For years, the standard method of lighting gymnasiums has been the 400W Metal Halide High Bay. This has led to gyms with deteriorating light levels and poor playing conditions that are expensive to operate. New technologies have allowed lighting designers to specify T5 High Output (T5HO) Fluorescent High Bay Fixtures in place of the more inefficient metal halide fixtures. This shift has reduced the power consumption of gymnasium lighting systems, provided better quality light for all sports activities, and has allowed for a more versatile environment in school or recreational center gyms.
A Better, More Energy-Efficient Gym Light
Traditional 400 W Metal Halide high bays consume a total of 454 Watts of power - 400 Watts for the lamp and an additional 54 watts of ballast power. By comparison, a 4-lamp T5HO fixture consumes only 228 Watts of power while a 6-lamp fixture consumes 342 Watts. This lower energy consumption allows for a reduction in total lighting system consumption and therefore a lower electric bill. To provide concrete numbers, let's work with an example high school gym and assume we're investigating replacing 30 existing 400W MH fixtures with T5HO fluorescent fixtures. The table below summarizes the costs associated with lighting this gym assuming a cost of $0.10 per kWh and an annual usage of 3,000 hours.
| Fixture Wattage |
454 W |
228 W |
342 W |
| Fixture Quantity |
30 |
System Power
Consumption/Hour |
13,650 kW |
6,840 kW |
10,260 kW |
| Lighting Cost/Year |
$4,095 |
$2,052 |
$3,078 |
| Savings/Year |
- |
$2,043 |
$1,017 |
Electrical Marketplace can provide customized lighting layouts for your gymnasium with the same level of detail shown in these diagrams. Don't hesitate to contact us using the contact form on of this page if you would like to see what results you can achieve in your gym.
T5HO High Bays in Gymnasium Applications
Light level recommendations for gymnasiums range from 30 foot candles (fc) for recreational gyms to over 100 fc for professional gymnasiums used to televise sporting events.
Adding additional details to our example gym above, we can provide expected light levels for our retrofit project. Let's say that our example gymnasium is 100' long by 60' wide (typical dimensions for high school or junior high school gyms). The ceiling is 20' high and the fixtures are mounted 18' from the floor. Using typical reflectances for all the surfaces, we can calculate the expected light levels in this gym.
| Expected Light Level |
varies |
51 fc |
75 fc |
Recommended T5 Gym Lights |
|
| |
|
|
|
|