LED Stadium growing lights by Rhenac are taking the stadium management industry by storm. The German company is the first producer of LED stadium growing lights that has managed to align the technological advantages of LED technology with the essential requirements for proper grass growth.
German horticulture specialist Rhenac GreenTec identified LED technology in an early stage already as an energy-saving alternative for conventional sodium vapour luminaires. LED technology is known for consuming only a fraction of the energy conventional sodium vapour luminaires require when attributing to the growth of natural products like vegetables and grasses. The technology has, however, an additional advantage, Carsten Wenske of Rhenac GreenTec explains. ‘It has a flexible approach to grass growth. Light plays a different role in every stage of the lifecycle grasses experience. Firstly it has to help the seed to germinate. Once the grass starts to grow it requires continuous photosynthesis to become a strong and firm blade. Roots, on the other hand, require being able to settle firmly into the soil to ensure a dense and solid grass carpet. Most importantly, all this should takes place in the shortest period of time thereby ensuring the pitch being in pristine condition by the time the next match is played.’
Fine-tuning a system
Answering the needs for proper grass growth by using LED technology requires thorough understanding of the technology. ‘LED technology is completely different from conventional sodium vapour luminaire technology. A LED luminaire is made up of many different LED’s that each can be directed and powered individually. LED’s also produce a much wider colour rendering scope, allowing the system to be much more flexible as well as more intense than conventional systems. However, one must have a very good understanding of botany as well as LED technology to determine how the LED growing lighting system should be set,’ Wenske continues. Rhenac GreenTec is not the only company that uses LED technology for its stadium growing lighting system. ‘What differentiates us from our competitors is that we work together with different suppliers that each and everyone have roots in their particular industry. They are all specialists in their own field. Rhenac GreenTec has been working with these partners for many years already as we have been working on LED growing lighting systems since ????. Initially the technology was used for growing plants and vegetables at a small scale but the moment LED technology got to such stage that it could be used for illuminating from a distance and large areas too, we decided to develop a system that could become an alternative for energy consuming conventional sodium vapour luminaire systems.’
Scientific approach
The Rhenac GreenTec LED growing lighting system was researched extensively over the past three years. ‘The Bio centre of the Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich, Germany , was one of the research partners we engaged. The Technical University of Munich is the second biggest university in Germany and prepares some 40.000 students for a future in the science industry. Corporates like Siemens, Osram or Daimler Chrysler, to name a few, draw knowledge extensively from this university, hence we decided to follow suit in our quest to develop the next generation stadium growing lighting system.’ Professor Dr. Jürgen Soll of the university describes the Rhenac GreenTec LED technology as follows: ‘the Led lighting systems of Rhenac GreenTec AG provide for the first time illumination scenarios for physiological investigations in research as well as for optimized yields in production. They produce the spectral composition of the light according to the requirements set by the plant they illuminate. The availability of the entire daylight spectrum with the least amount of heat radiation is the decisive advantage compared to conventional luminaires that have few lines of visible light and emit a considerable amount of heat,’ Soll adds.
Well-received
Fieldmanagers of stadium pitches at various German top-flight football clubs have embraced the Rhenac GreenTec technology. Some even use the LED luminaires to improve the quality of their training pitch. ‘Maintaining a quality training pitch is very important to us. It is also a continuous challenge,’ managing director Jörg Schmadtke of 1st FC Köln points out. ‘The new LED luminaires allow us to take a giant leap.’ The system also contributes to the environment. ‘Compared to the previous technology, we are saving energy significantly. That not only means saving our budget, but also means saving the environment in the long run,’ explains Alexander Schmidt on behalf of the club. ‘As the purple shimmering light is directed exclusively to the ground, it doesn’t affect the flora and fauna around the field. The animals in the green belt are not affected.’ Achieving a firm and dense grass pitch is a science by itself. Rhenac GreenTec has found the key to unlock the secret to a quality pitch and provides the necessary tools simultaneously.