LED lighting for indoor riding arena in cold climate

[cherham]

As many of you know we lost our indoor riding arena to a tornado 3 months ago. Our new arena has just started under construction (yeah!!!) and along with many other decisions we have to make is lighting.

We previously used 400 watt metal halide lights which we were very happy with but our electrician has mentioned using LED lights instead. He told us they were instant on even in extremely cold temperatures (we live in Ontario) and much more energy efficient then our previous lights.

Another alternative is flourescent lighting. Any thoughts anyone? Our arena is 72 x 144 feet. Thanks

[SLW]

In my 40’ by 60’ barn I use the energy efficient fluorescent light bulbs that are industrial size and they are fantastic- they are the pigtail style but BIG. They take just a moment to shed brilliant, clear light that you could perform surgery under. An electrician friend turned me on to the them and they are worth every penny.

[Jim_in_PA]

LED replacements for metal halide are relatively new, but they likely will pay for themselves within a year based on what I’ve read. And LED doesn’t suffer from cold-related performance issues like fluorescent lighting does. If anything, it extends their life since they are a semiconductor technology. Yes, LED is a bit more expensive to install “today”, but the long-term return on investment is quite positive. I’ve already started converting my home over to LED as the need for replacements happens naturally.

[airhorse]

We looked at LED fixtures for our arena as we are adding on. Currently 70X120 with 15, 400 watt MH fixtures. The LED fixtures are still hideously expensive at $500 and up per unit. Just don’t have 12K to blow on lighting. We ended up going with 21 of these http://www.amazon.com/Fluorescent-High-Bay-F54T5-EL605-T5HO/dp/B00M1MUXP2 and are very happy so far. They are about 300 watts each, so right in between the MH and LED wattage. Our arena is now 70X170 thus the increase in fixtures.

If you went with 18 fixtures, I don’t think you could ever make up the difference in pricing. Even at 10 hours per day, I come up with something like a 10 year payoff for 18 lights at 200 watts vs 300 watts.

[rhymeswithfizz]

[QUOTE=Jim_in_PA;7772181]
LED replacements for metal halide are relatively new, but they likely will pay for themselves within a year based on what I’ve read. And LED doesn’t suffer from cold-related performance issues like fluorescent lighting does. If anything, it extends their life since they are a semiconductor technology. Yes, LED is a bit more expensive to install “today”, but the long-term return on investment is quite positive. I’ve already started converting my home over to LED as the need for replacements happens naturally.[/QUOTE]

I agree that LED is a better choice than metal halide and incandescent, but the statement above is not true when comparing LED to linear fluorescent.

Unless your electricity is hideously expensive ($0.20+ per kWh), then your payback for LED will likely be at least 10-15 years over fluorescent.

In most locations, T8 fluorescent is absolutely your best bang for your buck. They are inexpensive, easy to maintain, and they are a tried and true technology. LED is not much more energy efficient than T8 and the costs are still too high to make the numbers work. Get 4 lamp T8 fixtures and space them at 1-1.5 times the mounting height to keep shadows to a minimum. Make sure you get fixtures with cold weather ballasts (-20F start) and you will be just fine.

Anybody who tells you differently is probably trying to sell you something A few more years and I might be singing a different tune, but not yet.

[Jim_in_PA]

My mention on payback was relative to metal halide operation costs, not fluorescent…fluorescent is pretty efficient. Sorry I wasn’t clear enough on that. But the OP mentions being in a very cold climate and that kicks the initial costs for fluorescent up a bit (may need special ballasts) without totally eliminating the effect of temperature, especially at start-up time. Yes, they will start down to -20º F, but the light will be somewhat uneven. If fluorescents are used, a fixture that has impact shielding needs to be used to insure safety…a flying stone or anything that could be kicked up by a horse could cause a rain of tiny shards of glass.

There are LED replacement bulbs that fit in normal metal halide fixtures, too…the fixtures are often available used and the LED bulbs are less expensive than buying whole LED fixtures.