Access Fixtures has a wide range of LED rodeo arena lighting to choose from.
Lighting for rodeo arenas is advancing and becoming more complex every day. Ensuring your rodeo is appropriately lit is important for the safety of both the public and the animals, too. Safety, aesthetics, and electricity costs are just three reasons why you must put as much thought into lighting your arena as you did building the arena itself. Selecting the correct light source and fixture, safely and appropriately installing it, and ensuring it is all done in a safe manner should be your top priorities when lighting your rodeo arena. Access Fixtures has a wide range of rodeo arena lighting to choose from, including multiple kinds of LED sports lighters. Whether your arena is located indoors or outdoors, Access Fixtures has the lighting solution for you.
When considering horse arena lighting, it is crucial to select the right fixtures for both indoor and outdoor arenas. Professional lighting plans and expert guidance are essential to achieve optimal illumination for equestrian events and training.
Key Takeaways
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- Prioritize Safety and Visibility with LED Lighting: LED rodeo arena lights provide bright, even illumination to reduce shadows and glare, ensuring a safer environment for animals, riders, and spectators.
- Invest in Durable and Energy-Efficient Solutions: With long lifespans, low maintenance requirements, and exceptional energy efficiency, LED fixtures outperform traditional options like metal halide, offering a cost-effective, reliable solution.
- Tailor Lighting with Professional Planning: Customized lighting layouts, including photometric analyses and proper fixture placement, ensure optimal performance, meeting the unique needs of each rodeo arena.
LED Rodeo Arena Lighting
In the past, metal halide proved to be the most popular option when lighting rodeo arenas. While LEDs have understandably taken the lion’s share of the market, metal halide remains popular due to its bright light and excellent color rendering.
For example, a 1500w metal halide fixture is a powerful fixture with excellent performance, light output, and a good CRI of 65, which means colors under this fixture will appear accurately. The unit is CSA-listed for wet locations, making it perfect for use in your outdoor rodeo, and its die-cast aluminum housing and ballast box make the fixture extremely durable. Not to mention its initial light source output of 160,000 lumens. Another benefit of metal halide is that it can achieve efficacies of up to 110 lumens per watt. Most LEDs have surpassed this, but 110 lumens per watt is still commendable. The relatively low upfront cost of metal halide fixtures also adds to their viability, in addition to their flexibility across a wide range of temperatures. These factors make them great for use in outdoor rodeo arenas, where budgets can be tight and temperatures can fluctuate regularly. Two final benefits of metal halide are its relatively quick start-up time and its ability to work well in dirty environments.
Metal halide is impressive, sure, but if you want to be blown away, LED is the answer. LEDs have become so efficient and affordable that they are the go-to solution for almost any lighting project, including rodeo arenas. Unlike metal halide or other lamp-based solutions, LEDs do not waste any light (or energy) by illuminating areas that do not need to be lit. LEDs are directional, meaning they send their light in only one direction; this makes it easy to aim the light exactly where you need it. This is particularly true for LED arena lighting, which ensures optimal light levels and balance for both indoor and outdoor setups.
To avoid frequent relamping, steeper energy costs, increased warm-up time, and heavier wiring and circuit breakers, choose LED. You will have little to no maintenance, decreased energy costs, instant on-off abilities, dimmable features, and much more. LED performance goes above and beyond any other light source, and though LEDs come with a higher upfront cost, your fixtures will more than pay for themselves over years of reduced energy costs. There is very little an LED cannot do. It’s a no-brainer: If you want the best lighting for your rodeo arena, choose LED arena lights from Access Fixtures.
LED lighting offers numerous benefits, including energy efficiency, long lifespan, and low heat emission. These advantages make LED lighting an excellent choice for ensuring visibility and safety in both indoor and outdoor arenas.
Benefits of LED Horse Arena Lights
LED horse arena lights offer numerous benefits, making them an ideal choice for both indoor and outdoor horse arenas. Here are some key advantages:
- Energy Efficiency: LED lights are designed to provide high-quality lighting while consuming significantly less energy than traditional lighting options. This results in lower energy bills and reduced carbon emissions, making them an environmentally friendly choice for horse arenas.
- Long Lifespan: LED lights have a longer lifespan compared to traditional lighting options, often lasting up to 50,000 hours or more. This means fewer replacements and reduced maintenance costs, allowing you to focus more on the activities in the arena rather than upkeep.
- Improved Safety: LED lights provide bright and even lighting, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries. They also produce minimal heat, making them a safer option for horse arenas where both animals and humans are present.
- Enhanced Performance: High-quality lighting from LED lights enhances the performance of horses and riders by reducing eye strain and improving visibility. This is particularly beneficial during competitions and training sessions, where clear visibility is crucial.
- Durability: Designed to withstand harsh weather conditions and extreme temperatures, LED lights are an ideal choice for outdoor horse arenas. Their robust construction ensures they remain functional and reliable, regardless of the environment.
