Rugby Field Lights

Using stadium lights to light up the rugby fields is not an easy task as it involves holistic lighting solution, including lumen, beam angle, color temperature, power of rugby field lights, as well as the light poles layout in the rugby field. Remember, a single lighting layout can never fit into all stadiums, as different sports fields have their own light pole layout, as well as lighting requirement. In this article, we will cover many lighting information about the lighting for rugby fields.

What is the requirement on the rugby field lighting? the general idea is that the LED high mast light should be bright and uniform enough, which are the lighting standard of Rugby Football Union (RFU). LED is a proper choice of the metal halide replacement for rugby ground lights because of higher energy efficiency, life span, and safety. Let’s find out the ways to light up the football pitch step-by-step.

Size of rugby field

In this case study, we assume the size of full field is 120 * 70 meters, though the actual dimension may vary a little bit. we offer the high mast lights for rugby field, such as 4 poles and 6 poles. Knowing the size of rugby field is because it affects the number and tilting angles of the flood lights installed to the rugby stadium light poles. If the field is larger, definitely we will need more powerful lighting.

Rugby Field Lighting Design & Standards

Brightness (Lux requirement)

When it comes to power selection on the rugby stadium lights, we can make a reference to the guideline imposed by RFU, which states that for the recreational and general commercial use, the lux requirement is about 250 to 300 lux. What does it mean? We may have the following estimation.

Hence, we can see the lux levels increase with the level of competition. We will only need about a lower low level if the rugby field is designed for recreational use, such as community park. If the rugby field is located in the high school, we will need to increase the lux requirement of the lighting to 500 lux, so the players can see the fast-moving rugby clearly.

Lighting Uniformity

The total lumen needed = 250 * 120 * 70 = 2,100,000 lumens. For our LED rugby league field lighting, it is equivalent to 15000 Watt. Then, the lighting uniformity is about 0.6, which is a normal value for sports field. The lighting uniformity requirement will raise to 0.7 or even 0.8 for professional or international rugby tournaments.

How to achieve such the value? Our engineers will make use of lighting design software called DIALux to simulate the illuminance on the ground. By choosing different individual power and beam angle of LED lights, we can get the best rugby field lights having the high performance. Nonetheless, the lux can raise to 500 or more for the professional matches. To achieve higher lighting uniformity, sometimes we will need more lights. Taller poles can also help enhance the uniformity if it is possible.

Color temperature

There are three types of color temperatures, namely cool white, warm white and natural white light. Which color temperature is best for rugby field lights? Natural white lights of about 5000K is a good choice because it simulates the daylight or sunlight, so as to improve the performance of rugby players.

Color rendering index

Color rendering is another important aspect of lighting up the rugby field. A high color rendering index is required in order to reveal the true color of the field and balls. It can improve the viewing experience of athletics and the audiences. This is because the color of the field observed under the artificial lights with high color rendering index can be closer to the color as observed under the sunlight.

Why using LED lights for rugby fields?

Long life span

LED has exceptionally long-life span of 80,000 hours. In 2018, we improve the LED chips arrangement and heat dissipation system, therefore, the heat accumulation inside the lights is reduced by 30% more than the past design. Heat is a paramount factor for the working time of luminary because poor thermal condition declines its performance.

Durability

LED high-mast lights are much durable than metal halide, HID or HPS lamps. For the rugby stadium lights, they may encounter many adverse weathers. Since our sports field lights obtain IP66 waterproof cert, they function normally under the stormy rains. Besides, the solid-state LED is able to light the fields under the extreme low temperature of -40°C. And thus, our luminaires are so versatile that can fit for almost all venues.

Brighter and energy saving

A single piece of rugby field flood lights can be up to 1000 to 2000 watts, which is equivalent to 150,000 to 300,000 lumens. We can easily achieve this lumen output by LED flood lights. If we are using metal halide lights or other conventional lighting solutions, we may need about 5000 to 10000 watts to get the equivalent lumens.

Energy saving is another concern, the running cost of a rugby field can be calculated as follow. If 30,000 watts LED lights is used in a professional rugby field, the daily running cost of rugby field lights = 30000W x 8 hours x $0.1 / 1000 = $24 daily, or $720 monthly. Replacing the LED light can save your operating cost of rugby field in a long run.

Beam angle options

Another advantage of rugby field light is that we can have a wide variety of beam angle selection. We can light up the close range with large beam angle, and long range with small beam angle such as 15 degrees. We may need to have 2 to 3 types of beam angle to achieve the best lighting uniformity if there is a uniformity requirement of 0.7 to 0.8. Selecting the right beam angle and flood light is never an easy task. If you need to have a lighting design for the rugby field, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Our contact email: beatus@ledsmaster.com