Optical design considerations
The last important element of the system to be considered in sports field lighting is beam steering. In a typical four-light pole topology, there is a light pole at each corner of a rectangular playing area, and light must be accurately projected from the height onto the entire playing field.
Traditional LED collimators can provide excellent beam control from a point source. The optical loss in the collimator is small and dissipates as waste heat. In ultra-high-flux systems, this generates a large amount of heat, which is too high for polycarbonate (PC) or PMMA materials commonly used in LED lenses, which can deform at high temperatures.
As with LED technology, by reducing maintenance and replacement costs and reducing energy costs, the additional initial cost of LED-based sports field lighting will be recovered over the entire life of the system. The quality and flexible operation control of LED lighting systems provide important additional advantages.
