Melbourne High School Hockey
Future-ready smart sports lighting & controls
A premier hockey facility moved onto a wireless control platform that holds 500 lux competition lighting, adds secure remote management, and leaves an open path to the school’s existing Crestron system.
The project
Melbourne High School required a modern lighting control solution for its premier hockey facility that would preserve the operational functionality of the existing system while introducing the flexibility, security and remote management capabilities expected of a contemporary sporting venue.
The project presented several unique challenges. The upgraded system needed to maintain 500 lux competition lighting, be capable of integrating with the existing Crestron control platform in future, and operate reliably across eight 25-metre high mast poles distributed throughout the precinct. The school also wanted to future-proof its investment with an open integration architecture while addressing concerns around unauthorised access to the lighting controls. With surrounding residential developments, reliable wireless communications and intelligent control were essential to delivering a robust, long-term solution.
Tecmor designed an intelligent wireless sports lighting platform built on the Casambi BLE ecosystem, providing distributed control across every lighting mast without the need for extensive underground communications infrastructure. Each pole was equipped with intelligent DALI-2 lighting controllers housed within Tecmor EdgeBox enclosures, creating a resilient wireless mesh capable of maintaining reliable communication across the entire field. A Casambi Cloud Gateway enables secure remote access, monitoring and ongoing system management.
To ensure the new platform worked seamlessly within the school’s existing infrastructure, Tecmor developed an integration strategy allowing the Casambi lighting network to communicate with the existing Crestron control system. This open architecture provides a pathway for future integration with additional building systems, automation platforms and smart facility technologies. The practical integration is set for the next phase of the project.
The solution was also designed with operational security in mind, supporting role-based user permissions to restrict access while providing authorised staff with intuitive control over lighting scenes, training modes and competition settings.
Smart digital infrastructure
Rather than simply replacing a lighting control system, Tecmor delivered a future-ready digital infrastructure platform designed to evolve with the facility.
The BLE mesh architecture removes the need for dedicated communications cabling between lighting poles while providing network redundancy, simplified maintenance and improved reliability. Every pole acts as both a control point and a communication node, ensuring consistent coverage across the entire site, and allowing additional devices and technologies to be integrated with minimal disruption as operational requirements evolve.
Designed for future expansion
The platform has been engineered to support future smart infrastructure initiatives, ensuring the school can keep expanding without replacing the underlying control layer.
- Building Management System (BMS) integration
- Energy monitoring and reporting
- Occupancy and environmental sensors
- Automated scheduling
- Remote diagnostics
- Predictive maintenance
- Smart facility analytics
- Additional sporting precincts and connected assets
