Training Pitch Illumination

[Squid_uk]

Hey guys.

I'm after some advice.

My local football club are looking to illuminate part of our pitch to allow us to train on the dark winter evenings but sadly we do not have the funding to be able to install proper floodlighting systems. The area we are looking to light would roughly be the same as a 5-a-side pitch. In the past we had 6 (3 at either goal ends) 250w metal halide floods on a moveable scaffold but this is very unsafe in high winds and a pain in the neck to move around and it was also run off extension leads from the clubhouse which is also not the safest.

What were are looking at is to install 8-10 lights permanantly fixed down one side of the pitch, some on telegraph poles and some on the club house roof. We have a budget of approx. £2000-£3000. This budget would be for materials only as we have a few sparkys that will donate the labour and also quite a bit of the switch gear is already present in the clubhouse.

Can you guys recommend any products that would give us good illumination? LED? Halide? Bearing in mind it is only for training and not matches.

Thanks

 

[Adam W]

I always think lighting is just as much about positioning as the type of fitting - as well as providing light you're also looking to eliminate shadows as much as possible. For that reason I think putting all the lights down one side of the pitch is going to cause problems, I you'd be better off evenly spacing the lights down each side of the pitch so they're symmetrical, eg a pole in each corner, then one either side halfway down. If you can use the club house roof and match them up on the other side with telegraph poles then happy days, otherwise you might be looking at reducing the number of lights in favour of extra poles and cabling.

 

[Adam W]

As for the type of fittings I think LEDs are a safe bet - they offer lower running costs and I think the price has come down to an acceptable level. Because the lights will be at the sides of the pitch you should install lights with an asymmetrical throw to give an even distribution.

 

[Adam W]

Have a look at this website for more information:
http://www.thornlighting.co.uk/download/Sports_Floodlighting_INT.pdf. They recommend getting a professional in to design it for you, but I suppose it depends how far you want to go with it.

 

[Squid_uk]

Thanks Adam.

We did discuss about the shadows but the overall opinion was just to get some lighting so we can do fittness more than ball work so the shadowing wouldnt really be a problem,

Would you recommend any particular LED floods?

 

[Hawk]

8-10 250 metal halide lights will light the place up no problem. The 5aside pitch I play at has 4 400w metal halides. 1 at each corner of the pitch and it is well lit. Have a look on gumtree, eBay, etc to see if you can get 2nd hand ones which would do the job.

 

[ian.settle1]

Just got 2 250w MH floodlights from Eddys for a little over £200 but that included a discount they give our company

 

[Guest77]

Hey guys.

I'm after some advice.

My local football club are looking to illuminate part of our pitch to allow us to train on the dark winter evenings but sadly we do not have the funding to be able to install proper floodlighting systems. The area we are looking to light would roughly be the same as a 5-a-side pitch. In the past we had 6 (3 at either goal ends) 250w metal halide floods on a moveable scaffold but this is very unsafe in high winds and a pain in the neck to move around and it was also run off extension leads from the clubhouse which is also not the safest.

What were are looking at is to install 8-10 lights permanantly fixed down one side of the pitch, some on telegraph poles and some on the club house roof. We have a budget of approx. £2000-£3000. This budget would be for materials only as we have a few sparkys that will donate the labour and also quite a bit of the switch gear is already present in the clubhouse.

Can you guys recommend any products that would give us good illumination? LED? Halide? Bearing in mind it is only for training and not matches.

Thanks

Moving on a bit more from adams post regarding Thorn, I think this is great advice, I would recommend them also, and Thorlux as 2 great companies producing great products. If you go to a wholesaler and tell them your requirements they will get a thorn or thorlux rep around to your footie ground and design the whole job for you, sell you the product via the wholesaler and give client aftercare, thats my advice to you.

 

[ash_s3]

Just got 2 250w MH floodlights from Eddys for a little over £200 but that included a discount they give our company

Sounds like you had your pants pulled down there mate.

 

[bigdavs83]

Edmundsons at their very best there!!

 

[ian.settle1]

Sounds like you had your pants pulled down there mate.

I'm not paying for it so don't give a hoot

 

[Squid_uk]

A friend of mine found these from alibaba FL-200W >> Penel Optoelectronics Technology CO.,Ltd | LED|LED light|LED tube|LED strip|LED spot light|LED bulb light|LED flood light|LED bulb|LED factory|LED manufacturer

I am bit wiery of buying from china but the price was just over £100 each.

 

[Adam W]

Do they have a minimum order quantity?

 

[Squid_uk]

They havent stated that they do as my friend requested a price for 6 fittings.

 

[Richard Burns]

Read the feed back for the seller and see if there are any negative reviews either by word or rating and if so then steer clear, if it is all OK with plenty of positives for the product you want then you may be in luck (though you never know).