LED lights have proven to be incredibly practical for a wide variety of uses. Nowadays, many sports courts are considering installing LED lighting to take advantage of the many benefits they provide. What’s surprising is that they are even better for sports courts than you might expect. Here are a few extra benefits that they provide.
Less heat generation
Standard sports lamps are incredibly hot to the touch once they get going. They generate quite a bit of heat that can radiate far from the original bulb. Even if a light fixture is set up far above the stands, bleachers, or playing field, the people below it will be able to feel the heat to an extent. While this is less of an issue during the colder months of the year, it can be a problem during the summer. It’s possible for players and spectators to overheat, especially if they’re located near the sports lamps.
LEDs generate much less heat than other types of bulbs. They can illuminate a large area without raising the ambient temperature, even if practice or events are located indoors. This keeps the players and spectators comfortable without sacrificing visibility.
Lower maintenance costs
Sports arenas and training fields are expensive to maintain, and lighting can be a big part of the cost. Keeping filaments running isn’t easy, and the more lighting you have, the more often you’ll have to make repairs. The filament bulbs heat up quite a bit to create the necessary lighting, and these high temperatures cause them to burn out more quickly than smaller lights.
One of the many reasons LED lighting is catching on is its incredible longevity. These types of bulbs require far less maintenance than filament lights do, and they last a lot longer too. If used for sports lighting, maintenance costs for the field can be reduced significantly. Maintenance crews don’t have to work on fixing the lighting on a day-to-day basis if LED lighting is used. The cost of replacing them is reduced as well, considering that LED lights last a long while.
No-flicker lighting
Sports events are often filmed for a wide variety of reasons. Whether it’s news crews or parents that want a video of their kid’s game, someone is going to be filming on the court every once in a while. With standard lighting, the film may be affected due to light flickering. What looks to us like a continuous stream of light is actually incredibly fast flickering which shows up on cameras. Even professional TV cameras often show these quick flashes during sports events.
It’s worth noting that not all lightbulbs produce light flickering in a noticeable way. While LEDs also work using controlled burst cycles of light, these cycles are so fast that they don’t even show up on camera. As a result, you can film a stadium or court with a ton of LEDs and maintain a clear picture without any flickering. This is crucial for sports photography and filming during events.
Vivid colours
Visibility is absolutely crucial on any sports court, and that applies to colours as well as general visibility. If colours aren’t clearly identifiable from a distance, there might be a slight performance drop for the players, especially if there’s a small ball or target involved in the sport.
You might think that all lighting allows you to see contrast and colours, but that’s not exactly true. Some lights are better than others at improving contrast and enabling vivid views. Take LED lighting for example. Not only does it pack a punch when it comes to Lumens, but it also offers high CRI for vivid colours. It allows for clean visibility for everything from the grass to the tags on players’ jerseys.
High impact resistance
One of the worst things that can happen to sports court lighting is a direct impact from a ball or piece of equipment. When it comes to standard lighting options, a direct hit can knock the filament out of its place or even break the glass cover on the fixture. No matter how it’s hit, any sharp blow to the fixture can destroy the filament.
This isn’t as much of a problem with LED lights. They don’t use thin filaments to produce light, so a small impact shouldn’t keep it from functioning. Even a massive impact from a broken bat or heavy piece of equipment won’t necessarily knock out any LEDs. They tend to use protective covers made from polycarbonate lens material, which is tough enough on its own.
With how the lights are designed and the inherent protection they possess from the polycarbonate, LED lighting is considered impact-resistant. A set of efficient led flood lights can take a punch without flickering or malfunctioning. This makes these lights perfect for a wide variety of sports that involve high-speed projectiles.
Minimal glare and shadows
Sports lighting is quite a bit more complicated than just setting up a large number of bulbs. You have to take into account the distribution of light and how much glare the players may experience. These factors can affect performance significantly, especially when it’s stadium lighting that involves hundreds of bulbs.
Overhead shadows can play tricks on players and confuse them. Balls and other players may be more difficult to make out on a field if you’re far away and there are a bunch of shadows in the same location. Wrap-around lights can help improve this issue, and it’s easier to do with LEDs.
Glare is another issue that can be resolved with LED lighting. Limiting light bleed is pretty difficult with halides and incandescent lighting. LEDs are always directional, and there’s a lot less light bleed—Which means there’s also a lot less glare hitting the players. They can play comfortably and not have to worry about light bleed hitting them from multiple angles.
Conclusion
There are quite a few benefits to using LED lighting in various locations, but sports courts benefit the most. LED lights are efficient and easy to maintain, making them incredibly convenient for stadiums that require tons of lighting. With the right LEDs, you can light up the entire court with minimal issues and get optimal visibility.
