Lighting Outdoor Sports - General Purpose Flood vs Sports Lighters

Outdoor sports lighting can be a complex field with many different variables and considerations. In this blog series, we will distill some of the key ideas to help you decide if it is right for your sports field.

This is the first of a series of blogs covering sports floodlights. Sports lighting is used for various sports, including baseball, football, soccer, tennis, hockey, and more. This blog outlines some of the major differences when comparing a sports flood light to a regular flood light. Beyond the obvious fact that a sports lighter is a specialty fixture intended for outdoor sports fields, regular floods are often used as the lower-cost option.

There are several things to consider when thinking about the right fixture to use at your facility/field, the most important one being light level requirements. Light level requirements can vary depending on the classification of the field, the level of competition, the users of the facility, existing light levels, and existing light sources being used. For example, in a university football field, prescribed light levels as recommended by the IES Handbook are from 200 lux/20 footcandles to 1000 lux/100 footcandles on the horizontal and 50 lux/5 footcandles to 300 lux/30 footcandles. A lighting layout comparing light levels from a sports lighter to a regular flood will indicate the difference in light levels and uniformity of light spread. Reach out to info@zcleds.com to get a conversation started on a custom layout design for your facility/field.

Moving on, we will now look at some of the key differences between a general flood light and a sports flood light.

While both general floodlights and sports lighting aim to illuminate large outdoor areas, there are significant differences in their design, performance, and application due to the highly specialized needs of sports venues.

Here's a breakdown of the key distinctions:

1. Purpose and Application:

• General Floodlights:
  • Designed for broad, general illumination of large outdoor spaces for safety, security, and visibility.
  • Commonly used for:
    • Parking lots
    • Building facades and architectural highlighting
    • Gardens and landscapes
    • General security lighting
    • Construction sites (temporary lighting)
    • Warehouses and industrial areas
• Sports Lighting:
  • Specifically engineered to meet the demanding requirements of various sports, ensuring optimal visibility for players, officials, and spectators, as well as for broadcasting.
  • Used for:
    • Baseball/softball fields
    • Football/soccer fields
    • Tennis courts
    • Basketball courts
    • Hockey rinks
    • Track and field venues
    • Other outdoor sports facilities

2. Lumen Output (Brightness):

• General Floodlights: Typically produce 3,000 to 60,000 lumens. They are designed for mounting heights of 20 to 40 feet.
• Sports Lighting: Have significantly higher lumen outputs, often ranging from 65,000 to over 160,000 lumens per fixture. This is necessary to illuminate large playing surfaces from greater mounting heights (e.g., 40-100+ feet for large stadiums).

3. Beam Pattern and Light Distribution:

• General Floodlights: Usually have a wide or very wide beam spread (45-130 degrees) to cover a large area with relatively uniform light for general purposes. The light tends to diffuse more over distance.
• Sports Lighting: Offer a much broader range of beam patterns (e.g., narrow 10-20 degrees, to wider 60-80 degrees). They are designed for precise control of light distribution to achieve high uniformity across the playing surface, minimize shadows, and prevent glare for players and spectators. They act more like spotlights, projecting light accurately over long distances.

4. Light Quality and Uniformity:

• General Floodlights: Provide adequate light levels for general safety and visibility, but uniformity might be less critical. You might see more "hot spots" and shadows.
• Sports Lighting: Prioritize extreme uniformity of light across the entire playing area. They aim to eliminate shadows and ensure consistent brightness, which is crucial for fast-paced sports where players need to track objects and see clearly in all directions. Requirements are often expressed as uniformity ratios (e.g., 1.5:1 or 2:1 for professional play).

5. Glare Control:

• General Floodlights: While some glare control might be present, it's not as critical as in sports lighting.
• Sports Lighting: Incorporate advanced optics and shielding to minimize glare for players, officials, and spectators. Blinding glares can be dangerous and disrupt gameplay.

6. Durability and Weather Resistance:

• General Floodlights: Are generally built to withstand outdoor elements (e.g., IP65 rating for dust and water resistance).
• Sports Lighting: Need to be exceptionally robust and weather-resistant due to their high mounting heights and exposure to harsh conditions. They often have higher IK ratings (impact protection) to withstand potential impacts from balls or other objects.

7. Surge Protection:

• General Floodlights: May have basic surge protection.
• Sports Lighting: Typically come with higher surge protection due to their outdoor exposure (especially to lightning strikes at greater heights) and the high cost of maintenance/replacement.

8. Control Capabilities:

• General Floodlights: May have basic on/off controls, sometimes with motion or dusk-to-dawn sensors.
• Sports Lighting: Often feature sophisticated control systems for dimming, scheduling, and adjusting light levels for different sports or competition levels. Many offer wireless control capabilities.

In summary:

Think of general floodlights as providing a "wash" of light for broad coverage. Sports lighting, on the other hand, is like a precisely engineered system of "spotlights" designed to meet stringent illumination standards for specific athletic activities, prioritizing brightness, uniformity, glare control, and durability in challenging environments. The investment in sports lighting is typically much higher due to these specialized requirements.