COVER STORY
LED specialist Earlsmann was recently approached by MCC, owners of Lord’s cricket ground, to quote for replacement lighting at the club’s Real Tennis court facilities. Here, the company explains why LEDs were the perfect fit for this technically challenging and unusual space.
SERVING UP A SHINE Seeking bespoke LED solutions for
sports facilities? Lord’s may be known as the ‘home of cricket’ but the ground also houses a Real Tennis court. These courts, of which there are only 43 worldwide, are enclosed by walls on all four sides, three of which have sloping roofs, known as ‘penthouses’. This unusual shape presents various challenges for lighting placement – the playing floor is offset due to the penthouses, potentially creating dark corners that make it difficult to achieve uniformity.
Earlsmann – expertise in designing LED
lighting for unusual spaces Having worked on several Real Tennis courts, Earlsmann is fast becoming a specialist in providing lighting solutions for the facilities where this niche but prestigious sport is
played. MCC contacted Earlsmann to provide a proposal for replacing the existing lighting at its Real Tennis court. The old lights, which ran parallel with the length of the court, and the reflections they created, were visually distracting and made it difficult to follow a ball.
Relux modelling provides confidence in LED
lighting design Earlsmann drew on its previous experience to develop a detailed Relux model – while recognising that no two Real Tennis courts are the same (e.g. different height beams, varying light spacing). The design achieved for Lord’s through this process achieves 700 lux with a 0.76 uniformity, meaning the corners of the court are brightly lit, enabling players to accurately hit difficult shots by the back walls.
LEDs provide clear, bright lighting that
supports high performance in sport As requested by MCC, 4000K lights were used – providing a ‘warm’ feel to the lighting. Earlsmann supplied its traditional high-bay LED units with reflectors to minimise glare. The result is a much clearer, brighter and less cluttered atmosphere that improves the real tennis playing experience. Sensors were installed to maintain light levels within a specific target, while ensuring that lighting is never running at 100% – increasing the life of the LED units. With instant-start functionality no warm-up period is needed so lighting can be left off until required, providing additional energy savings.
Drawing on shared experience to minimise
Before: The old fluorescent lighting was distracting and created areas of darkness and glare.
installation cost and disruption This complex project involved removing four complete lines of inefficient fluorescent lighting and all associated trunking. Two towers were required due to the length of the trunking, and the facilities were completely rewired to comply with current standards. Earlsmann worked closely with lighting installer InterLED, drawing on shared experience of similar projects.
Earlsmann – your experienced partner in
After: The Real Tennis court is now brightly and clearly lit, providing high-quality facilities for fast, exciting play.
creating total LED lighting solutions Earlsmann has many years’ experience in the LED marketplace, providing a comprehensive range of lighting solutions to suit every interior and exterior application. In- house designers use Relux modelling to create innovative solutions tailored to client requirements. Earlsmann is an expert in designing and manufacturing lighting equipment to suit specialist sports and other facilities.
www.earlsmann.co.uk 36 | TOMORROW’S FM
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86
