A potential client contacted Access Fixtures inquiring about providing tennis court lighting for their community. The facility has 6 courts and the client is willing to provide the tennis court lighting, but did not want to be responsible for the ongoing cost of electricity. To offset the cost of electricity, they want to turn the lights on and off on each court with a switch activated by swiping a credit card.
This is possible. Access Fixtures could provide the tennis court lights while another supplier provides the credit card machine and switch, which is basic vending technology. The real question is: what type of lighting technology is required?
There are three different lighting technologies that could be used: pulse-start metal halide (PSMH), induction, or LED. PSMH would not be the right choice in this situation.
PSMH has quicker on time and re-strike time, which means the lights come on quicker than metal halide, but it still takes too much time. Consumers would not want to pay for lighting and wait for the lights to come on. Also, if the lights went out during a match, it would be about seven minutes for the lights to return to full brightness.
The best answer would be LED or induction lamps. Both are energy-efficient by reducing the client’s ongoing energy cost, but are instant on-off. Every time a credit card is swiped, the lights will turn on and stay on for the full time. The upfront cost to purchase the LED or induction tennis court lighting will be more, but it will cost less to run and provide superior customer satisfaction.
Do you have a unique lighting question? Contact Access Fixtures to find the best solution for your lighting application.