Concerning Lighting Calculation for Outdoor Sports Lighting

The lighting calculation is the foremost and most crucial step for outdoor sports lighting.

Here we would like to talk about something referring to sports lighting calculation.

How to choose the right light distribution

Normally, there are symmetric and asymmetric light distributions. The narrower the beam angle, the smaller the coverage, but the higher the light intensity and the farther the illumination distance. On the contrary, the wider the beam angle, the larger the coverage, but the lower the light intensity and the closer the illumination distance. The light distribution has a lot to do with the lux level and uniformity. For the large stadium that held professional international competition, it needs to choose narrow beam angle, while for recreational sports fields, a wide or asymmetric beam angle would be fine.    

The elevation angle also matters a lot

When processing the lighting calculation, it’s inevitable to adjust the elevation angle of the luminaire. The larger the elevation angle, the larger the luminous surface that can be visually seen, the more glare produced, the more spill light and upward light outside the site, and the greater the impact on the surrounding environment.

When using the same luminaire to illuminate the same area, the elevation angle will be larger if you install the luminaire on a lower pole. We at AGC developed some asymmetric light distributions with a larger γ angle, which can achieve good lighting performance with less pollution even when install the luminaire on a relatively low pole.  

Compared with a symmetric beam profile, the asymmetric beam has some advantages in minimizing light pollution. Asymmetric lighting is becoming a trend.  

Do not hesitate to ask for more details info or share your thoughts on sports lighting.