A.S. Houtain-Milanello football stadium
Smart sports lighting solution cuts energy costs by over 50%
A.S. Houtain-Milanello football club in Liège plays in the provincial league. With 350 members, the club likes to transmit its passion for football to children from 6 years old and up. The club has 2 football pitches:
- A pitch, which is used for league matches and training during the week and
- B pitch, which is only used for training sessions.
The lighting on the football pitches was provided by floodlights fitted with traditional discharge lamps and was consuming a lot of energy. The club had installed the floodlights in 2015 and was aware that with a lifespan of 9,000 hours, it would need to replace them soon. It is however increasingly difficult to find these types of lamps and the prices have risen sharply. With the price of energy soaring, the club decided to act quickly – it wanted to replace the floodlights to reduce its electricity bill and save money. The managers asked us to propose a new LED sports lighting solution.
Football lighting to meet standards with less energy
In line with the Belgian Football Association (ACFF) lighting requirements, the club needs the following levels on the pitches, with floodlights installed on the existing 20 metre high poles:
- A pitch: 120 lux with the option of dimming the light during training;
- B pitch: 80 lux with only 2 poles and the constraint that it is not possible to add more.
After a photometric study, we proposed the ECOBLAST LED sports floodlight with the Schréder ITERRA control system. A total of 3 ECOBLAST floodlights with 4 modules were installed on the 4 posts on pitch A while 2 ECOBLAST with 6 modules were installed on the 2 posts on pitch B. Thanks to the flexibility and modularity of this high-performing floodlights, the lighting levels could be easily met with the configurations of the football pitches.
Thanks to the BlastFlex™4 photometric engine, the floodlights direct the light to exactly where it is needed, improving uniformity on the pitch with an optimised energy consumption.
Easy installation to save time and money
The modular concept of this LED floodlight minimises the weight, making it easy to handle and facilitating the installation. This was particularly important for AS Houtain-Milanello as the floodlights had to be mounted on the existing poles at a height of 20m.
Energy savings of over 50%
The 12 floodlights (2000W ) installed on pitch A had a consumption of 26 KWh/h. With an hourly cost of €7.80 in November 2021, this represented approximately €47 per day when the players were training. With the floodlights switched on 5 days a week from 5pm to 10pm, the approximate cost was €235 per week.
With the new LED lighting, the club will reduce energy consumption by more than 50%. In addition, as the LED floodlights do not need to be preheated, they will be able to use the lights only when needed, resulting in further savings.
Adapting the light to the real needs of the players
All of the LED floodlights are managed by the Schréder ITERRA control system. This wireless remote control solution allows the club managers to easily adapt the lighting level to the needs of the players on the pitch. The floodlights are programmed to deliver 120 lux on pitch A but the club managers can easily reduce the light levels to 80 lux for training via a switch in the club or the app on their smartphone. They can also turn off the light for half of the pitch if it is not needed.
By adapting the light levels to what is actually needed, the club will further reduce its energy consumption and consequently its electricity bill.
The club managers and the players more than satisfied with the new lighting for the football pitches. They benefit from a flexible, uniform and shadow-free lighting that is significantly reducing the football club’s energy bill.