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GENERAL ELECTR IC

CON4 PANY
Lighting Systems Business Department, Hendersonville, N.

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GEiTERAT

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INDOOR TENNIS COURT LUMINAIRE FEATURES

glass surface is resistant
which are easily removed
detergent cloth wipe.

1. The optical assembly includes an advanced technology reflector design. The exclusive multi-faceted
surface is designed to minimize the redirecting of
energy through the arc tube, thereby contributing to

to dirt. oil film and

with

stains

a warm water or mild

4. The GE ballasts are designed especially for indoor

tennis lighting applications and provide long life, con
tinuous operation at rated maximum ambient temperature of 40oC without loss of life due to premature
failure of electrical components. The ballasts are
painted white for minimum contrast with ceiling.
5. The General Electric wireguard is recessed below
the lip of the reflector. Except for the four tangs
which hold it in place, the part is completely shielded
from any position below the reflector flange. GE
chose not to use a crowned or conical shaped wire
guard, either of which becomes a bright source, distracting to the players, even when finished flat black.

maximum lamp life.

2. The multi-faceted reflector provides optimum control of clear arc sources, resulting in a very widespread
distribution necessary for uniform illumination of the
ceiling. The faceted surface also gives the reflector
heavy-duty characteristics required to prevent dis
figuring dents normally incurred when most aluminum
reflectors are struck by a hard-hit ball.
3. The^General Electric refiector is protected with
Alglas-, inside and out. This finish is a thin, lrans
parent, flexible, very high quality glass finish which is
chemically bonded to the aluminum. The smooth

ASSEMBLY OUTLINE
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ORDERING INFORMATION

SYSTEMS DATA

The lndoor Tennis Court Luminaire is shipped as three separale components

I Wreguard 2. Ballast Assembly 3. Optical Assembly

Ordertwo catalog numbers: 1 Wireguard 2. Lumina re
r, WIREGUARD

c740G535
2. LUMINAIRE

COMPONENT ASSEMSLIES'

(less Lamp)

Tvpe

c671G101

120
20a

102
103 1000

Lbs

Curve No. Cat. No.*"

c66sG001

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129 35

35-175467

277
440

105

c671G501

120

502
503

208
244

1000

504

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17

130

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130

35-17546a

480
480

1000

LSNC RATING
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42
39

(HPF)

42

Optical
Asm. Cat. No.
c666G002

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277

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LAYOUT

_ MULTIVAPOR

SYSTEM

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LAYOUT

LUCALOX SYSTEM

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LLUM I NATION TEST POINTS

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BASIS OF RECOMMENDATION
The luminaire quantities recommended are based on
the following assum ption s:
a) A surface reflectance factor of 80% for finished ceil-

ing and supporting structural parts.

b) A ceiling cavity

conforming to the dimensions

3. The cavity is free of clutter
such as air conditioners and ducts. Roof is supported
by tapered roof beams of nominal depth and not by

shown on Figs. 1,2 &

trusses.

c)

No barriers between courts.

d) Electrical distribution provjding recommended voltage to the fixtu res.
e) Fixtures and lamps specilied in the tabulation.

f)

lllumination tests at specified test points.

SUPPLEMENTARY LIGHTING
When voltage dip or power oulage temporarily extinguishes H. L D. lamps, an instant-on system should be

available to provide low-level stand-by lighting. A

circuit designed for both manual and electromechanical switching would provide stand-by lighting as well
as illumination required for short periods when energizing the H. l. D. system would be impractical.

CIRCUITING AND SWITCHING

To minimize strobe in the Lucalox@ system, the use of

a three-phase power supply is required. Circuiting

should be such that any point within the area will receive light from sources on each of the phases. Because

VARIATIONS OF COURT LAYOUT

AND BUILDING DIMENSIONS

to 18' or
more, illumination will be noticeably affected both in
footcandle averages and unilormity. Consideration
should be given for adding another row of luminaires.
The quantity per row will vary with the increase in
d istance between cou rts.
Uniform illumination of the ceiling improves the uniformity of illumination on the courts. This quality is
adversely affected when luminaires are positioned too
close to the ceiling. Often lighting systems are installed in buildings with 14'or 16' back court walls. in
these instances, the designer should give thought to
lowering the mounting height of the support structure
to as low as 12', especially for the two lines of luminaires over the back courts.
ln some cases, fixtures at a mounting height of 15'
will obstruct the view of spectators on the observation deck and a mounting height of 16'or 17' may be
required. lf view is from the sideline, the rows between courts can be raised and the back court flxtures
maintained at 15' or perhaps lowered. When view
from deck is toward the back court, all luminaires must
be at increased mounting height. ln order to maintain good ceiling uniformity, the spacing of fixtures in
a row will be reduced so that end units as well as those
in the back court are approximately 40'from the net.
When spaclng between courts is increased

