Lighting specialist BEKA Schréder has provided the illumination solution for famous Cape Town high school Durbanville High’s astro hockey field. “The school, which was founded in 1827, decided to add a smart floodlight solution to their sport field to be able to use the facility more during winter times when the sun sets early, and also to rent it out to tertiary institutions,” explains Riaan Bubb, a senior sales engineer at BEKA Schréder Cape Town.
The lighting requirement was for a 350 Lux average horizontal illuminance installation that is energy efficient and can be controlled to have flexibility in dimming the floodlights, as well as switching on each pole individually. BEKA Schréder’s Omniblast-2-E Midi with Schréder Iterra lighting control was chosen for this purpose, says Bubb, adding, “Instead of using 15m to 21m high masts, eight 12m high poles with four floodlights each were installed, making the installation cost-effective and less cumbersome. The asymmetrical optics in the Omniblast luminaires made it possible to control the glare factor, keeping the figures well within the allowable glare recommendations.”
The Schréder Iterra lighting control system allows authorised users linked to the specific project for security reasons, to switch the lighting installation on or off, dim it, or activate dynamic scenes by simply using an easy-to-use app on their smart devices. Bubb explains, “The system provides a complete user- and installer-friendly wireless control solution for sports and interior lighting applications. It offers site managers a robust, cost-effective and futureproof platform to run their infrastructure with flexibility for adapting the lighting to any scenario or event while maximising energy savings and providing the best game experience.”
A mobile app-based system, Schréder Iterra is easy to operate and comes with an intuitive visual interface that users can quickly personalise to the layout and settings of their lighting installation.
“Schréder Iterra is based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), the state-of-the-art wireless communication standard that is fully compatible with all recent smartphones, tablets and even smartwatches. The use of open and standard technologies coupled with the handy App makes the Schréder Iterra app a real plug-and-play remote control solution for extracting the full potential of the lighting installation,” adds Bubb.
The Omniblast-E is available in a Midi and Maxi variant and is designed and manufactured in South Africa, with Bubb explaining why it was chosen. “This LED solution offers an alternative with proven benefits for traditional fixtures fitted with 250W to 2 000W HID lamps. It meets various lighting applications, ranging from general area lighting to recreational sports lighting up to professional broadcasting requirements, matching the horizontal and vertical lighting levels respectively. A modular concept of optical units means that one, two or three modules can be mounted on a similar bracket arrangement to offer the utmost versatility, providing light distributions and lumen packages perfectly adapted to the specifications of the area to be lit.”
The Omniblast-E is a cost-effective solution that maximises energy efficiency and maintenance savings. Its housing is manufactured from marine-grade, high-pressure die-cast aluminium, which means that it is perfectly designed to withstand South Africa’s harsh coastal climates, and it has also been manufactured to allow for easy upgrades. “The Omniblast-E meets all the lighting requirements and regulations from the International Sport Federation. It has an inclination angle that is adjustable on site, so minor tweaks can easily be done, and there is a surge protection of 10kV/10kA. This installation is going to make it so much easier to use the hockey field at times when it previously would be too dark and compromise safety,” he concludes.
Enquiries: www.beka-schreder.co.za
