Not that Im too concerned, but on days like today, why in the hell do they turn the lights on? Seems like a complete waste of money.
JTS Lights
- Thread starter chuckd4735
- Start date
I mean I really dont care, but its just odd. The sun could not of been any brighter today. Not a chance of a cloud in the sky. Game will finish 5 hours before it gets dark. HEY LETS TURN ON THE LIGHTS!
I think this is right. I read something about this before, and it had something to do with how cameras capture artificial light that's reflected off the jerseys and helmets differently than sunlight (I'm being serious, unlike my post in another thread about the matte helmets).
Maybe Neil deGrasse Tyson could explain the science for us.
For late afternoon games it may be logical, since by October it will be getting dark by the end of 2:30 games. For now I certainly don't see the logic though.
Mentioned the same. When the sun is bright and it is turning the right side of my face into a lobster, I don't think they need lights.
I'm confused as to why the TV people would need them? It wasn't until a couple years ago Michigan had lights for the first time when they played Notre Dame in a night game for the first time in The Big House.
It has to do with evening out the light on the field as the sun moves. You see some places they don't do this, ND is one, USC another....I'd say its entirely up to who is broadcasting the game. Since the big 12 TV contract pays all the bills anyway, no reason they can't have some say in it.
I'm sure it is for tv. When Hilton first opened....one of the features about it was that tv crews could broadcast from there in color without having to add any additional lighting like they might in other arenas. It might just be that tv wants the extra lights on if there is even the slightest chance of clouds making an appearance, or the movement of the sun creating shadows on the field.
I think that's it. I know at the college World Series games the lights were always on for day games.
Is imagine the lights aren't cheap to run but I'd imagine the video board draws more power. Anyone know how power works with the university plant? Is it a free for all or is there some sort of billing system?
I would also assume it's to help reduce shadows from the sun, or in the event of clouds, to maintain a consistent exposure for the TV cameras as they move from one area to another.
Based on my back-of-the-envelope math, I think electricity cost is pretty minimal.
I came up with 192 lights (counted 34 in NE and 28 E center; assume symmetrical = 96 per side)
Google seems to indicate 1500-2000w per fixture is common; if we assume 2000 that's 384kW
I think we can assume power from the University plant is cheaper than the City of Ames, or they'd just buy from the City.
City of Ames residential rate (11.66 cents per kWh) works out to $44.77 per hour
Commercial/industrial is about half that per kWh--less than $24 per hour. (There is an additional "demand charge" for commercial/industrial based on the size of the load which would be pretty significant--but that's a sunk cost that you're going to be paying whether you're using it or not).
It looks like, worst case, you're probably looking at a few hundred dollars worth of electricity. With discharge lamps you can't just flip a switch and turn them on and off at the drop of a hat, so it seems like a no-brainer to turn them on and have them there if you need them--even for a sunny mid-day game where they may not actually make any difference.
Based on my back-of-the-envelope math, I think electricity cost is pretty minimal.
I came up with 192 lights (counted 34 in NE and 28 E center; assume symmetrical = 96 per side)
Google seems to indicate 1500-2000w per fixture is common; if we assume 2000 that's 384kW
I think we can assume power from the University plant is cheaper than the City of Ames, or they'd just buy from the City.
City of Ames residential rate (11.66 cents per kWh) works out to $44.77 per hour
Commercial/industrial is about half that per kWh--less than $24 per hour. (There is an additional "demand charge" for commercial/industrial based on the size of the load which would be pretty significant--but that's a sunk cost that you're going to be paying whether you're using it or not).
It looks like, worst case, you're probably looking at a few hundred dollars worth of electricity. With discharge lamps you can't just flip a switch and turn them on and off at the drop of a hat, so it seems like a no-brainer to turn them on and have them there if you need them--even for a sunny mid-day game where they may not actually make any difference.
