When having a tennis court built for home use on your property, an important consideration in the design and construction of the court will be how to light it for evening use. This is a particularly important consideration if you have near neighbours who might be affected by the light spilling from your tennis court. But what is light trespass, and how can you avoid it when having your tennis court built?
What is light trespass?
Light trespass is the term used to describe light that is spilt and cast where it's not wanted. What defines light trespass can be rather subjective in nature, as it's not always straightforward to decide what constitutes 'unwanted' light.
However, when considering your tennis court floodlighting, you will need to take into account whether the light emitted would be obtrusive to your immediate neighbours in such a way that it would interfere with their enjoyment of their own property. For example, if your floodlights shine directly into your neighbours' lounge window, and you know that they habitually leave their curtains open at night, it's a fair assumption that the intrusive glare of your lights would be annoying to them.
How can you avoid causing light trespass?
There are a number of ways in which you can limit the light trespass caused by your tennis court flood lighting.
- Begin by choosing well-shielded lights. This will prevent excess light from spilling outside of the court.
- When setting up the floodlights, ensure that they are angled down. This will cause the whole beam to fall inside of the court which will also help to cut down on troublesome shadows that could impede ball visibility during play.
- Choose lights that are set on high mountings in order to control spill light; the lower the mounting, the more glare and spread the lights are likely to cause.
- When considering the design of floodlights for your tennis court, remember that luminaires with a narrow beam allow for more control of how the light is distributed, enabling it to be focussed into the area where it's wanted, rather than spreading out.
- An effective way of screening your floodlit court is to plant tall, fast-growing trees. Leylandii will provide a very effective evergreen screen for your court without the problem of fallen leaf debris on the court during the autumn.
In conclusion
When designing your new home tennis court, lighting is an important consideration. Bear in mind the observations made above when discussing choice of lighting with a tennis court builder like Premier Sports & Leisure to ensure that you enjoy your sport and remain on good terms with your neighbours!
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