Football club consumes 60% less energy

New LED lighting for K. Zandhoven S.K. 

K. Zandhoven S.K. is a football club from first provincial. The Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB) disapproved its old gas lighting. Consequence: the club was no longer allowed to play league matches in the evening. The board contacted lighting specialist VNS Benelux from Westmalle to install new, powerful and energy-efficient LED lighting.

LED: only alternative to gas lamps

The KBVB asks provincial football clubs to achieve an average luminance of 80 lux and a uniformity of at least 75% throughout the pitch, with a minimum of 60 lux at 41 defined points. 

Manager Olivier Proot: “Like in Zandhoven, at more and more clubs the old gas lighting is failing. Those bulbs are no longer produced. They need to switch to LED lighting, but are afraid of the cost.”

Energy and cost savings

“That high cost is a misconception that keeps doing the rounds. Because after installation, they save an enormous amount of energy. In Zandhoven, the eight old luminaires together consumed 19.2 kilowatts. We replaced them with eight LED luminaires that together consume 7.68 kilowatts. That's an energy and cost saving of 60%. Clubs that really don't have space to buy LED can rent our lighting. After five years, it then automatically becomes the club's property.”

Installation and adjustment in one day

VNS installs an LED lighting installation in one day. Olivier Proot: “We remove the old lighting, install the LED lights, connect them, and check the club's electrical installation. In the evening, the new lighting is adjusted. Each LED luminaire consists of twelve LED modules. Each module is aimed at the right point on the pitch by the installer using a laser. In this way, we guarantee the required brightness at each of those 41 points. 

Then we measure each point with a calibrated light meter and achieve a luminosity even higher than requested.”

Control with app

Zandhoven chose to control the new lighting installation with an app. “Wherever they are: the club's people can always switch the lighting on and off directly and choose which fixtures to leave on at which strength. Illuminating just one half of the grounds or leaving the fixtures on only 50%: it's all possible.”