Jessica P - Jan 17, 2023

FOOTBALL LIGHTING

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PERFECT LIGHTING

Football, not the European version but the one played by the NFL is lighting that we specialize in, not only for professional level stadiums but also recreational, high school and college level in the global market.

Football for you trivia geeks is actually a combination of soccer and rugby and is technically known as “gridiron” due to the mathematic layout of the field.

As the world’s largest and most lucrative sports league, this sport is taken very seriously and evokes the enthusiasm and attention of an entire nation.

LuxLogic can assist you with professional, energy efficient lighting designs and product selection for your specific needs.

Balls and athletes travel at high speeds, so to play safely and effectively as dusk turns into night; Visibility, Glare, Uniformity and Contrast are the top lighting considerations when it comes to sports.

If you are designing a new field or upgrading an existing one, our team of experts is ready to assist you with updating your old halogens or metal halide lamps to energy efficient LED lighting.

Please reach out and we will connect you with our trained sales agents and design team to get you started.

FOOTBALL AT NIGHT

Sports at night require a high level of illumination both for purposes of the players visual needs but also spectators and broadcasters.

Football is a high-speed, multi-directional aerial, sport as the ball can travel with a high velocity, at speeds reaching up to 60 mph. To see the ball itself from all angles requires the right lighting to offset direct glare and shadows from light sources.

Proper illumination levels and positioning eliminates these problems thereby providing the best lighting conditions for nighttime football.

GLARE & SHADOW DISPLACEMENT

More light will equal less shadows yet glare from bright lights needs to still be controlled as it can be debilitating to everyone’s vision.

Shadows occur as a result of players moving through the field space which naturally blocks some of the light from the sources mounted on perimeter poles or ceilings. These shadows cause interference and make the game less enjoyable for both players and spectators.

These shadows can be mitigated through proper lighting design.

Lighting should be designed to provide defined modeling of the players and all game elements such as the ball and other sports equipment, indicators and referee and coach signals. To achieve this, lighting from more than three directions is required to minimize shadows.

Glare can be mitigated with proper pole placement and beam angle as well as the use of fixture accessories that shields the light source.

BASIC PLANNING PRINCIPLES 

OUR KEY OBJECTIVES

Flawless football is our raison d’être.

If used effectively, proper lighting can have a positive impact on the overall gameplay, spectators and players viewing experience, players health, safety, performance and well-being.

An overview of the lighting design elements that we can assist with are:
• Budget
• Timeline from concept to installation and aiming
• Lighting requirements & photometrics
• Pole Quantity, mounting height and location
• Fixture specification, quantity of fixtures and lighting layout
• Fixture degree angles and aiming
• Power requirements
• Installation, maintenance & testing

We are the “go to” Sports Lighting Specialists!

RECOMMENDATIONS
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD LIGHTING

To achieve a “perfect” lighting the interplay between daylight and artificial light, colours and materials, should be accurately understood, and infused to the overall design of lighting systems.

For an accurate illumination design, the following should be put into consideration:

• Luminaire Quality: The number of lights needed to properly illuminate the football field and minimize shadows.

• Pole quantity and placement: This maximizes luminaire efficiency. The higher the poles the more the light is spread yet still needs to calculate so that illuminance targets are met.

• Brightness: This refers to the light that is perceived as reflecting from an object or being produced by the source luminaire. This controls contrast which affects sight. Because a football is a darker colour a light background is preferred as opposed to a dark one as for a white baseball.

• Glare: Mounting heights and aiming angles are crucial to eliminating glare for players, spectators and prevent injury and game interference.

• Uniformity: Fixture aiming and beam spreads determine uniform coverage over the entire football field. Attention should be paid during design and placement, to avoid casting shadows and or creating hot or dark spots.

• Broadcast requirements: To offset flicker and transmit high definition signal the parameters are a bit more exacting for camera technology. Below is chart with some guidelines to give you an idea.

LIGHT LEVELS

Having adequate, high quality illumination is essential to the game. Players need to be alert and to see the all the details of the game as do your fans in the stands.

Generally target illuminance for (high school) football is 40 -50 foot candles or 400-500 lux.

For broadcast purposes a much higher illuminance level is required. The lighting needs of your venue will fluctuate depending on the time of year, day and programming in general.

