What do I need to know about metal halide replacement

The past 10 years has seen a huge shift from traditional Metal Halide fittings over to digital lighting in the form of LED. 

The first question is how much light do you need in lux terms? It is important to consider vertical and horizontal illuminance in your lighting design. And lighting uniformity has a big impact on player positioning. The more uniform the lighting, the better the ball’s velocity can be estimated. If parts of the playing field are dark, players have to subconsciously compensate for this during play, which can lead to fatigue.

The next part is if you have enough money to replace the poles or if you’re going for a retrofit.  Retrofits are a lot cheaper but also can be restrictive if the poles are too low or in the wrong positions.  At this point it’s worth getting a lighting plan done to confirm how many lights are needed and if the current heights and positions are feasible. The type of luminaire, the number of luminaires per pole, and the type of mounting bracket used to attach the luminaire to the pole will affect the structural requirements of the pole. Luminaire types vary widely as each luminaire housing has a unique Effective Projected Area (EPA).

Now you know if the poles are good and how many lights you need, you can assess if there is sufficient power to the ground. Again, if you’re swapping out one-for-one this is generally not an issue as the metal halides are 2kW, whereas most big LEDs are 1600-1800W, giving you some tolerance.