Buyers Guide >> Tennis Court Lighting

Tennis court lighting has advanced greatly over the past 50 or so years from little more than household incandescent lamps, to flourescent side lighting, to high level Tungsten Halogen, through to what is generally accepted now as 'State of the Art' Metal Halide 'down lights.'

The aim of the Metal Halide light is three fold:-
i] Gain good (high) light level on the court.
ii] Maintain uniformity of lighting on the court.
iii] Restrict light spillage outside the court so as not to deminish the surrounding amenity.

The initial down lights or 'shoe box' fittings gave reasonable light levels on the court however tended to fall down on points ii] & iii]. This lead to a redesign of the reflectors within the fittings. More recent development of the reflectors have meant an asymmetric fitting can throw greater light over more of the court (thus more even levels) whilst restricting light spillage further.

These superior reflectors can now be sourced in 1500 watt fittings thus further increasing the overall light levels on the playing surface. These light levels can further be enhanced by fitting the light on an 'outreach' arm which principally means the focus of the light is more directly over the playing surface. (This method of lighting was installed at the National Tennis Centre Melbourne).

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