Learn How To Save Time And Money Using Photometrics For Volleyball Court Lighting Project
July 23rd, 2009. Published under Small Business. No Comments.
The club had a substantial membership and was interested in upgrading their volleyball court lighting system. Their existing layout consisted of a 4-court sand volleyball court commercial facility used by local leagues for games and tournaments. Over the years, the lighting had deteriorated, and the club management had decided it was time to purchase replacements.
The system they had was woefully inadequate for a multi-directional, fast moving sport such as volleyball. The original court lighting system was comprised of nothing more than a set of wooden poles and quartz halogen lamps. Our first task was to increase foot candles in all play areas, but there were two things we had to keep in mind while doing so.
One of these considerations was state dark sky laws. Arizona has some of the most restrictive lighting regulations in the nation, so it was necessary for us to extensively study the lighting code book from the City of Flagstaff to find the most appropriate equipment options.
The second challenge was finances. Athletic club was operating on a very tight budget. Over the years, the cost of maintaining the club had continued to rise, but membership had remained relatively the same. The client requested that we propose two volleyball court lighting systems at different price points so they could determine which one would be most affordable and simultaneously effective.
The 4-court layout was something of a challenge to design. Because of safety concerns, it offered them absolutely no room to install interior light poles. They would therefore have to mount all volleyball court light fixtures on perimeter poles.
While this would cause the interior court boundaries to experience slightly lower levels than rest of court surface, the foot candles levels would still meet acceptable safety minimums.
In order to accomplish our objective, they had to maintain an average of 24 foot candles throughout the entirety of all four courts. Club proposed two different layouts an 8-pole layout, and a 4-pole layout. It was strongly discouraged the club from going with the 4-pole system because the luminance levels were sub-par at best. However, since the club was dealing with a tight budget, they wanted to explore all possibilities.
With the 8-pole lighting system, they were able to achieve a max to min ratio of 2.3:1. They were also able to be shown a rendered 3D view of this superior option in order to fully illustrate its capabilities.
For luminaires, they chose full cut off CXL series fixtures that were specifically designed for all volleyball court lighting situations. Although the cost was higher, the club eventually decided to invest in the 8-pole layout. The simple design of the equipment fit with the club aesthetics, the CXL series fixtures met with all dark sky regulations, and the wind load capacitance of the new system was well within acceptable limits.
The athletic club completed this project by assisting the local electrical contractor with the proper placement, orientation, and installation of equipment. With exception of the minor delay posed by an issue with the local freight company, everyone involved with the project was very pleased with the results.
RLLD Commercial Lighting offers energy efficient parking lot lighting, tennis court lighting, outdoor architectural lighting fixtures, photometric lighting design, supplies and sales. Read more at http://www.rlldesign.com