RECOMMENDED LIGHTING

Note that the class rankings are determined by the number of spectators and level of play.

• Class I: Professional or college level (over 5.000 spectators)

• Class II: College or high school level (up to 5.000 spectators)

• Class III: High School or recreational level (up to 2.000 spectators)

• Class IV: Recreational or training (limited or no spectators)

UPGRADING TO LEDS

By upgrading to LEDs from legacy lighting types you will save up to 80% on energy consumption costs alone. LEDs also need little maintenance and relamping if any at all saving you further costs in operations.

LEDs allow for endless options for light quality, control and customization.

With our team of experts we can help determine the perfect combination of fixture types and settings.

Upgrades can be performed in phases but it is often best to do it all at once to minimize disruption and get the best costs in terms of volume and contractor fees.

CONSIDERATIONS & CONTROLS

A regulation size football field measures 160’ wide by 360’ long. Depending on the level of play, league type and country these dimensions may vary. The “hashmarks” that demarcate the yard lines will also differ based on the same variables. In Canada for instance there are two 50 yard lines and the goal posts are placed on the goal lines!

Special attention with lighting should be given to these zones.

Standard areas of the football field that need to be given particular attention include the endzone, side lines, end lines and midfield.

Other areas which may require lighting:

• Entrances and exits

• Parking lots

• Concession stands

• Locker rooms and warm up areas

The implementation of a controls system will allow for greater flexibility and convenience of adjusting your lights while monitoring energy usage. With pre-programming which can be done with the help of one of our integrators, your facility manager can focus their time on more important duties.

With the seasons and your programming changing throughout year this is the way to go.

A valuable aspect of controls is the ability to enable the RGB (full colour) options to highlight special occasions and events which really enhances the fan and player experience.

If you are hosting a corporate event or want to celebrate your team colours, LEDs with RGB are the answer.

OUR LIGHTING SOLUTIONS
EXAMPLE OF POLE PLACEMENT

MOUNTING & AIMING

Depending on what type of mounting the aiming must be done in such a way that there will be no interference with existing infrastructure.

Each Individual light should be aimed and programmed according to the needs of your facility type.

12-60 degrees is the standard beam angle used on most football fields to ensure complete coverage and avoid light spill on surrounding properties and neighbourhoods.

SELECTING THE RIGHT FIXTURE

We have an extensive selection of fixture types, optics and accessories to illuminate your facility and field.

Form factors and specifications such as CRI, CCT, Power Efficiency and Operating Temperatures and Total Harmonic Distortion is a small list of a much more complex criteria that we look at.

There should be maximum light distribution to eliminate shadows, and properly placed to avoid hot spots and support lighting uniformity.

The chances of having hot spots will be greatly reduced if the maximum beam spread of a single luminaire produces no more than 80% of the average illuminance at any point where it is aimed.

WHAT’S THE MOST SUITABLE CCT (COLOUR TEMPERATURE)?

For football most of our clients choose 5000k/5700k for their football field lighting which is also standard for the sport.

A NOTE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF UNIFORMITY

Lack of uniformity results in dark spots and overall imbalance to the visual field that impacts the perception of depth, detail, direction and speed.

For exterior applications the min/ max ratio is applied. In a designated area within the field of play a calculation taken with light meters and software to produce a photometric report.

To achieve evenly distributed light without hot spots and shadows, 3.0 is the ratio you want to target for basic recreational and practice. For college and professional play the ratio should be below 2.0 and high school, 2.5 will do.

OUR SERVICES

• Free design assist services: We are glad to direct you on the best way to use our products and design your facility. Feel free to contact us for assistance

• Retrofitting: Through our easy-to-use customer contact services, you can tell us your existing lighting specifications. Let us know if you desire a “one for one” replacement with same specifications or require a new more efficient upgrade

• Energy Management: We can assist you in lowering your total overall energy and maintenance costs by switching to longer lasting more energy efficient LED Lighting

• Spare part services: With our extensive range of products and customer satisfaction at heart, we provide spare parts for our lighting systems

OUR SOLUTIONS
CONTENDER

WATTAGE: 300W/600W/900W/1200W

CCT: 3000K/4000K/5000K

VOLTAGE: 100-277V (UNV) / 277-480V (HV)

MOUNTING: YOKE (STD) / SLIP FITTER

170LM/W (155 LM/W FOR G4)

The Contender Sports Flood Light is the swiss army knife of sports lighting. Featuring a modular design that allows the connection of up to three separate modules, each rotatable 360°, the Contender is a versatile luminaire that can handle a huge variety of projects. IP66 and IK10 ratings make it ideal for outdoor use, and offering a variety of beam angles for multiple applications - 30°, 60°, 90° and Asymmetric-G4 Type.

