Allianz Arena Scores Massive Savings With LED Lighting

The Allianz Arena – home of European footballing behemoth FC Bayern Munich – became the continent’s largest stadium to feature dynamic colourful lights on the entirety of its exterior.

The previous installation that used fluorescent lights were replaced in 2015, in favour of energy efficient LEDs from Philips – over 300,000 of them!

The whole setup covers an area of over 26,000 square metres – covering the entire exterior inflatable facade of the arena.

The project was given the go ahead in October 2014, and was unveiled on August 14^th 2015 – in time for the start of the 2015/16 Bundesliga season. Over 45 tons of material was used, including several hundred data enablers and over 5,000 metres of cabling for the digital control.

The results ensured that the 71,137 capacity Allianz Arena remained one of Europe’s most recognisable stadiums. The new installation saves FC Bayern Munich approximately 60% on electricity consumption when compared to the previous fluorescent setup.

It also saves more than 362 tons of CO2 a year – highlighting the green credentials of LEDs.

Maintenance time and costs were also drastically reduced, as the LEDs used have an estimated lifespan of up to 80,000 hours, and can even work in temperatures as low as -50^oC!

Even the coldest of Bavarian winters won’t be able to freeze the dynamic colour effects on show.

Capable of emitting up to 16 million different colours (the previous fluorescent setup could manage just 3), the effects were designed by veteran architects Herzog & de Meuron.

During the evening, the arena will illuminate the surrounding area with waves and clouds of graceful effects in the iconic red and white colours of FC Bayern Munich.

The colour and intensity can be adjusted continuously, with the image refresh able to update up to 40 times per second.

The effects don’t just stop there though – the freedom granted by LEDs allows any colour and effect to be used for all sorts of different kinds of events. Colour schemes of brands, countries or occasions can be created.

“The fans will experience the new lighting facilities live in the coming 2015/2016 season. In addition, in conjunction with Philips we will also be highlighting certain aspects of the action on the pitch inside the Allianz Arena too” explained Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, FC Bayern Munich CEO.

“The all-round lighting effects in the facade roof above the stands is a new feature and a taste of what’s in store. This lighting will accompany the action on the pitch in a dynamic way, for example by creating a Mexican wave or goal celebration effects in red and white.”

The cutting edge installation puts the Allianz Arena at the forefront of technology not just in sports, but in the world too. With such a prominent player in world football utilising the benefits of LED lighting, they may be setting a trend for other clubs and associations to follow suit.

What do you think of the revolutionary installation at the home of FC Bayern Munich? Take a look at the video below and let us know in the comments.