INTERIOR COLORS. BUILDING AND

ACCESSORIES
The colors of the several parts of the building should
be of the lightest colors possible compatible with the

lor

of ball

of the wide distribution of an indirect system, circuiting can be done by connecting complete rows to one

requirements

phase. Then back court fixtures can be connected

a) Ceiling - See Basis of Recommendation.

to ach ieve reasonable balance.

The metal halide system may be similarly circuited,

but because of a low flicker index, single-phase operation is acceptable. For convenience, circuit fixtures
so lhat cou rts can be lig hted sing ly or in m u ltip les.

LUMINAIRE LOCATION
Deviation from luminaire location dimensions of up to
or so will not noticeably affect the quality of
illumination. However, an attempt should be made to
locate them as shown.
a foot

BUILDING DIMENSIONS
The United States Lawn Tennis Association suggests
walls al back court be a minimum of 20' with ceiling
height above net 40'clear of obstructions.
Doublescourt dimensions are36' x 78'. Recommended
clearances are 21' behind each baseline and 12' beyond sideline to adjacent court or edge of surface. The

drawings shown reflect these recom mendations. lf

building size does not permit 12' clearance between
end courts and wall, a minimum of 6'should be maintained. End rows of luminaires should also be a mini
mum of 6' from walls.

acceptable contrast

with

backg rou nd.

b) Walls- Back Courl - Finish medium to dark green to

height of eight to ten feet from court surface and
matte white or light green above.
c) Walls - Gabled Ends - Finish medium to dark green
to height of eight to ten feet and matte white above.
This highly reflectant finish eliminates the need for
two extra luminaires on end rows as specif ied on most
recom mendations.
d) Court Surtace - Most frequently total floor surface
is linished dark green with white markings. A popular
exception is a russet color of somewhat higher reflectance applied to the surface outside the 36'x 78'
marked area.
e) Luminaire Support Channel - Finish matte white.
lnclude hanger rods and brackets. Contrast with ceiling will be minimized.
f) Drop Curlains and Netting - Drops on back court or
gable walls at 8' or 10' height and of medium or dark
green solid material will not affect illumination as
would the same curtains used between courts. They
would lhen serve as a baffle for low angle, low candlepower contribution in either a direct or indirect lighting system. lllumination would not be lowered signilicantly. However, when separation of courts is
desired, netting is recommended for better utilizalion
of syslem lumens.

ILLUMINATION TESTS
lf required, illumination tests should be made at test
points shown in Figure 4 at a height oI 42 inches. Use
a multi-range footcandle meter, both color and cosine

corrected, with a recent calibration date. For symmetrical layouts, it is necessary to measure only one
end of court. Compute illumination level by averaging readings. Uniformity is determined by finding
the ratio of maximum to minimum test point readings.

SPORTS ARE MOVING INSIDE

An increase in the amounl oJ leisure time and the sim-

ultaneous demand for ways to use it have brought

more sporls indoors. Basketball and hockey have
long been considered primarily indoor sports catering to the leisure time of the spectator. The Houston
Astrodome accommodates baseball and football, again
appealing to the spectator by providing all-weather
comfort.
Except for bowling, little emphasis has been put lorth
to provide indoor lacilities for ind iv id uals who want to
participate rather than "spectate". The recent surge
in the popularity ot tennis has changed this. Now, indoor tennis is with us in a big way with hundreds ol
melropolitan areas in the north with a short outdoor
season. Today, indoor tennis ls available in smaller
communities and in climales where tennis enthusiasts
enjoy indoor air conditioned courts during the heat of
summer.

LIGHTING STYLES

The growth of indoor tennis is in large part due to the

availability of low cost, attraclive metal buildings from
many manufacturers. Use of conventional direct lighting systems in these structures, however, is restricted
by the limited ceiling height.

