whether LEDs can help Pittsburgh Pirates celebrate wins?

The whole city in Pittsburgh's baseball fans will be able to celebrate with their team regardless of whether or not they can make the game. The Gulf Tower, located downtown, will light up when the Pirates score runs and win games.

The weather beacon on top of the 44-story tower has long been a landmark for Pittsburgh residents - for years, the lights have flashed various colors to represent current weather. Originally, there were four settings: Orange meant fair weather and blue meant precipitation, consistent light meant rising temperatures, flashing light indicated temperatures were falling.

For many years, the building used copper incandescent lights, then neon, then high-pressure sodium. Finally, on July 4, 2012, the city installed RGB LED lights. The new lighting system is not only brighter and more energy efficient, but it allows for more specific weather predictions, with the top three floors indicating temperature, the 41st floor indicating precipitation, the 40th floor showing humidity levels and the 39th displaying wind speeds.

Now, the Gulf Tower will be programmed to light up every time the Pirates score a run. The tower will feature two separate in-game light sequences. One will indicate Pirates home runs and another for runs scored at home games. The sequences will both be a black and gold pattern and will last for one minute. In addition, every time the Pirates win a game, either at home in PNC Stadium or on the road, the tower will display a unique light sequence that will run for the rest of the evening. 

The color changing LED lights will help the city cheer on its baseball team through the end of the 2013 baseball season as the Pirates pursue the playoffs.