Climbing wall, field hockey field or sports hall - depending on the sport, lighting in sports facilities serves a variety of functions - from ensuring the comfort of both players and spectators, to taking into account the possibility of television broadcasts, to minimizing operating costs and energy consumption throughout the facility's life cycle. Using the example of TRILUX lighting and retrofit projects in Central and Eastern Europe, we show how to tailor lighting solutions to the requirements of the facility and its users.
The selection of lighting solutions in sports facilities largely depends on the type and class of the facility itself. Parameters such as the level of illuminance - both horizontally and vertically - its uniformity, the level of glare and the color temperature of the light are of key importance. How to translate these requirements into practice? It is these indicators that form the basis for designing lighting that not only meets the standards, but, above all, ensures the comfort of players and spectators, as well as enabling professional recording of sports events.
17 meters above the ground
We move to Slovenia and the largest climbing center in the region. More than 3,000 m² of various climbing walls, with heights of up to 17 meters - in this space, the light was designed to promote the comfort and safety of both athletes participating in competitions and amateurs enjoying the delights of climbing as a hobby.
A key element turned out to be the elimination of shadows cast by the climber, which was achieved by precisely optimizing the placement of lighting fixtures. Lighting directed at the climbing wall from different sides and angles meant that the shadows were dispersed and the light became even. In practice, this translates into better visibility of details such as climbing holds, which significantly affects the comfort and safety of climbers. At the same time, the proper slope and location of the Mirona Fit fixtures helped minimize the risk of glare, which is also important in this sport.
In particular, the highest climbing wall, used during competitions, proved to be a challenge - here vertical lighting of 800 lux was used. In smaller spaces, used by both adults and children, a wide optical system was introduced for open spaces.
The project did not lack elements of new technologies. Already during its preparation, 3D models were used as part of the methodology of the future - BIM (Building Information Modeling), containing detailed elements of the entire building and allowing to plan lighting with great precision. The technological icing on the cake turned out to be the installation of the LiveLink lighting control system, allowing to change the lighting depending on the needs, such as training or competitions, explains Pavel Bouček, Head of Lighting design IKAM CEE.
Climbing center
© Trilux
Ice puck in multiple shots
From the high climbing walls, we move to the ice sheet of Slovakia's Tipos Bet Arény - a state-of-the-art arena where the HK Spišská Nová Ves team, which has been competing in the top division, the Slovak Extraliga, for 15 years, trains and plays matches. The venue has a capacity of 4,300 spectators, and its infrastructure is designed for television broadcasts. It was the requirements for image quality - in addition to the comfort of players and fans - that determined the choice of lighting solutions. The arena uses dynamic lighting of 1,000 lx and 1,500 lx to create flexible lighting scenes - tailored for both daily training sessions and "live" entries and professional match broadcasts. The entire system is managed by the LiveLink Premium intelligent system, which allows advanced control of the fixtures and automation of settings depending on the event scenario.
In contact sports such as field hockey, the visual comfort of the players is crucial. That's why the lighting design relied on Mirona Fit luminaires in various variants to achieve a low glare rating (UGR), guaranteeing glare-free and eye-friendly light. In addition, thanks to their IP65 rating, these luminaires are perfect for the demanding conditions of the ice rink - they are resistant to moisture and temperature fluctuations.
Field hockey hall
© Trilux
Volleyball paired with economical LEDs
And finally, a realization in Poland - the multifunctional Suche Stawy Sports and Entertainment Hall in Krakow, serving the players of the Hutnik Krakow club. The facility is used for a variety of sports, although when modernizing the lighting, special consideration was given to meeting the standards for the highest class of volleyball competition and to evenly illuminate the entire playing field surface - necessary to achieve optimal training and match conditions.
What change has been made? Earlier light sources - discharge lamps - were characterized by long cooling times and thus limited the adaptation of lighting to different conditions and user requirements. Additional causes of discomfort were inadequate lighting intensity, its color temperature and luminaire positioning. The change to LED sources and the sectional arrangement of luminaires made it possible to use the hall more efficiently and economically and to respond quickly to varying lighting requirements.
In the design of the modernized Dry Ponds Sports and Entertainment Hall, the Mirona Fit SPO luminaires were divided into circuits, which gave the possibility to call up independent lighting scenes. As a result, energy consumption was reduced from 79,200 watts to 19,684 watts, a 75% reduction. Thanks to the lighting upgrade, it was possible not only to ensure the comfort of players and spectators, but also to generate savings allowing a return on investment after 13 months, says Arkadiusz Wiosna, Sales Manager at TRILUX.
Sports hall
© Trilux
For more information, visit the company's TRILUX Polska page on the PdA portal.
