The costs of lighting changes from year to year. As technology gets better and demand increases, prices drop, effcicieny increases, and everyone is in a win-win situation. With this ever changing landscape comes misinformation, which is why we have put together this post.

This post is going to lay out the true tennis court lighting costs for 2017. On top of that, we are going to go over some tips and things to be on the look out for in regards to choosing the best light fixture for your tennis court that will save you money and produce the best illumination possible.

This post will be broken into two parts; the average costs that are associated with the actual light fixtures themselves and the costs associated with them. Then, the average costs of powering your lights and how to achieve a higher return on investment by being a smart buyer.

Let’s start off with defining what exactly tennis court lighting is, and why it matters.

For starters, tennis court lighting is the application term for high mast lighting. High masts are the other technical terms, there are many that go far beyond the scope of this post. But, we think you should know the definition of lumens as we use it quite often. Technically, a lumen is the SI unit of luminous flux. Although that doesn’t say much, just know that lumens, in simple terms, is the amount of light being emitted by a given fixture. The more lumens, the more light you will have being output.

Now that we have a basic understanding of what tennis court lights actually are, we can get into the real costs of tennis court lights. Hopefully, these costs allow you to be aware of all the options and give you a better understanding on how to go about selecting the proper lighting technology for your court.

The costs associated with your tennis court / retrofit kits are typically much cheaper)

4. Quantity of fixtures needed

5. Your tennis court lux requirements or desires

As with any industry, what brand you buy from and what technology you buy is going to be the biggest cost variable. The most important thing to keep in mind is not only the initial costs of a fixture, but also the costs of running such fixtures over the span of it’s lifetime.

If, for example, you have one light that consumes 1000 watts of light and another that consumes 400 watts but the first one was only $500 and the second one was $1,000, which would you buy all else equal? Well, assuming they both output the same amount of light it actually makese sense to go with the second light, even though it costs twice as much.

Why you ask?

Because the cost to operate the 1000 watt light is more than double that of the 400 watt light, which over the lights lifespan can actually end up costing you much more to run the 1000w light.

These numbers aren’t entirely fictionary either, in fact; they are very close to real life examples we have seen when other tennis courts convert to LED technology from metal halide or HPS. What we haven’t described in the above example though is other cost saving benefits that LED has besides just being more efficient; but we will get to that later.

As for actual costs, they can vary far too greatly for us to list here. It all depends on what lighting technology you choose (think LED, metal halide, etc), which company you buy from, the quantity you need, if you are retrofitting or fully replacing your fixture, and what your lumen output requirements are.

A quick note on retrofitting or replacing in simple terms; retrofitting is typically cheaper for a couple of reasons. Retrofitting in short, is the process of replacing only the luminaire source from your fixture, instead of the entire fixture itself. LED vs metal halide cost to run in our example, the cost analysis can be run between any technologies in the same way. As you will see though after comparing metal halide’s  cost to run vs LED, that LED is far more efficient and costs significantly less to run.

Let’s get into the example:

Let us assume you have 10 lights. Currently, your high masts are metal halide and use 1,000 watts per fixture. Now, let’s assume you are looking for a more efficient technology and you come across LED high mast lights. You find a comparable light which will output the same amount of light (or lumens), but only consumes 400 watts per fixture.

In total, the metal halide lights are consuming 10,000 watts (assuming you have 10 lights) and the LEDs would be using only 4,000 watts if installed. That is 2.5 times less energy being consumed, which can visibility lead to huge savings.

This reduction from 1,000 watts to 400 watts per fixture in the metal halide to LED conversion in exactly why sports field, including tennis courts, are converting to LED.

Extra Tips for Reducing Costs

Conclusion

Hopefully the explainations of where the cost of tennis court lights are in 2017 have been thorough. While it’s impossible to give exact prices for every scenario, we hope this has been a starting point to your tennis courts lighting system.

It is true that most of the electrical problems you have in your home will need to be taken care of by a licensed electrician. However, there are various smaller problems that you can easily and safely troubleshoot. Here are just a few:

This can be quite bothersome and yet pretty easy to troubleshoot. Begin by checking that the bulb has been screwed in correctly. It needs to be in all the way. If that is in order, check to see that the wattage is correct for the fixture in which it has been fixed. If the wattage is not right, that can be causing overheating and it can even lead to a fire. In the event that the wattage is correct, just replace the old bulb with a new one. If the light is still flickering, then it is possible that the electrical outlet or the cord has a problem.

Every home uses energy in one form or the other; and in most instances, this electricity comes from the power grid. Statistics indicate that almost 50% of a home’s energy is used by its HVAC systems while about 12% goes into the lighting. Most property owners presume that all the energy-efficiency upgrades happen through various home improvement upgrades such as replacement of wooden windows and doors with energy-efficient 2 or 3-paned vinyl windows etc.

While these changes do add to the energy-efficiency of your home, there are a number of electrical systems and maintenance upgrades that can significantly improve your energy usage, such as:

It’s not uncommon for us to occasionally leave the lights on when we leave a room. Or there may be times when we leave the deck, patio or poolscapes lights on all night with the security aspect in view. These types of habits can become a significant energy drain, but there is a way to curb that. We can install motion sensor lighting in the exterior spaces of your home; the lights will get switched on only when the sensor picks up any movement within its range. This helps you save energy without compromising on the safety factor in any way.

Most people don’t realise that their local electrician can help them when they are upgrading to energy efficient appliances. The fact of the matter is that simply replacing older appliances with ones that have high energy star ratings may not always help them reduce their electricity bills.

When you upgrade the appliances in your home such as air-conditioners, dryers, dishwashers and washing machines etc., these appliances tend to need a higher wattage compared to the older ones; this means the upgrade may actually strain the circuit breakers and your electrical system. It’s important to get a skilled electrician to come and check whether the existing wiring and system is built to bear the higher electrical loads that the newer, advanced systems need.

Inadequate or improper insulation is one more major sources of energy loss on most properties. And if you are considering a home renovation/remodelling/extension project, it’s a good idea to upgrade the insulation in your house as well.

Today, many property owners are quite committed to opting for eco-friendly alternatives to many materials and systems. If you feel you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you might want to consider installing solar panels in your home. This can significantly reduce your reliance on grid power.

Upgrading appliances or making major electrical upgrades can sometimes prove to be an expensive proposition and may not fit into everyone’s budget. This is why it’s important to know how to make some smaller changes that will also add to your home’s energy-efficiency. Some things that can make a big difference are:

We at AllRound Electricals can provide excellent energy audits and electrical upgrade and maintenance solutions. For more information, contact our friendly team at this number – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

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Older houses have a charm and appeal for most homeowners. A hundred years ago, homes weren’t as modular as today’s building techniques but instead trim work, mantles and cabinetry were built according to the space available and the contractor’s ability. Antique carpentry can be a thing of beauty, but electric systems that aren’t up to date can be a nightmare.

Old Outlets

The first problem with older outlets is they don’t typically have the ground plug. Appliances at one time were independently grounded, whereas modern appliances are designed to rely on the external ground for safety. Adapters are available, but they’re really only intended as a quick fix, not long term usage.

Secondly, outlets in an antique house are likely well past their intended operating life. A worn out outlet can be frustrating at best if it only works intermittently, and can be a dangerous fire hazard at worst if it is overheating or causing a spark due to a loose connection. The good news is, outlets themselves are relatively simple and inexpensive to replace.