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Rodeo Arena Sizing and Footcandle Specifications
Typically an average-size rodeo requires approximately 30 footcandles to meet the Class 3 requirements and 50 footcandles for the Class 2 requirements. As a reference, remember that Walmart is lit to approximately 30 footcandles.
Proper lighting is essential for rodeo arenas to ensure optimal illumination, energy efficiency, and safety. Lighting a rodeo arena is different in almost every case. There is no simple out-of-the-box solution that will apply to all rodeo arenas. Evaluate your space and speak to an Access Fixtures lighting specialist about how you can achieve the best lighting for your rodeo. Our rodeo lighting systems are designed to offer a targeted and customized lighting solution for your specific facility. Unlike tennis courts or other sporting arenas, there is no “standard size” for rodeos.
For this reason, you may want to have Access Fixtures run a photometric analysis for your specific space. Our lighting specialists will map out computer simulations of your space and will use software to add or remove fixtures from the layout. If a first layout doesn’t meet your requirements or reveals some kind of flaw, we will adjust and rerun it until you are satisfied with the results. Our lighting specialists can manipulate the type of fixtures, the quantity of fixtures, the aiming angles, and more, in order to provide you with a safe and suitable solution. Once each report is generated, a lighting specialist will walk you through the results so you know exactly what you’re looking at. Running a photometric analysis saves time and money; lighting a rodeo is a timely and expensive investment, so it is crucial to get it right the first time.
Designing an Effective Lighting Layout
Designing an effective lighting layout is crucial for horse arenas to ensure optimal visibility and safety. Here are some tips to consider:
- Foot Candle Requirements: Determine the foot candle requirements for your horse arena based on the type of activities that will be taking place. For example, competitions may require higher foot candle levels than training sessions. Typically, 30 to 50 footcandles are recommended for most horse arenas.
- Lighting Fixtures: Choose the right lighting fixtures for your horse arena, taking into account the size of the arena, the type of activities, and the desired light output. Options like linear high bay lights for indoor arenas and stadium lights for outdoor arenas are excellent choices due to their efficiency and performance.
- Light Pole Placement: Place light poles strategically to ensure even lighting throughout the arena. Consider the height and angle of the poles to minimize glare and shadows, which can be distracting or even dangerous for both horses and riders.
- Linear High Bay Lights: For indoor horse arenas, linear high bay lights are a great option. They provide even lighting and are energy-efficient, ensuring that the entire arena is well-lit without excessive energy consumption.
- Stadium Lights: For outdoor horse arenas, stadium lights are ideal. They provide high-quality lighting and are designed to withstand harsh weather conditions, ensuring consistent performance regardless of the environment.
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Safety Concerns
Selecting the incorrect fixtures for your rodeo can cause potentially serious damage to the animals, the humans, and the arena itself. Choosing the correct lighting system will not only increase light levels and improve safety, it will provide a more enjoyable overall environment. Consider your main goals and concerns when shopping for a rodeo arena lighting solution. You’ll likely want to be sure to avoid creating dark spots or shadows, for instance. Not only can poor visibility be a distraction for riders and spectators, but animals can get easily spooked by shadows and unexpected dark spots. A frantic or fearful horse or bull can be a serious liability. Ensuring your arena is evenly lit in all areas will keep the animals, horses, and patrons safe and calm.
Glare can be just as disruptive. Imagine yourself as a spectator and ask the following questions: What kind of lighting would improve your experience? How can you prevent glare in the peripheral areas? Should the spectator areas and stands be lit in the same way as the rodeo ring or training area? These few short questions come with serious repercussions if left unconsidered or if answered incorrectly. Prioritize and consider each factor of your rodeo arena. Proper indoor horse arena lighting is crucial to prevent glare and ensure safety in different sections of the arena, including stables and parking areas.
To discuss your priorities and goals, contact a lighting specialist today. The Access Fixtures team will help you answer all those questions, understand the ins and outs of this kind of lighting, and more. Our team of specialists will find a solution to ensure safety is a top priority at all times.
IP-Protected Outdoor Arena Lighting Fixtures
You are most likely lighting an outdoor rodeo arena, which means you will need outdoor arena lighting fixtures enclosed in housings that protect the light source and wiring from the elements. IP-rated fixtures are used in locations that need excellent lighting in wet and dusty conditions. When choosing a fixture for your outdoor arena, it is important to always pay close attention to the IP ratings on your fixtures. Is it suitable for the intended environment? Will it be protected against outdoor elements? How much protection do the fixtures really need? Ask these questions before choosing an appropriate lighting system for your rodeo. In almost all rodeo lighting cases, selecting a high IP rating is necessary. In an outdoor rodeo arena, your fixtures need to be protected against dust and debris from the rodeo ring, training center, and vehicles, along with any other elements that could affect the performance of your lighting system. Here is a summary of IP ratings and their liquid/water protection:
- IP65 – Water resistant
- IP66 – Water resistant against powerful jets
- IP67 – Completely submersible and sealed
Finding out which IP rating you need will ultimately depend on the environment in which your fixtures will be located. Examine your space to appropriately choose which IP rating is suitable for your project; you can also reach the Access Fixtures team at 800-468-9925 for assistance.