The llluminating Engineering Society recommends a

minimum mounting height of 22 teel. lor direct lighting luminaires at locations over each sideline in order
to remove source glare from player's line of sight.
Th is is acceptable only when the system provides cutolf at 45" in the direction of play and 20% up light in
order to limit contrast of source and ceiling. The baffles or other devices used to achieve specified cutoff
will, however, reduce the fixture eff iciency by as much
as

500/0.

ln addition, a direct lighting system requires the use

of rows of fixtures located on both sides of every
court which is in effect two rows belween adjacent
cou rts.

The luminaire utilized {or an indirect system with the

source shielded by the reilector does not require efficiency-red u cing balltes although losses are incurred
in the redirecting process. Only a single row of units
are needed between courls if spacing is h eld within the
limits of this recommendation. Most importantly,
luminaires can be mounted at heights even lower than
the 12' minimum shown without discomfort to the
player. However, in order to maintain required reflectance characteristics, the recommended mounting
heights should be used when the building conforms to
Section X-X in Figure 3.
tlES current recommended practice for sports and recreational area lighting - BP - 6 p.24 (7,3,11) (1968 &
revision 1975)

CHOICE OF LIGHT SOURCE

Four basic light sources are available fluorescent,
mercury, metal halide (GE lvlulti-Vapor@) and high
p ressu re sodium (GE Lucalox@).
Fluorescent systems provide good color rendition of
players and surtaces. This is also true for phosphor
coated mercury. However, the relatively low lumens
per watt output of these lamps as compared to MultiVapor a nd L u calox makes them a less desirable choice.
On balance, N,4ulti-Vapor is a good choice with both
excellent color characteristics and high lumens per
watt.
Lucalox has proven very acceptable in numerous installations. lt's golden color enhances the natural
flesh tones and is compatible with recommended tennis altire. Above all, a Lucalox lighting system provides the greatest amount of utilized maintained lumens
per dollar and therefo re is the most econom ical ch oice.
The accompanying recommendations show that the
Lucalox system requires the fewest fixtures, has the
lowest KW load, the longest rated lamp life and the
best maintenance characteristics.

STROBOSCOPIC EFFECT OF H.I.D. LAMPS

The stroboscopic effect of H.l.D. lamps is a factor to
be considered when planning sports lighting installations. The phenomenon is caused by the lamp output
lending to follow the alternating current wave form.
Therefore, lighting systems employing H.l.D. sources
on single phase 60 cycle power will produce "flicker"
because in eflect the lamp is swilched from "on" to
"olf" at half-cycle intervals. Consequently, a moving
object will change in brightness or "flicker" as it
moves. This is true for a stationary object as well,
but the change is too rapib to be seen. lt is in fact so
rapid that the needle on a highly sophisticated, very
sensitive light meter will not vary as a result of the
change. Therefore, stroboscopic eflect is not a result
ol poor uniformity of illumination as is sometimes
sug gested.

Flicker is picked up in one's peripheral vision as opposed to the {ovea centralis which is the small area ot
the retina affording acute vision. lt is more of an annoyance to the bystander than to the player or the in-

terested spectator. Nonetheless, it should be minim

ized.

Tests show that the Jlicker index varies with H.l.D.

sources when operated on a single-phase circuit.
High pressure sodium has a flicker index of approximately 0.29; mercury phosphor-coated 0.25; and metal
halide, 0.09. Flicker is considered to be unnoticeable
for systems having an index of 0.10 and below.
The most highly recommended method for overcoming a lighting system's stroboscopic eflect is to lower
the flicker index by utilization of a multiple phase
power su pply.
Multi-Vaporo (Metal Halide) systems with a low tlicker index willoperate acceptably on sing le phase.
Mercury (for reasons of economics not inclu ded in thls
recommendation) operates on three-phase or splitphase circuits.
Lucalox@ (high pressure sodium), because of a high
"llicker" index, requires a three-phase circuit.

SKYLIGHTS IN ROOF ANDGABLES

Attempts to improve on the illumination levels or save
on costs of daytime lighting with the use of skylights,
as a rule do not meet with success. Results might be
satisfactory on an overcast day when the sun and sky
combine to provide uniform lighting. However, on a
clear day, the overhead would become a strong source,
sometimes glaring, producing distinct shadows on
the court which would be impossible to overcome with

a standard lighting system. ln addition to daylight,

summer heat and winter cold will enter the building
more freely.

