New LED lights making the War Memorial shine

You'll definitely notice it the next time you step into the War Memorial, whether it's for a Crunch game, Disney on Ice, or anything else. Newly installed LED lights are making the War Memorial shine and it's all thanks to a Baldwinsville company.It's not easy to make a 61-year-old arena look newer, but the lights are helping. They're also saving the county money and helping the environment. The lights use a lot less energy, by as much as 90 percent, compared to the juice sucked up by the old ones."We went from nothing, with an idea on the paper to having the brightest light now here in the world. This is incredible. I'm amazed at what we're able to do, the team," said Ephesus Technologies President Joe Casper.Syracuse's Crunch Eric Neilson says the lights definitely make a difference.
"Playing against Syracuse it was really dark in here, there were dark spots on the ice, I'm sure even for the fans to look down and see the puck sometime because I know as a player it was hard to see sometime in the corners. What a difference it makes, it brightens this place right up, you can see out there, it's no problem," explained Neilson.Just one of the interesting features of the new lighting system is the ability to turn it on, turn it off, and turn it right back on again -- instantly. Also, you can make it as bright, or as dim as you want. And each of the fixtures has an antenna on it, which means each individual light will be able to be controlled by an iPad.
"We feel very strongly that it's really going to enhance the fan experience. The stuff we'll be able to do, in terms of lighting, spotlighting players. We can spotlight players without even a spotlight," said the Crunch's Senior Vice President Vance Lederman."That's what's the real thrill of this, where this could go and what it means to the folks here in Syracuse. Who knows, we could be the next big corporation, born right here in Syracuse NY," said Casper.The company also expects savings for the building with its cooling system. The new lights don't melt the ice at all, which the old ones did and meant more energy to keep the ice cold.Gulf Power had evaluated numerous lighting fixtures and the state chose the best three solutions for streetlights. Gulf Power and FDOT will evaluate the lights for their performance. FDOT is looking into different options for improving safety, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists, along the corridor. The state will cover construction and installation costs for the project, and the county and the state will share the operation and maintenance costs.