Boronia Park switches to LED lighting
Boronia Park in Hill Top will undergo a major upgrade as the old sports field lighting is upgraded with high-tech energy efficient LED lighting.
Council’s Parks Assets Coordinator Peter Byrne spoke about the significance of the upgrade to four of the park’s lighting towers.
“Up until recently LED’s were still too expensive for regional councils to consider when lighting public sports fields,” Mr Byrne said. “But recent advancements in technology have closed the gap in terms of cost, making LED’s a more attractive and affordable alternative.”
Aside from initial purchase costs the major benefits of LED lamps over traditional metal-halide lamps include cheaper electricity running costs, smaller carbon footprint, lower maintenance overheads, and longer life expectancy.
“Depending on usage these lights have a life expectancy of 12 to 15 years,” Mr Byrne said. “This compares very favourably to 5 or 6 years from traditional metal-halide lamps.”
Another benefit of LED’s is that they provide virtually instantaneous light.
“No longer do people using the fields at night have to wait ten minutes before the bulbs warm up.”
The Boronia Park lighting upgrade is part of Council’s Capital Renewal and Fit for the Future programs.
The four lighting towers were chosen to trial the new technology following a condition assessment of the old light poles. The new light-emitting diode lamps will provide an output of 100lux which will provide significant coverage for night play and training.
Wingecarribee Shire Mayor Councillor Ken Halstead said the upgrade was a welcome addition to the northern village community.
“The Hill Top Soccer Club is based at Boronia Park and this upgrade is sure to be welcomed by the club’s 160 members,” he said.
“I’m confident that the improved training facilities will help to attract more members to the club.”
The new light towers are scheduled to be erected Thursday 3 November with the official ‘flicking of the switch’ to take place following final electrical connection later in November.
Mittagong Oval and Loseby Park sports fields will receive similar LED lighting upgrades later in the 2016/17 financial year.