Sports Lighting

Sports Lighting Australia

The roar of the crowd, the cheers of excitement, and the muted murmurs during moments of uncertainty. A cricket match, rugby or footy game, greyhound track or even a tense game of tennis would be a very different experience without a live audience. But who would want to watch any sporting activities live if they struggled to see what was going on as soon as the sky clouded over, or the sun began to set? Not to mention how this would affect the players ability to see where the ball is. Without great sports lighting, all sporting activity would be limited to daylight hours on clear and sunny days.

From athletic fields and racing tracks to rugby and cricket stadiums, indoor and outdoor courts, and all too easily forgotten golf courses. There is an art to designing and installing sports lighting to ensure that all the action is visible without any glare. So, when it comes to replacing a failed ballast or sports lights that have burnt-out, you want the support of experts to ensure you replace them with professional grade equipment that delivers the same results.

And there are critical factors you need to consider when looking at replacements. Regardless of whether you are still using high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps–such as metal halide lamps or high-pressure sodium lamps–or have made the switch to cost-saving LEDs flood and sporting lights.

Sports Lighting Beam Angle

Beam angle refers to the angle from maximum light intensity to where it drops to 50%. When installed, each of your lights would have been positioned to ensure the overlap on beam angles created 100% illumination. Choosing the wrong beam angle when replacing any lights can have a considerable impact on how well your venue is lit. If you’re ever not sure, get professional advice.

Light Colour

The colour of the light emitted by lamps and lighting systems used in sports venues its Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT). This is usually measured in Kelvin. Lamps with a lower CCT–in the region of 2400K–emit more orange light, while lamps with a higher CCT–6000K and higher–emit more blue light. Depending on your venue and events it typically hosts, most sports lighting is between 4200K and 5000K–a bright white light.

Sports Lighting Colour Rendering Index

The Colour Rendering Index (CRI) of lamps and lights indicates how accurate the colours of objects appear when lit. Naturally, this can be of critical importance in certain sporting activities, where you should look for a CRI rating of at least 75. Not all areas of your sporting venue would require accurate light rendering but seek professional advice before opting for a lower CRI.

Weather Resistance of the Sports Lights

Many sports lights are set up outdoors and endlessly exposed to direct sunlight, humidity, rain, dust, and more. When replacing or installing a full lighting enclosure, you want to ensure that it has a high level of weather resistance. This is represented as an Ingress Protection (IP) code, shown as IP followed by two digits. The first digit indicates protection against solids–such as dust–and the second shows level of protection against liquids.

For most outdoor lights, IP65 is the ideal rating you would want. The “6” indicates that the light is dust-tight, while the “5” shows that the enclosure is water resistant from any direction.

We’re here to help with your sports lighting.

We know our products inside and out, and we’re always ready to help with new projects. For more information about our products, services or stockists, please contact the Plusrite Australia team using the enquiry form.