KNOXVILLE—With the installation of LED fixtures, the Thompson-Boling Arena at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville is one of the first in the world to feature lights that are smaller, brighter, and up to 85 percent more efficient than conventional arena metal halide lights.

The technology—developed and manufactured by Oak Ridge-based LED North America at the Tech 20/20 incubator facility in Oak Ridge, incorporating an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology, and installed by Knoxville-based Bandit Lites—is being “premiered” at the state’s research university inside the largest on-campus single-sport arena in the country.

The light-emitting diode fixtures use an ORNL-developed lightweight graphite foam that cools the LED, making them more efficient and reliable. This enables 90 400-watt LED fixtures to bathe the arena’s floor with 200 foot-candles per square foot, compared to the 130 foot-candles produced by the arena’s existing 110 1,100-watt fixtures.

LED North America’s SuperSport luminaires have the potential to revolutionize sports and entertainment venues worldwide. UT officials are looking forward to participating in this effort and to seeing the results—and the savings. [Read more…]