• LED Type: Philips

• LED Driver: Inventronics/Meanwell

• CRI: RA>70(Standard); RA>80(Optional)

• Power Factor: >0.95

• Operating Temperature: -40ºC to 60ºC / -40ºF to 140ºF

CHAMPION 3

WATTAGE: 300W/400W/500W/600W/750W/1000W/1200W

CCT: 3000K/4000K/5000K/5700K

VOLTAGE: 100-277V (UNV) / 277-480V (HV)

MOUNTING: YOKE (STD) / SLIP FITTER

135 - 170LM/W

The Champion 3 LED Sports Flood Light is the ideal stadium light. This sports light packs a punch providing 135-170lm/W. It is available in multiple beam angles and color temperatures. This fixture is waterproof, (IP 66 rated), dust-proof, and provides superior thermal venting.

• LED Type: Lumileds/Osram

• LED Driver: Integral Inventronics

• Lumen Maintenance @L70: 65,000 hours

• CRI: >70

• THD: <15%

• Power Factor: >0.95

• Operating Temperature: -40ºC to 50ºC / -40ºF to 122ºF

CHAMPION 2

WATTAGE: 300W/400W/500W/600W/750W/1000W/1200W

CCT: 3000K/4000K/5000K/5700K

VOLTAGE: 100-277V (UNV) / 277-480V (HV)

MOUNTING: YOKE (STD) / SLIP FITTER

130 - 160LM/W

The Champion 2 LED Sports Flood Light is the ideal stadium light. This sports light packs a punch providing 130-160lm/W. It is available in multiple beam angles and color temperatures. This fixture is waterproof, (IP 66 rated), dustproof, and provides superior thermal venting. Operating temperature –30° to 40°C (-22F to 113F). Standard dimming of 0-10V.

• LED Type: Philips

• LED Driver: Inventronics/Meanwell

• Lumen Maintenance @L70: 50,000 hours

• CRI: >70

• THD: <15%

• Power Factor: >0.95

• Operating Temperature: -30ºC to 45ºC / -22ºF to 113ºF

PRO

WATTAGE: 300W/400W/500W/600W/ 700W/800W/1000W

CCT: 3000K/4000K/5000K/5700K

VOLTAGE: 100-277V (UNV) / 277-480V (HV)

MOUNTING: YOKE (STD) / SLIP FITTER

150LM/W

The Pro Sports Flood includes state-of-the-art LEDs along with extremely efficient optics which allow you to illuminate sports facilities with a reduced number of fixturs. Compact size and reduced EPA make this flood light an ideal candidate for retrofit projects. Includes integral Surge Protection Device 20KV standard. Operating temperature –40° to 50°C (-40F to 122F). Standard cord length is 1m (3.28ft).

• LED Type: Lumileds 5050 for 30/45/80D / Samsung 3535 for 15D

• LED Driver: Included

• Lumen Maintenance @L70: 50,000 hours

• CRI: >70

• THD: 15%

• Power Factor: >0.9

• Operating Temperature: -40ºC to 50ºC / -40ºF to 122ºF

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FAQ

REACH OUT TO US TO HAVE YOUR SOCCER RELATED QUESTIONS ANSWERED - WE’RE ALWAYS HAPPY TO RESPOND TO YOU!

1. Can high power LED lights be a good substitute for metal halide?

The answer is an absolute yes! We have many high- powered LED floodlights and sports luminaires designed specifically for use in tennis courts. They can easily replace 1000 watt, 1500 watt, 2000 watt, even 3500 watt metal halides. Switch to high quality LEDs for their performance, durability and to benefit from the immediate energy cost savings.

Make your friday night lights shine bright and right every night of the week with us!