Month: April 2021

Artificial lighting to sporting facilities needs to be carefully planned in order to meet the high levels of illumination and uniformity required by each sport, as well as avoid glare and provide an energy efficient solution. Each sport has its own specific lighting requirements which are determined by the pace of play, size and speed of the ball, spectator location, and nature of the sport.

Up until recently, particularly for outdoor sporting facilities, it was only metal halide flood lights that could handle this task. The high output lamps could deliver the best luminous efficacy, whilst also provide appropriate levels of colour temperature and colour rendering for this specialist area of lighting.

Advancements in LED technology mean that it is now possible to substitute metal halide fittings for LED’s with an equivalent lumen package that consume only half of the power of their traditional counterparts. This is in addition to all of the other benefits of LED’s over HIT lamps such as reduced maintenance intervals, instantaneous operation, and colour stability.

With the above in mind, the following examples illustrate the advantages of contemporary LED area lighting over conventional Metal Halide when applied to Outdoor Tennis Court Lighting.

Tennis is a fast paced sport which demands high levels of visual acuity. Good contrast between the ball and the vertical surrounds are important, however the drop off in illumination levels beyond the boundary lines should not to be too stark as players are also active in those areas.

In addition to the court itself being uniformly lit, the ball should also have a consistent level of illumination for players to better judge its velocity and trajectory during play.

Luminaires should be mounted at a sufficient height in order to mitigate glare.