The APTA LED is an excellent choice. Its versatile design makes it ideal as both a high bay and a flood light. APTA fixtures are most popular in spaces such as detailing shops, warehouses, commercial facilities, and indoor/outdoor LED sports lighting.
APTAs are, simply put, very powerful fixtures. APTA comes in a huge range of wattages. The APTA 320 delivers up to 22,388 lumens; all models of APTA are L70-rated at a whopping 200,000 hours. Unlike other high bays out there, the APTA features a modular design that is easy to replace in the event of breakage. The LED chips inside an APTA module are exposed, protecting them from overheating. These LEDs stay cooler and, as a result, last significantly longer. These chips can operate at your desired Kelvin temperature, making it easy for you to achieve the light you want and need.
APTA LED fixtures feature polycarbonate lenses, and the lens on each APTA LED chip is sealed tight against dust and water with an impressive IP rating of 67. APTAs are designed to be virtually maintenance-free and their extreme rated life prevents downtime and makes for consistent performance.
Mounting an APTA is made simple by options for sport mounts (for use on standard 2 ⅜” pole tenons), bracket mounts (for use on walls or ceilings), and hook mounts (for use on ceilings). You can even invert these fixtures and use them to indirectly light the area below. The sport mount and bracket mount are both adjustable, so you can tilt and aim the fixture where you need it. If an adjustable mounting arm isn’t suitable, a direct pole-top mount is a good choice. All in all, the APTA family is the dream fixture for electricians and customers alike.
APTA LED Horse Arena Lights and High Bays
The APTA LED is an excellent choice. Its versatile design makes it ideal as both a high bay and a flood light. APTA fixtures are most popular in spaces such as detailing shops, warehouses, commercial facilities, and indoor/outdoor LED sports lighting.
APTAs are, simply put, very powerful fixtures. APTA comes in a huge range of wattages. The APTA 320 delivers up to 22,388 lumens; all models of APTA are L70-rated at a whopping 200,000 hours. Unlike other high bays out there, the APTA features a modular design that is easy to replace in the event of breakage. The LED chips inside an APTA module are exposed, protecting them from overheating. These LEDs stay cooler and, as a result, last significantly longer. These chips can operate at your desired Kelvin temperature, making it easy for you to achieve the light you want and need.
APTA LED fixtures feature polycarbonate lenses, and the lens on each APTA LED chip is sealed tight against dust and water with an impressive IP rating of 67. APTAs are designed to be virtually maintenance-free and their extreme rated life prevents downtime and makes for consistent performance.
Mounting an APTA is made simple by options for sport mounts (for use on standard 2 ⅜” pole tenons), bracket mounts (for use on walls or ceilings), and hook mounts (for use on ceilings). You can even invert these fixtures and use them to indirectly light the area below. The sport mount and bracket mount are both adjustable, so you can tilt and aim the fixture where you need it. If an adjustable mounting arm isn’t suitable, a direct pole-top mount is a good choice. All in all, the APTA family is the dream fixture for electricians and customers alike.
Fixture Mounting: Poles
Lighting your outdoor rodeo will most likely involve pole mounting your fixtures. Access Fixtures offers 4-inch and 5-inch, 20-foot, 25-foot, and 30-foot steel and fiberglass poles. These poles are almost always stocked and ready to ship. If your project requires a customized pole (e.g., custom cutting, heavy gauge, high wind rating, etc.), Access Fixtures can discuss affordable, reliable solutions with you.
An 11-gauge, 20-foot pole weighs 146 pounds and measures 4 inches in diameter (round poles) or 4” x 4” (square poles), while the 7-gauge, 25-foot pole weighs 256 pounds and is available in both 4” and 5” diameters. 11-gauge, 20-foot poles are the most popular poles sold at Access Fixtures and in most locations are an excellent way to mount your LED fixtures.
All poles are pre-drilled for side mounting and come standard with an easily secured base cover with a single vertical tenon included. Each pole is finished with a bronze polyester powder coat to ensure maximum paint adhesion. All poles ship with mounting hardware and a set of four anchor bolts. If you are mounting multiple fixtures in a single pole, or if your rodeo arena is in a high-wind zone with strict EPA requirements, our lighting specialists will do an EPA analysis and may suggest using stronger poles.
