By eliminating ‘blue light’ from its flagship LED product – Zenith Gen-V – VAILO hopes its new sports luminaire will be better for wildlife and will attract less insects.

Unveiled today, VAILO’s ‘PC Amber’ variant of the Zenith Gen-V still meets the illumination requirements for sports.

LED lighting has been adopted due to its energy efficiency in recent years, but engineering and production manager Phil McKenzie said white LEDs in wildlife-sensitive areas can be damaging given their blue-rich spectrum.

Blue light is emitted by LEDs and humans are mostly exposed to it via screens. Studies have found that blue light can impact our circadian rhythm – the body’s internal clock – causing sleep issues in humans.

“PC Amber LEDs contribute to biodiversity conservation and sustainable ecosystem management in wildlife-sensitive areas by eliminating blue light while maintaining a broad spectrum of emitted light for effective outdoor area illumination for human use,” McKenzie said.

The PC Amber retains the features of VAILO’s Zenith Gen-V, including internally-wired components that are resistant to interference from cockatoos. A tempered glass lens with UV protection, specialised optics, a lightweight-design and a powder-coated finish are also present.

However, the wildlife-friendly alternative offers a different light source at 1000 watts – down from 1500 in its previous offering.

VAILO CEO and founder Aaron Hickmann – a 40 Under 40 alumnus – said he was excited to launch the new product and said it would provide a solution for areas needing high-performance lighting with sensitive ecosystems nearby.

“As a proud Australian company manufacturing locally, we are always looking at new ways to develop our products for the Australian lifestyle,” Hickmann said.

“The Zenith Gen-V PC Amber is a high-performance floodlight suitable for sports fields, roads and tunnels, mining areas, airports and more.

“We look forward to seeing it installed across the country.”

Nominations are open for this year’s 40 Under 40 Awards.