Madeleine Coles
News Editor
ISU recently partnered with Idaho Power to completely replace the lighting systems at Holt Arena.
“In conjunction with Idaho Power, we were able to provide significant savings by using LED lights versus our existing lighting, which was not as efficient and was very outdated for what the facility needed,” said Todd Adams, ISU’s project manager for the upgrade.
According to George Casper, ISU Director of Events, the arena previously used two different lighting systems- a Quartz fixture, which was installed at the time of the construction of Holt Arena in 1970 and a Metal Halide fixture which was installed in 1981. The two had a combined total of 536 fixtures.
This fall, those fixtures were replaced with a LED Pro Sports lighting system, consisting of 76 fixtures spread over the playing surface.
Casper said ISU chose to upgrade Holt Arena’s lighting system for a variety of reasons, but most of them primarily revolve around cost efficiency.
“Holt Arena will use much less electricity with the new LED installation,” Casper said. “There will be a significant savings in electrical costs, annual maintenance costs savings, and a significant upgrade in the quality of the lighting and lighting levels on the playing surface at Holt Arena.”
According to Casper, the estimated annual cost savings in electricity usage for Holt Arena is $65,825.63, enough to power 102 residential homes in Pocatello.
Additionally, he cited a $10,000 to $15,000 annual savings in maintenance costs, as the life cycle of the new fixtures is over 30 years.
Perhaps the most prominent reason for the upgrade, however, was the incentive rebate offered by Idaho Power. On Nov. 20, Idaho Power Major Customer Representative Buzz Pfeiffer, as well as regional managers Steven Muse and Bo Hanchey, presented the university with an incentive check for $219,118 to help cover the costs of the lighting upgrade, which Casper said was about $536,000.
“This project will significantly reduce ISU’s energy costs for Holt Arena while providing much better lighting for the facility,” Pfeiffer said. “I appreciate working with the staff at ISU. They are very progressive with their energy efficiency efforts, and I hope other customers will follow their lead.”
In addition to increasing efficiency and decreasing cost, Casper said the new system will increase the quality of light on the playing field to meet the NCAA requirements for field lighting.
“The new lights are dimmable, allow for multiple scene settings and have the ability to be instantly on or off, which the old system didn’t allow for,” Casper said.
Casper added that the new lights will also reduce the load on the arena’s support structure, as they weigh significantly less than the old lights. In fact, he said, the new lighting fixtures eliminated 12.5 tons of weight from the arena ceiling.
Casper said he is unsure whether any other campus facilities will receive similar lighting upgrades.
