Lights Fantastic.

A growing concern, environmental issues continue to confront today's park and recreation professionals on a number of levels. From using natural resources without waste to recycling, improving and safeguarding the environment is of major significance. And controlling light pollution, light that escapes upward and into surrounding areas from outdoor venues, is at the top of the list. Fortunately, new technology is solving some of the problems associated with sports lighting, making it affordable, efficient, and community-friendly.

Light pollution, which adversely affects the night sky, has many raising questions about the uses and efficiency of outdoor lighting.

"It's not pollution in the classic sense; it's not toxic. But it does have a toxic component because it requires energy at the utility to be used more excessively," says Clark Reed, an atmospheric pollution manager with the Environmental Protection Agency. As our population continues to grow, suburbia and cities will expand. Light pollution, if not addressed, will only get worse" (USA Today).

As well, independent sources such as the International Dark Skies Association have placed the cost of wasted spill light in the United States at $2 billion annually. This is a significant waste of energy-producing natural resources.

"It's gotten to the point where the vast majority of people who live within urban areas can only see the brightest stars," says Chris Luginbuhl, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Flagstaff, Adz. (USA Today).

But Not Next Door

While the demand for quality recreation facilities remains high, many residents voice concerns over certain design aspects, one of which can be lighting. People expect to have lights in their parks to make the facilities safer and to extend hours of operation, they just don't want them in their backyards. For many, there is no distinction between well-designed and poorly designed sports lighting.

In addition, as cities and towns continue to grow, new neighborhoods crowd established recreation areas, imposing new restrictions. The savvy recreation director realizes that effective lighting can create more hours of play without increasing boundaries. But, surrounded by homes, passing new lighting through all the necessary channels can be difficult. A field that was built a mile from the nearest house now has neighbors watching sporting events from their living rooms.

This concern over light "trespassing" is growing across the nation, forcing many communities to write restrictions on how and at what times lighting may be used. Several states are debating laws on how outdoor lighting is used. Other states, including Arizona and Maine, already have such restrictions.

Environmental Issues

Three separate environmental lighting issues need to be addressed: sky glow, spill light, and glare. Although they are often lumped together, each has different design criteria.

An additional concern for a park director considering sports lighting is the playability of the lighting, or the quality of playing experience that teams and fans will enjoy. Environmentally sensitive lighting should still maintain high playability levels on the field with adequate quality and quantity of light. Current technology allows playability to be improved and maintains environmental consciousness.

Sky glow, the bright aura in the dark sky above a playing field, results from poorly directed light. For areas near airports or observatories -- or even neighborhoods -- sky glow can be a major concern and often determines whether lights are permitted at all.

Spill light is the light that escapes the intended playing surface and "spills" onto neighboring areas. The easiest to measure, spill light is most frequently defined by the specifications used for measuring off-site light trespass. Measured in foot-candles, spill light is a function of the distance from the field that an amount of light is recorded. Measurable spill light is often insignificant at close distances. Glare, however, a greater factor in efficient lighting design, can still be a problem.

Glare is the sensation of looking at the playing field and seeing bright lights -- and the resulting annoyance, discomfort, or loss of visibility. It creates the greatest number of complaints, and is often the most important environmental issue. It is also the most difficult to define and measure, as it evokes a different response from different people.

In the dead of night, when a car approaches you with its high beams on, this is glare. Poorly designed sports lighting can cause irritation or even discomfort for nearby residents, even when the lighting has met acceptable spill light specifications. Glare is also a primary factor of player satisfaction.

While not an environmental concern, playability is still a direct concern when lighting a field. A field's playability is directly affected by the amount of glare. With proper design, a player will be minimally impacted by the lighting, and perform as if under the afternoon sun. Players may actually perform better under the lights, as it is easier to see a ball against a dark background.

Sports lighting does vary in degree of quality. Fixtures that are not designed for this specific application may send light upward, where it can be lost and promote spill and glare. Properly designed fixtures and layouts are both efficient and environmentally sensitive. Technology is helping sports lighting meet these responsibilities.

Environmentally Friendly 

The most efficient sports lighting designs will actually redirect the spill light onto the playing surfaces rather than simply prevent it from escaping. And the most effective designs will reduce the impact on night skies and neighbors by redirecting wasted light onto the playing area and restricting light from leaving the site. The energy efficiency of these lights will allow field managers to reduce the number of fixtures needed to light an area.

Earlier spill and glare technologies were inefficient and expensive, as they absorbed light that wasn't aimed specifically at the playing surface. Technology is reversing that trend. Pioneering companies are releasing systems that redirect previously wasted spill light back onto the playing field, thus reducing the number of fixtures needed. This makes environmental consciousness affordable for most cities. However, specific manufacturers have reached various levels of technological innovation. Make sure the company you choose uses the latest technology to efficiently reduce spill and glare light.

Fortunately, lighting that restricts both spill and glare light will also generally control sky glow. And with the latest technology, the playability issues are also a win-win. Not only do lighting designs restrict and redirect light to playing fields, making them fit effectively into neighborhoods, but players find that these lights provide an improved playing experience.

Technology is solving many of the concerns raised about environmental light trespass. And better designs are answering the challenges of environmentalists and citizens, proving that lighting can be effective, efficient, and community-friendly.

Reference

Hoversten, Paul. 1999. "Glare from Earth blocking view of stars." USA Today (March 8).

Park and recreation professionals, longtime friends of the environmentally conscious, can add one more concern to their lists: light pollution. Light that escapes upward and into surrounding areas, unleashing its negative effects on the night sky, is a growing problem for facility operators and managers. Fortunately, says Jeff Rogers, vice president of development sales for Musco Sports Lighting Inc., headquartered in Oskaloosa, Iowa, technological breakthroughs are making sports lighting affordable, efficient, and community-friendly.