When the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks took the field for Super Bowl XLIX in 2014, it marked the first time that the event’s field was illuminated with LED lights. This landmark occasion represented a key play in the NFL’s opening drive to adopt LED lighting.
While the league still has a long way to go to achieve widespread adoption of solid-state lighting (SSL), LED lamps are getting into the game because of various factors including their superior efficiency and lifetime compared to conventional metal halide lamps.
The 2015 Super Bowl was held at the University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL’s Cardinals. The field was lit by LED fixtures from Ephesus Lighting, Inc. In 2014, the company announced it had replaced more than 780 old metal halide bulbs at the stadium with 312 new LED fixtures.
NFL LED Lights
While Super Bowl XLIX was the highest-profile LED lighting announcement in the NFL, other team facilities have made news with their own LED lighting systems.
Musco Sports Lighting LLC last year announced it had installed 480 LED fixtures to light the field at the Houston Texans’ NRG Stadium. The company described the LEDs as being optically enhanced and high efficiency.
Ephesus in January announced it would provide LED lighting for the new U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings since 2016. The use of LEDs is expected to cut electricity usage at the stadium by 75 percent compared to metal halide lamps, according to Ephesus.
The recently constructed San Francisco 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium uses LED bulbs for 40 percent for its general lighting needs, which include providing light to enclosed portions of the facility. However, the stadium cancelled plans to illuminate the field itself with LED floodlights, instead opting for conventional metal halide lamps.
Benefits of LED Lighting
The most obvious benefit of LED lights is improved energy efficiency. The total energy savings for field lighting at NRG Stadium was estimated at 60 percent, while the U.S. Bank system is expected to consume 75 percent less electricity compared to metal halide lights.
The longer lifetime of LEDs is also a major attraction, given the difficulty of replacing lights installed in high locations. Ephesus said its LEDs last 35 to 50 times longer than incandescent lighting. NRG Stadium announced that the use of LEDs will result in the virtual elimination of maintenance.
The LEDs also provide improved lighting for live and television viewing. Ephesus noted that focused beams of LED light can illuminate a field in a more uniform fashion. This reduces glare and unwanted shadows, giving viewers a better view of the action. And LED lights don’t flicker the way that conventional lamps sometimes do, cutting down on distracting flashes that can be visible during slow-motion replays.
Also, with conventional lighting, television cameras are required to keep apertures open all the way to provide enough light. However, with LED lighting, the aperture size can be reduced, increasing the focal plane and providing more detail and depth of field, according to Ephesus.
The Future of LED Lighting
While the installation of LED field lights in these stadiums represents a promising start for the NFL, there remain many venues that still employ conventional lighting, leaving plenty of room for growth in LEDs in the future.