Rhenac Sports LED: Redefining “perfect” in perfect Pitch Management

Society has built the case for stadium managers and venue owners to embrace smart technology by placing more emphasis on sustainability. Rhenac LED grass grow technology is recognised for its efficiency, both in terms of the input-output ratio, as well as the way it improves a stadium pitch. The sustainability contributions of this technology benefit both today’s and future society. 

It is only a matter of time before the use of LED grass grow technology becomes mandatory. EU Regulation 2015/1428 paves the way for the phase-out of inefficient lighting technologies, and states that these old technologies are to be replaced by new, more sustainable lighting technologies. Rhenac LED grass grow technology has already been in use for several years, and this summer, the German manufacturer of the smart grass care technology also delivered its first fully automated full-pitch grass care system.

Arnoud Fiolet of RSI SPORTS, the exclusive distributor of Rhenac GreenTec technology, explained:

Their knowledge about the Complete Light Spectrum (CLS) and the way they use this spectrum to deliver the right type of light and light intensity to the grass at a particular moment is what makes the Rhenac LED grass grow technology truly unique. The LED technology is the result of an eight-year scientific study whereby scientists at the Technical University of Munich in Germany, first studied the relationship between grass, light and grass grow factors, before the technicians at Rhenac GreenTec translated the results to LED grass grow technology.

More effective light

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are known for their high energy-efficiency. They consume between 40% and 50% less energy compared to traditional High Pressure Sodium Lamps (HPS) in operation, and LED technology also doesn’t require a warm-up or cool-down period for the light to be effective. LEDs deliver instantly. 

LEDs deliver instantly

Grass that is supported by LED technology experiences less stress, as the technology doesn’t produce the heat which is essential for HPS technology to deliver its hard-wired light intensity. The Rhenac GreenTec LED technology goes a step further, as it benefits from its knowledge about CLS. 

CLS is the ability to produce the entire scope of colours that exist. As CLS is a cold light source, infra-red heat can be added automatically. This means that CLS will never cause heat stress, while the energy used to produce light will always be limited to the bare minimum. 

It’s the CLS and how the knowledge is used and implemented that separates Rhenac GreenTec from other players in the industry. Delivering CLS is only possible when the best quality LEDs are sourced and are directed by precisely written software and use the best possible driver technology. This allows Rhenac GreenTec to translate its knowledge about grass and its broad desire for light wavelengths or colours into delivering accurate lighting.

More flexible light

The Rhenac GreenTec LED grass grow technology answers the different needs for light, light intensity or wavelength throughout the stages a grass plant experiences.

Fiolet pointed out:

Germination, root zone development or growth in length all have a different light need that can easily be met by CLS technology.

The technology can produce the red colour that is required for grass seeds to germinate and to increase biomass while its ability to produce blue light will help increase the sward density. Furthermore, the blue light will help enhance root growth, as well as manage the length of the grass. It will also reduce the grass’s susceptibility to diseases.

Fiolet added:

Venues where sods or big slabs are transferred from a nursery inside the venue will benefit from the light’s ability to help stimulate the chlorophyll-rate in the plant.

This rate is usually affected due to a phenomenon called photo-inhibition, whereby the various logistical processes and the subsequent exposure to or absence of light stress the grass. The Rhenac GreenTec grass grow technology can help speed up the recuperation of the grass.

Fully automated

This summer, Rhenac GreenTec complement its portfolio by adding the R-BL-1750 technology, as Fiolet explained:

It is the top top of the range technology when it comes to grass grow and grass care and what is possible when you merge the latest technology. The R-BL-1750 is a fully-automated system that can cover a full field.

The VELTINS Arena, home to German football club Schalke’04, is the first to have the technology fitted. Two 80m-wide steel beams with cross-sections, span the field. The beams move along the field on a rail at a speed of over 12 m/min. 

The system is equipped with sensors that record many different parameters, including heat requirements, nutrient saturation, soil moisture and temperature, and the ambient climate. The condition of the turf and the environmental influences are captured in a digital logbook. 

Upon evaluation of this data, the CLS control system can provide the grass with individual light spectra, appropriate light intensity and infrared heat, automatically or according to the greenkeeper’s specifications. It is also possible to fit irrigation, heaters and liquid fertilisation, as well as a UV-C grass care technology to the beam.

Once integrated into the technology that monitors the pitch condition and controls the technology, it offers greenkeepers a lot of flexibility. It can be controlled specifically or zone-wise as the various care programmes for length growth, leaf branching, root optimisation, lawn drying, prevention of fungal diseases and others can differ. The programmes are constantly being expanded, in cooperation with the Technical University of Munich.  

Units for different needs

The R-BL-1750 is, without a doubt, the top of the range when it comes to growing and maintaining stadium fields with pinpoint accuracy and fully automatically, as Fiolet explained:

Its smart technology will help stadium managers reduce their reliance on electricity or additives to supplement a grass field or support its growth and recuperation. The pinpoint accuracy will go a long way to improve the sustainability score of maintaining a healthy and dense grass pitch.

The Rhenac GreenTec R-ML 30 and R-ML200 units benefit from the same technology, as Fiolet pointed out:

These units cover a smaller section of the field. They come in handy when supporting and supplementing the grass in a small section of the field, like the goal mouth or penalty box.

One thing the LED technology doesn’t differentiate in, is the difference between cold season or warm season grasses, as Fiolet explained:

The technology can be tuned for both types of grass and for dealing with a wide variety of climate or geological conditions.

The best proof that the Rhenac GreenTec is successful in any condition is the fact that the LED grass grow technology is used by stadium managers in southern America, Europe, and, most importantly, Scandinavia.

Fiolet added:

The cold temperatures and long winter period place a high demand on the technology used. The fact that the Rhenac GreenTec LED grass grow technology has been embraced here is living testimony that it is effective and that it delivers.

RSI SPORTS is the exclusive distributor of this technology and offers reliable, sustainable, innovative technology to build and maintain high-quality sports infrastructure, regardless of the local conditions.

Fiolet summarised:

The Rhenac GreenTec LED grass grow technology fits perfectly in RSI SPORTS’s portfolio and we also have the expertise to advise on, or assist in any stadium project, or to help out stadiums improving their sustainability score without jeopardising the quality of their natural grass or hybrid playing field. 

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