T5 vs Metal Halide Lighting
16 hours per day $0.10 kwh annual cost per court $7,548 |
16 hours per day $0.10 kwh annual cost per court $10,918 |
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Metal Halide vs. Courtlite T5 Fluorescent
T5 Fluorescent technology has come a long way in the last 5 years, and is now completely dominating metal halides in every respect. Metal halides simply cannot compete with the powerful energy efficient T5. We have yet to find a single advantage of using the metal halide. Below are just a few of the advantages of the Courtlite T5 vs Metal Halide Lighting:
Lamp Life
1000-watt metal halide lamps have a rated lamp life of only 10,000-12,000 hours, and due to their rapid and significant lumen depreciation, the light output will diminish by 40%-60% over the lamp’s life. It is recommended that lamps be changed every 5,000 hours. The Courtlite T5 fluorescent lamps have a 35,000 hour rating – 3-5 times that of the metal halide, and only 5-7% light depreciation. This means that your maintenance costs will be reduced dramatically and you will have far less wear and tear to the court surface due to frequent re-lamping.
Energy Savings
A single 1000-watt metal halide fixture’s input watts (lamp and ballast wattage combined) is 1080 watts. The Courtlite Indirect replacement is only 702 watts, for a total energy savings of 35%. Example: a single tennis court with ten 1000-watt metal halides operating 16 hours per day with a kWh cost of $0.10 would have an annual energy cost of $6,307. That same court using the Courtlite T5 fluorescent indirect fixtures would have a reduced annual energy cost of $4,099 which is a savings of $2,208.
Color Rendering
Color plays a very important role in game performance. The ability to see colors accurately is very important and can easily increase visibility, performance, and playability of the game. Metal halide lamps have a Color Rendering Index rating (CRI) of 65. T5 lamps have a CRI of 85, one of the highest available. This has a significant impact on the perception of brightness and how the color of the court, lines and ball are seen. The Courtlite system will make a dramatic improvement in how your courts are visualized. Your courts will be lit more like natural daylight.
Manageability
Metal Halide lamps have very limited manageability, due to the long warm-up time. A typical halide takes 12-15 minutes to achieve full lumen output. The Courtlite T-5 offers total management with instant on switching and design capabilities for multiple light levels from a single fixture. Oftentimes when courts are vacant, the metal halides are kept “ON” because of the long start-up time. Now with the Courtlite instant “ON,” vacant courts can be dimmed or turned off until needed.
Strobe Effect
Metal Halide lamps actually flicker 120 times per second. When looking at static objects the flicker is not obvious. However, the next time you are watching a match in a facility that uses metal halides, watch the ball very carefully. When the speeds exceed 70mph, what you will notice is that the ball disappears for very short time. This is especially evident as the ball leaves the racquet. The ball will not be visible for the first several feet. This is the strobe effect. Courtlite T5 fixtures do not strobe, so this will give the player more time to react because they can see the ball at all times.
Heat
Metal Halide lamps have very limited manageability options due to the long warm-up time. A typical metal halide takes 12-15 minutes to achieve full lumen output. However, the biggest problem with the heat from the halides is that your ceiling material (whether it is insulation or membrane) will likely have a shorter life due to the heat of the halides. In addition, the reflective surfaces of your ceiling will yellow over time, reducing the ceiling’s reflective values and reducing light levels on the court. Premature replacement of your ceiling can be very costly. The Courtlite T5 operates at only 100 degrees, which will have little or no impact on the wear of the ceiling.
T5 Fluorescent technology has come a long way in the last 5 years, and is now completely dominating metal halides in every respect. Metal halides simply cannot compete with the powerful energy efficient T5. We have yet to find a single advantage of using the metal halide. Below are just a few of the advantages of the Courtlite T5 vs Metal Halide Lighting:
Lamp Life
1000-watt metal halide lamps have a rated lamp life of only 10,000-12,000 hours, and due to their rapid and significant lumen depreciation, the light output will diminish by 40%-60% over the lamp’s life. It is recommended that lamps be changed every 5,000 hours. The Courtlite T5 fluorescent lamps have a 35,000 hour rating – 3-5 times that of the metal halide, and only 5-7% light depreciation. This means that your maintenance costs will be reduced dramatically and you will have far less wear and tear to the court surface due to frequent re-lamping.
Energy Savings
A single 1000-watt metal halide fixture’s input watts (lamp and ballast wattage combined) is 1080 watts. The Courtlite Indirect replacement is only 702 watts, for a total energy savings of 35%. Example: a single tennis court with ten 1000-watt metal halides operating 16 hours per day with a kWh cost of $0.10 would have an annual energy cost of $6,307. That same court using the Courtlite T5 fluorescent indirect fixtures would have a reduced annual energy cost of $4,099 which is a savings of $2,208.
Color Rendering
Color plays a very important role in game performance. The ability to see colors accurately is very important and can easily increase visibility, performance, and playability of the game. Metal halide lamps have a Color Rendering Index rating (CRI) of 65. T5 lamps have a CRI of 85, one of the highest available. This has a significant impact on the perception of brightness and how the color of the court, lines and ball are seen. The Courtlite system will make a dramatic improvement in how your courts are visualized. Your courts will be lit more like natural daylight.
Manageability
Metal Halide lamps have very limited manageability, due to the long warm-up time. A typical halide takes 12-15 minutes to achieve full lumen output. The Courtlite T-5 offers total management with instant on switching and design capabilities for multiple light levels from a single fixture. Oftentimes when courts are vacant, the metal halides are kept “ON” because of the long start-up time. Now with the Courtlite instant “ON,” vacant courts can be dimmed or turned off until needed.
Strobe Effect
Metal Halide lamps actually flicker 120 times per second. When looking at static objects the flicker is not obvious. However, the next time you are watching a match in a facility that uses metal halides, watch the ball very carefully. When the speeds exceed 70mph, what you will notice is that the ball disappears for very short time. This is especially evident as the ball leaves the racquet. The ball will not be visible for the first several feet. This is the strobe effect. Courtlite T5 fixtures do not strobe, so this will give the player more time to react because they can see the ball at all times.
Heat
Metal Halide lamps have very limited manageability options due to the long warm-up time. A typical metal halide takes 12-15 minutes to achieve full lumen output. However, the biggest problem with the heat from the halides is that your ceiling material (whether it is insulation or membrane) will likely have a shorter life due to the heat of the halides. In addition, the reflective surfaces of your ceiling will yellow over time, reducing the ceiling’s reflective values and reducing light levels on the court. Premature replacement of your ceiling can be very costly. The Courtlite T5 operates at only 100 degrees, which will have little or no impact on the wear of the ceiling.
