The old lighting system at the football pitch in the Tyrolean market town of Zirl, Austria, has been replaced by SmartArena LED floodlights. This best-practice example of environmentally friendly lighting also creates ideal conditions for the athletes.
The average horizontal illuminance on the main pitch in Zirl is 200 lux. The colour temperature of the new LED system is warm white (3000 Kelvin), the fixtures are at a height of 18 metres.
The lighting solution offers maximum uniformity with minimum stray light immission. In addition, the lighting quality meets all international standards for any type of TV transmission up to ultra-slow motion in 8K.
Before and after the retrofit, the installation was photometrically measured. Luminance images illustrate the significant reduction in light immission at the edge of the forest, which is around 14 metres from the edge of the pitch. The old system artificially illuminated the edge of the forest with 40 to 50 lux. After the installation of the new system, measurements show an average illuminance of 4 to 5 lux. Thus, the illuminance values in the area of the adjacent forest were reduced by 90 %.
The Environmental Office Tyrol cites the conversion as a “best practice” example: https://hellenot.org/gute-beleuchtung/best-practice/#c2064
David Grißmann, Zirl Municipal Office, explains: “We like the uniform illumination that we now have thanks to the new system, the energy savings and the fact that all the specifications of the Environmental Office and environmental protection could be met. In terms of handling, a lot has changed. The old types needed a warm-up time, the new ones are ready for use immediately. This is helpful, when you have switched the unit off and need it again. Mosquito swarms have decreased by a good 95 %. Light pollution has been reduced immensely; the difference is 90 %. Light pollution is less well-known than CO2 issues are, but awareness is growing.”
Ing. Erich Kurz, Visium3, on the subject of planning and installation: “We looked at the whole system in terms of energy savings. There was a call for tenders and we also consulted experts. The Environmental Office stipulated that shading should end as close as possible to the outside of the playing line. SmartArena won our tender because this manufacturer’s product works best. From my point of view, it is important to involve the clubs in the planning, to talk to the club members, so that expectations regarding the new LED floodlight system can be met.”
Location: Sportplatz Zirl
Planning: Visium 3 GmbH, www.visium3.com
Implementation: SP-TEC GmbH
Photometric measurements: Bartenbach GmbH, www.bartenbach.com
Analysis: Analysis of measurements.pdf
Equipment employed: SmartArena LED Fluter
Photos: Tobias Heckenbichler, www.to-be.media
SmartArena international sales and support: Preworks GmbH, www.preworks.at
