturers are currently testing fixtures that will lower the wattage to around 250-watts, savings 750-watts per fixture. In addition, the LED Sportslighters are instant-on, thus no longer requiring the warm-up time of 15 minutes that is associated with the Sportslighters of today.

Let’s hope that next year the Super Bowl will make a statement and move towards LED lighting and keep us in the light instead of the dark.

For more information on LED lighting, visit the LED lighting Experts™ at LED Source.

Related articles

LED Lighting Improves Parking Garage Safety

Posted on by
4

HID Parking GarageParking garages equipped with LED lighting play a big role in the safety of our vehicle and person. The other day when I was parking my vehicle, the garage was dark and I asked myself “Do I feel safe and will my vehicle be safe?”

Garages with well-illuminated areas help to deter crime. However, dark areas, commonly associated with inefficient fluorescent or High Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting, can signal a safety issue and prevent a motorist from selecting that garage.  Using LED lighting in a parking garage will not only help in providing a sense of safety, but will also lower operating costs.

LED Lighting Parking GarageWith the technological advances made in solid state LED lighting technology, retrofitting an existing fixture is easy. It is also one of the fastest ways to increase the bottom line and improve safety by eliminating premature outages and dark areas. A great example would be the C2D LED fixture by Lighting Science. It has no ballast, thus eliminating the buzzing sound commonly heard in HID fixtures, and has a life span of 85,000 hours, which means no relamping. The C2D uses up to 66% less energy than a metal halide fixture and provides a better illumination.

With LED lighting, property owners and managers can immediately lower their energy consumption and maintenance costs, while improving safety for patrons and vehicles.

FIU LED Lighting Parking GarageThe next time you have to park at a parking garage, remember to look for the one using LED lighting. The walk back to your car won’t be so scary.

For more information on retrofitting a parking garage, contact the LED lighting experts at LED Source®.

LED Lighting Continues Adoption in the New Year

Posted on by
Reply

The end of 2010 proved to be a pinnacle year in LED lighting, where more electrical end users began to understand the full benefits of converting to LEDs. In fact, many large companies such as Macy’s and Starbucks received a lighting makeover while others began to make plans for the New Year. Companies are beginning to commit and prioritize their budgets to convert to LED. This will allow these companies to take every advantage of the savings involved all year-long.

There is no other lighting source that compares to the savings experienced with a LED retrofit. The benefits are quickly being made aware with an extremely long lamp life, which generally lasts 50,000 to 70,000 hours or longer. Much improved color rendering and options such as instant startup and better lighting control, including the ability to dim, are adding to the continued adoption towards LED lighting. Heat generation is greatly reduced with the use of LEDs. This is creating cooling savings as well as insect clouded lens reduction. More often, we’re seeing LED products included in the Energy Star list, creating broader rebate opportunities and a facility engineer’s favorite benefit: minimal to zero maintenance for the life of the lamp. Imagine not replacing a 25-foot high lamp every year or sometimes twice a year. Think of the maintenance cost savings!

Another advantage of LED lighting has to do with the reduction of hazardous waste. First, LED lighting has no Mercury and most LED products have lead-free solder in their circuit boards. They are environmentally friendly so no EPA stringent rules or extra costs are required for lamp disposal.  Let’s not forget to mention that the longer life means less waste in our landfills.

We are seeing more products to fit almost every application and prices are stabilizing, making it more affordable for our average user.  Consumers are experiencing payback within two years in most cases. LED is the new wave in energy conservation and it will dominate the energy market in the New Year and for many more to come.