Widely recognised to be the citys premier sporting facility, the Mountbatten Leisure Centre is set in a park adjacent to the shore at the northern end of Portsmouth. A major redevelopment of the centre took place recently to include many new amenities such as a 50m pool, 150-station fitness suite, an eight lane athletics track and a cycle track around the perimeter. A floodlighting solution was required to cater for the cycle and athletics track which would accommodate the varying lighting levels necessary for play.
Abacus were commissioned with the provision of a top class sports lighting system for the leisure centre; with the combination of AAA-LUX led floodlights on our base-hinged masts being ideal for this application. A quantity of 45 x AAA-LUX WS-Series LED floodlights were installed across 9 x 18 metre masts and 3 x 12 metre masts in order to achieve the desired lighting levels.
As Portsmouth is on Englands south coast, tests on the ground conditions were required before laying the mast foundations. The results highlighted that soft ground conditions would prove problematic for standard foundations. To overcome this, a system of screw piles was used which allowed for a much increased foundation depth, adding the requisite stability to the masts.
Each of the Abacus base-hinged masts are installed in the lowered position with lighting also being installed at ground level. When complete, the masts are raised into place using a hydraulic counterbalance. An inbuilt gravity-lock mechanism securely locks the mast in place for increased safety.
When lighting maintenance or cleaning is needed, it can be safely undertaken at ground level thanks to the masts raising and lowering capability. Using the hydraulic counterbalance, the mast can be lowered by one person without the requirement for plant hire or working at height. Time spent on maintenance is kept to a minimum whilst complete safety is assured.
AAA-LUX LED floodlights offer high-end performance with the WS-Series being specifically designed for sports lighting applications. At 1.55kW, the AAA-LUX WS floodlight offers a direct one-for-one replacement to a 2kW HID floodlight. Partnered with the AAA-LUX Control Management System, a multitude of features are made available, such as dimming and wireless control. Instant start-up allows the floodlighting to be turned on and off as and when required, reducing power consumption from wasted light by using the floodlights only when required. Flexible dimming allows lighting levels to be reduced for training and orientation purposes, giving substantial energy savings over traditional HID lamps which is both financially and environmentally beneficial.
With the lighting installation complete, both cyclists and athletes are now competing and training under the new LED floodlighting system throughout the year.