All of Access Fixtures poles and hardware are protected from rust and corrosion with baked-on, polyester powder-coat finishes that help guarantee the ideal hardness and weather resistance. The durability of these poles results in years of hassle-free reliability. Do you need to color-match the poles to other parts of your facility? Not a problem. We specialize in custom-painted finishes and can custom-color your poles to any RAL color of your choice. If your rodeo has unique mounting requirements, Access Fixtures lighting specialists will help you explore each option to ensure you get the layout and results that work best for your business.
Fixture Placement
As previously established, to evenly and appropriately light your rodeo facility, selecting the correct lighting, such as LED arena lighting, is crucial. The placement of each fixture and pole is dependent on a number of variables, including the application, space, light source, and client preferences. If running a photometric analysis, we will provide you with details like the number of fixtures that are needed for your space and the exact angles to which they should be pointed. The necessary number of poles depends on the size of the ring and the number of fixtures mounted to each pole. Most rodeos require at least four poles, but our team of lighting specialists will discuss the specific needs of your location. If you are unsure about the process, give us a call today at 800-468-9925.
Calculating the Number of LED Lights Needed
Calculating the number of LED lights needed for a horse arena can be a complex task, but it’s essential for ensuring proper illumination. Here are some factors to consider:
- Arena Size: Determine the size of the horse arena, including the length, width, and height. This will help you understand the area that needs to be illuminated.
- Light Output: Determine the desired light output for the arena, taking into account the type of activities that will be taking place. Higher light output may be necessary for competitions, while lower levels may suffice for training sessions.
- Lighting Fixtures: Choose the right lighting fixtures for the arena, considering the size of the arena and the desired light output. LED fixtures are a great choice due to their efficiency and long lifespan.
- Mounting Height: Determine the mounting height of the lights, taking into account the height of the arena and the desired light output. Proper mounting height ensures even distribution of light and minimizes shadows.
- Lighting Plan: Create a detailed lighting plan to ensure that the arena is properly lit and that the desired light output is achieved. This plan should include the number of fixtures, their placement, and the angles at which they should be mounted.
By considering these factors, you can calculate the number of LED lights needed for your horse arena and ensure that it is properly lit for safe and effective use.
Conclusion
Rodeo arena lights are critical for ensuring safety, visibility, and performance in both indoor and outdoor arenas. LED fixtures offer unmatched energy efficiency, durability, and customizable options, making them the ideal choice for modern rodeo lighting. Whether you need expert advice, a detailed photometric analysis, or durable fixtures tailored to your arena’s needs, Access Fixtures has the solutions to light your rodeo arena effectively. Contact our team today to create a safe and efficient lighting system that enhances the rodeo experience for animals, riders, and spectators alike.
Rodeo Arena Lights Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Access Fixtures is your factory-direct source for all light fixtures needed to suitably illuminate your rodeo arena. Questions about pole mounting? Need help with custom coloring? If you have any lighting questions, we will be glad to help get you an answer. We want to make sure you get the exact fixture for your needs, your budget, and your goals. We are passionate about lighting and love what we do. To speak with an Access Fixtures lighting specialist, call (800) 468-9925.
What are the recommended footcandle levels for rodeo arena lights?
For Class 3 requirements, 30 footcandles are recommended, while Class 2 requires 50 footcandles for optimal visibility and safety.
Why are LED fixtures better than metal halide for rodeo arena lights?
LED fixtures are more energy-efficient, have a longer lifespan, require less maintenance, and offer instant-on capabilities compared to metal halide lights.
How can I prevent shadows and glare in my rodeo arena?
Using properly placed LED fixtures with directional optics and conducting a photometric analysis can minimize shadows and glare for better visibility.
What IP rating is suitable for rodeo arena lights?
An IP65 or higher rating is recommended for outdoor rodeo arena lights to protect against dust, water, and harsh weather conditions.
How do I calculate the number of rodeo arena lights needed?
Consider factors such as arena size, desired footcandle levels, fixture type, and mounting height to determine the appropriate number of lights.
What mounting options are available for rodeo arena lights?
Rodeo arena lights can be pole-mounted with options like sport mounts, bracket mounts, and hook mounts to suit different layouts and preferences.
Can rodeo arena lights be customized for specific needs?
Yes, a photometric analysis can help customize lighting plans by adjusting fixture placement, angles, and beam spreads for optimal performance.
What are the benefits of using LED rodeo arena lights?
LED lights provide energy savings, reduced maintenance, instant on/off capabilities, and precise directional lighting, ensuring safety and efficiency.
How can I ensure even lighting throughout my rodeo arena?
Even lighting can be achieved by strategically placing fixtures, using proper beam angles, and ensuring a max/min ratio of 3.0 or lower.
Why is it important to consult a lighting specialist for rodeo arena lights?
Lighting specialists provide expert guidance, photometric analyses, and tailored solutions to ensure your rodeo arena is properly illuminated and meets safety standards.