LED Tennis Court Lighting
LED Tennis Court Lighting
Tennis is one of the most popular sports in Australia, with around 3.5 million Australians playing tennis every year. An essential part is Tennis court lighting, which can be quite costly to install and maintain, so it is important to choose a solution that best suits your needs, whether that be International, Club Competition or Social settings. Read on to find out more about key considerations when designing tennis court lighting solutions, including standards, configuration and costs associated with setting up and maintaining the lighting solution.
Lighting Level Considerations
It is important to choose a tennis court lighting solution that best suits your needs. Social settings may require less light than International games, which means the 250 Lux standard should be sufficient to see when playing in the dark, while also providing ambient ground illumination so players can move around safely without losing sight of ball or net. An International game would need 1000 Lux or more because of the visibility required by TV audiences and other spectators. Lights are also expected to degrade over their lifetime due to surface dust build-up and other wear and tear, so Tennis Australia recommends factoring an additional 25% (Average Initial Lux Level) to achieve the Average Maintained Lux Level recommendations.
*Source: Tennis Australia Website.
^Basic conversion of lux to lumens based on a singles court playing surface area (195.65m2). A detailed lighting design should be conducted to determine the unique needs of each project.
Lighting Solution Configuration Considerations
There are two broad lighting configurations, corner lighting and side lighting. Corner lighting is an illuminating fixture positioned in each of the four corners and aimed at right angles to the tennis court, generally used in double court configurations. 'Open face' type floodlights are generally used. Masts should be no less than 15 meters high for normal club applications. A lighting solution comprising 4 300W Janus High Mast Floodlights would provide almost 160,000 lumens, allowing players to see every inch of the playing surface on a doubles court.
Side lighting requires luminaires installed along the sidelines and is more prevalent in single courts. Masts range from 8 to 12 meters for club and as low as 6 meters for residential applications. Shoebox style lights such as the 150W Janus Shoebox Floodlight are generally used.
Lighting Solution Cost Considerations
Tennis court lighting cost considerations include both the lighting solution and installation costs, as well as the ongoing maintenance and power consumption. LED tennis court lighting provides significant cost savings over traditional metal halide, with twice the efficiency and less power consumption and should be front of mind, whether you are replacing existing lights or a new build. Also look for further energy saving and smart features that improve efficiency and usability of the lights, such as the 150W Janus Shoebox Floodlight with Photocell. The photocell detects lighting levels and can automatically switch on at night and switch off as daylight approaches, saving energy and therefore electricity bills. They also double as a security feature as they're able to automatically turn on when detecting motion.
Shopping around and comparing price of lighting fixtures can save you thousands, but it is also important to ask some key questions.
Does the solution have the required certifications to be sold in Australia?
Warranty terms and conditions, including labour warranty (for the installer)
- Is the product available now or is the lead time (which is not unusual for special orders) reasonable?
- Is the product available in the optimal colour temperature (5000K-5700K)
- What additional features (like the Photocell sensor) set the product apart?
Choosing the right solution does not have to be a difficult process. JH Market offers free lighting design on all tennis court lighting projects. Simply email the project specifications to project@jh.market or call 1300 000 808 to speak to a product expert and we do the rest!
