Eaton and the Miami Dolphins unveil state-of-the-art Ephesus LED Sports Lighting System at South Plantation High School’s Paladin Stadium
Light Like the Pros. South Plantation High School in the Broward County School District got to do exactly that when they officially turned on the upgraded LED lights for the first time as a result of winning the community program initiative developed by Eaton, power management company, and the Miami Dolphins of the NFL. The Sports Techie community blog believes in this type of sustainability focused solution in the face of increasing global warming. On Saturday, October 27, this sports tech project finally became a reality for all.
Friday Night Lights
Schools across the nation play football in stadiums ranging from brand new to decades old. Playing under the lights is a time honored tradition countless American boys and girls participate in over the course of a season. Making sure the quality of lighting and the energy needed to power the bulbs is updated to 2018 standards and beyond is the responsibility of administers, coaches, booster club parents, and sponsors, alike.
Thus the “Light Like the Pros” initiative was born to accomplish exactly that and more, not only for football games but also soccer and lacrosse, as well as many other live sporting and entertainment events.
South Plantation High School wins “Light Like the Pros”
“We’re honored to work with Eaton and bring an Ephesus LED Sports Lighting System to South Plantation High School through the ‘Light Like the Pros’ program,” said Miami Dolphins Senior Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs Jason Jenkins. “With the new system, we’re certain Paladin Stadium will continue to serve as a valuable space for the surrounding community.”
At a half-time ceremony during the rivalry matchup between South Plantation and Plantation, Twan Russell of the Miami Dolphins, Laurie Green with Ephesus Lighting and NGU Sports Lighting, Christine Henschel representing South Plantation H.S. and Gregory Boardman of the Broward School District School Board, together pushed the button resulting in a blackout, followed by a dazzling Hard Rock Stadiumish light show for the ages totally enhancing the fan experience like never before.
The updated venue received more than $100,000 in free lighting solution product value. This needed refurbish was accomplished by mounting the lights directly on the field’s four existing poles while implementing the AirMesh control system allowing for spectacular light shows while complimenting beautiful twilight scenes South Florida is world famous for.
The All-Field Series was designed for high schools, colleges and municipalities of all sorts. It features a superior-quality, cost-effective, transformative and easily controlled outdoor LED sports lighting solution. The specs are engineered to meet the needs of facilities by offering multiple mounting options, advanced materials low in weight and Effective Projected Area (EPA) quality making the entire package one of the first LED fixtures that can retrofit onto existing sports lighting infrastructure.
Enhanced engineered optics creates uniform light across the field ultimately reducing unnecessary spill light and sky glow. Seeing the stars twinkle at night is not out the question anymore. Broward School District are in shape to essentially eliminate maintenance requirements while saving energy costs at Paladin Stadium by as much as 70 percent compared to the previous legacy sports lighting system.
“South Plantation is an Environmental Science and Everglades Restoration Magnet School so the new Ephesus lights that we have just installed through the partnership with Ephesus and the Miami Dolphins has really gone a long way to help support our mission of trying to conserve energy use” said South Plantation High School Principal Christine Henschel. “These new LED lights are fantastic and far more energy efficient than any other lights we have in the district.”
Those high schools in Broward and Miami/Dade counties respectively that entered the innovative “Light Like the Pro’s” essay contest administered by the Miami Dolphins Foundation and sponsored by Eaton last fall are still winners for ‘seeing the light’ so to speak in terms of the impact such an upgrade would have on each institute of higher learning’s home field. The essay provided by South Plantation High School’s illustrated why the current system in place was limited while emphasizing their loyal and proud community of supporters in athletics and more importantly, academics.
South Plantation has an enrollment of 2,400 and is Florida’s only Everglades Environmental Magnet program. They rank as one of the top community outreach, diversity and leadership development programs in the state. A wonderful example of their progressiveness is when the school’s football squad broke down long existing barriers in 2012 and became the first school in Florida to have a female quarterback play in a varsity game and complete a pass.
“We are excited to provide the players and fans at Paladin Stadium with one of the most technically advanced LED sports lighting systems at a high school stadium anywhere in America,” said Mike Quijano, Director of Business Development and Product Marketing, Eaton’s Ephesus Lighting business. “We know that by showcasing our innovative technology at Paladin Stadium, the entire South Florida sports community will see the many benefits of LED sports lighting, including superior control, an enhanced fan experience, dramatic energy savings and more.”
Paladin Stadium doubles as the venue for Stranahan High School out of Ft. Lauderdale, a school lacking in their own stadium. Eaton therefore provides LED lighting for multiple facility tenants. As a result, the new lighting system meets the standards needed at a high-usage field replacing old fixtures that often did not work as promised and produced dark spots on the playing surface, often on the field’s corners.
Ephesus replaced antiquated scheduling system and helps to tackle Florida’s unpredictable weather delays. As a result, lights have turned off in the middle of games too many times, each time requiring an additional 20-minute delay to first cool down and then restrike the outdated metal halide lights. South Plantation and other venue users can say goodbye to the overschedule of lights which stressed the system and wasted precious energy. As a comparison, Eaton’s Ephesus LED sports lighting system is remote monitor capable, can be programmed via an app and quietly turns on and off instantaneously through pushing a button.
Satisfied User Base
Eaton’s Ephesus LED lighting solutions are installed at various sports and entertainment venues of all sizes throughout North America. Hundreds of facilities switched to Eaton’s LED sports lighting system including: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Dolphins); PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates); Bridgestone Arena (Nashville Predators); United Center (Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks) and the historic Martinsville Speedway in Virginia — the first NASCAR track with LED lighting. For more information, visit Eaton.com/Ephesus.
The Company
Eaton is a power management company with 2017 sales of $20.4 billion. They provide energy-efficient solutions help customers effectively manage electrical, hydraulic and mechanical power more efficiently, safely and sustainably. Eaton is dedicated to improving the quality of life and the environment through the use of power management technologies and services. Eaton has approximately 96,000 employees and sells products to customers in more than 175 countries.
Sports Techie, this follow up story to our first blog about this unique program originated from Miami Gardens, Florida where the Dolphins recently announced plans for a new training facility next to Hard Rock Stadium which itself features an Eaton lighting system, as early as the 2020 season. An educated guess says that facility will be state-of-art and illuminated by Epheus LED sports lighting and control system, the same quality as is now at Paladin Stadium.
South Florida high school football is in good hands or in this case, high-quality LED fixtures and sports lighting thanks to Eaton and the Miami Dolphins, together making an environmental impact on the game, athletes and fans.
Bravo!
See ya later sportstechie in Seattle, Atlanta and around the world!
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