Lighting technology is shiting towards energy efficiency bandwagon.
Gymnasiums also want to keep up with the change and comply with the new energy efficiency standards.
One of the quotable and latest examples comes from Seymour High School, Indiana.
About Seymour High School
Seymour High School is a school in Indiana, which plans to light up one of the biggest high school gymnasiums in the world.
The Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium sits around 8,228 people was opened in 1970, and since then, it relies on the conventional metal halides for their lighting needs.
Why LEDs?
According to Dave Stark, director of facilities and grounds for Seymour Community School Corp, these fixtures were the most popular and used systems for many years. Gymnasiums, airplane hangars, and warehouses- everyone used it.
He also admitted that metal halides still work fine, but as a social obligation, they have to revamp the system to LED lighting, and;
- With LEDs, it is now possible to light up the whole area with far more efficiently and cost-effectively.
- The current lighting system dissipates heat, plus offers no dimmable features like LED lights.
- LEDs give the flexibility to adjust the brightness and improve crowd security.
- With LEDs, different lighting needs can be served for different gym and sports events. Take, for example, regional and semistate basketball games, which require illumination on the floor but not much on the upper level.
Metal halides take few minutes to warm up and finally start glowing. LEDs glow instantaneously.
“The savings, electric-wise, is tremendous,” Stark said. “There also appears to be rebates available through Duke (Energy) that we will apply for.”
LEDs being “long-lasting” is just common a notion like any other these days. LEDs have a far longer life span than metal halides. Such a long-life also reduces the need for maintenance, further reducing operational costs.
“The good news is we still have the old cable system where we can lower our light fixtures, so we wouldn’t have to use a lift to do that work,” Stark said.
The new project will cost between $80,000 to $150,000, but the school will save a lot of money in the long term.
The interview originally appeared in the tribtown.com on 16/02/2020.