Last Call For Lighting The Big Game

While you're watching the Seahawks and Patriots, check out the fact that this will be the first Super Bowl played under LED lights.

The University of Phoenix Stadium, where the big game is being played, recently upgraded over 780 metal halide fixtures with 44,928 Cree XLamp MK-R LEDs, courtesy of Cree and Ephesus Lighting. And while it sounds like the new setup would draw far more power, it turns out those LED fixtures need a mere 310,000 watts of power to glow, compared to the 1.24 million watts required by the metal halide bulbs.

But power saving isn't the only benefit to the stadium's new energy-efficient lighting. The LED fixtures also produce nearly double the illumination of the old metal halide bulbs, and run at full intensity as soon as they're switched on. If you remember the infamous Super Bowl blackout from a few years ago, it takes almost 20 minutes for metal halide bulbs to warm up and reach their full intensity.

That's pretty awesome.  Even enlightening.

Enjoy the game!