Calculations for fixture quantities required to achieve

specilied footcandle levels are subiect to change by
several variables. Among these are variations in reflectance factors, sizes of ceiling and room cavities,
location of structural members and su pp ly voltage.
The levels specified are minimum for the cavities and
rellectances stated. lllumination tests were made at
several installations to confirm the quantities shown.

PHOTOMETRIC DISTRIBUTION & QUALITY

ILLUMINATION
Uniform illumination ol the ceiling is required lor a
quality glarefree lighting installation. A ceiling punctuated with "hot-spots" lrom lixtures with concentrating beams, in effect becomes a mass of direct sources.

The problem is especially acute at back court where

the ceiling is nearest the fixtures. For this reason,
fixtures with very wide distribution are recommended. This choice is considered valid even in view of the
fact that fixture quantities can be reduced with the
use of narrower beam reflectors. ln addition, random
lamp outtaqes are virtually undetectable when wide
d istribution is utilized.

INSTALLATION AUDIBILITY
Caretulconsideration should be given to problems associated with noise. lt may be generated by a ballast-

ed lighting system. The sounds of play and player

conversation may also be annoying to those on adjacent courts. ln order to mask this noise, adequate
ambient sound should be maintained during court
operation. The ambient is determined by sound pressure readings taken with lights off, no play and no conversation. The ambient will vary considerably by intermittent operation ol air handling systems and influences from outside the building such as freeway
traflic

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Typical Application
lor lndoor Tenn s

;EE
Fd-

<!9
I oco
"o{

50

40

xture Rating

LSNC

Correction +
FC- (ndirect) +

Room
100

30

42
6
2

Corrected LSNC

20

o 10 20 30 'lo 50

shou ld be acceptable.

3. For ambients below approximately 45dBA complaints might result unless ambient can be raised,
either by activating the ventilation system or adding
electronic "White Noise". Recommend 50 to
60dBA total in order to attain a condition between

I ano

VARIABLES AFFECTING ILLUMINATION

60

1. Fot ambient sound pressure levels above 58dBA

no hum will be heard.
2. For ambients between 48 and 58dBA hum may or
may not be heard. ln any case, the installation

60

ghting Syslem NC rat ng

,1.

Satisfactory installations can in most instances be achieved if the lighting equipment is selected for compatability with the ambient sound levels to be found in
the area due to air-conditioning and ventilation, people, musjc and other equipment.
A new lighting system noise rating method, formulated by GE and subsequently issued as NEIVA - STANDARDS PUBLICATION LE 2-1974 H.I.D. LIGHTING
SYSTEM NOISE CRITERION (LS - NC) RATINGS, enables the lighting designer to make this selection with
a maximum of accuracy (so large safety factors are
not needed) and a minimum of computation. The
accuracy also gives the customer better value in honestly predicting whether the final installation will be
inaudible, audible, or annoying. The rating is designed
so that only the minimum knowledge of acoustics is
sufficient to rate a planned installation.
The new rating is called the Lighting System NC Batjng. A typical rating is of the form LSNC-4S, LSNC-sO,

etc. lt

predicts the audibility ol a given installation

against the background noise which is always present

in the room. lt takes particular account of the pure

tone quality of ballast/fixture hum. The ballasting

Junction inherently produces hum, but experience
has shown that acceptability does not depend on the
absolute sound level but whether the hum is clearly
audible above the ambient. lf the hum blends into the
background noise, the installation is acceptable. We
say, in this case, thal it is masked by the background
noise. lf the hum obtrudes above the ambient, then
complaints may resu lt.
Often a contractor, consultanl, or owner inspects an
installation prior to occupancy, o r even p rior to com pletion of the air-cond ition ing or other equipment which
will contribute to the background noise Ievel. Under
this condition the lighting sound level may be annoying; while wilh completion of the job and wjth
the normal activity of the occupants thjs will be reduced to an acceptable or inaudible level. lf the hum
is not then rendered completely inaudible, the individual is likely to hold his original opinion. A better
criterion is whether the players volunleer any comp laints.

(LSN C)

Figure 5.

GENEBAL ELECTR IC COM PANY

Lighting Systems Business Department, HendersonVille, N.
4/76 {10l\ir)

C.

GEilERAT

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