Philips puts cyclists under lights at the new Home of Cycling, Avantidrome

Philips Lighting is providing cutting-edge lighting technology for the new National Cycling Centre of Excellence Avantidrome in Cambridge, which will be New Zealand’s world-class cycling venue due to open in early 2014. In what is a precision sport, lighting is critical as track cyclists rely on high quality illumination that doesn’t create shadows on the track which can cause dangerous distractions.

The Avantidrome will be the new headquarters of BikeNZ, a not-for-profit organisation that not only helps to develop high-performance athletes but also to foster cycling at grassroots level by providing the community with access to this top quality facility. In the context of the growing popularity of cycling in New Zealand, Philips has also come on board as a supporting sponsor of the Home of Cycling Charitable Trust, which is developing, and will operate, the Avantidrome.

David Procter of Philips Lighting New Zealand says, “We are thrilled to be part of such a great project and to have an ongoing relationship with the Home of Cycling. It provides an outstanding facility not only for community use but also for meeting the specific needs of high performing athletes.”

To assist in delivering the project, Philips Lighting New Zealand called on the expertise of colleagues at Philips France, who are world experts in flood lighting, having advised on complex projects such as the Olympic Velodromes in Athens and London. Specialised Philips ArenaVision floodlights are being used for the track lighting. This range of floodlights use around 10% less energy than conventional stadium lighting systems and require less maintenance, meaning a significant reduction in overall running costs.

A complete LED solution was selected for the other sections of the new Avantidrome complex. Commercial LED fittings deliver an instant white light, and can use up to 50 per cent less energy than traditional fluorescent fittings, while lasting up to an average of 50,000 hours resulting in less maintenance[1]. This also helps with reducing the venue’s overhead costs without compromising on high-quality lighting.

Additional energy efficiency gains can potentially come from the use of the Philips Dynalite intelligent lighting control system. These smart networked controls can be set to switch lights on when motion is detected, dim or increase lighting based on the levels of natural light available, and use timers that can be set to turn off the lights when they are not in use. Philips and Feissts Electrical are also providing and installing a Cylon building management system, which enables energy consumption in the complex to be monitored and managed in real time.

Chief Executive of Home of Cycling Charitable Trust, Geoff Balme, says, “We engaged Philips Lighting because we needed a complete lighting solution that complied with our specific requirements. We are very pleased with the solution being provided, which will not only provide great visibility and safety for our cyclists, but triple bottom line benefits through cost savings from greater energy efficiency and a reduced carbon footprint”.

The National Cycling Centre of Excellence will be a fully enclosed indoor track cycling facility, with connecting facilities for BMX, road and mountain biking. It will not only host high performance training and competitions, but also be used for sport development including access for schools, communities and specialised programmes for disabled cyclists.