"Lumens are nothing without control"

Sports Lite portable floodlights are manufactured in the UK by a company with over 34 years of experience in the industry. They understand that end users need products that work effectively and provide maximum light with minimal power usage.

Specialising in LED lighting technology they have developed their 'Beam Control' concept to offer customers the most efficient and focussed lighting products on the market.

Explaining the "lumens myth" - what are lumens and why are they not so important?

The popular belief is that more lumens = more light = better product, indeed lighting legislation worldwide generally requires manufacturers to specify how many lumens their product produces as a way of assessing  how bright it is. This is misleading for the following reasons:

The dictionary definition of Lumens (symbol: lm) is:

The International System of Units (SI) for a derived unit of luminous flux, equal to the amount of light emitted per second in a unit solid angle of one steradian from a uniform source of one candela – in simple terms the light power emitted by a light source.

 

On paper a product can produce a lot of lumens but not produce very much usable light.

A good example is a laser, which is very bright but has a very tightly controlled beam. This is great if you want to illuminate 1 square mm at 5km distance, but if you want to use it for most other applications then it would be totally useless.

It is therefore important not just to look at how many lumens a product produces, but also how much light arrives on a working area, which is measured in lux.

The dictionary definition of Lux (symbol: lx) is:

The International System of Units (SI) for a derived unit of luminance, measuring luminous flux per unit area. It is the amount of illumination provided when one lumen is evenly distributed over an area of one square metre – in simple terms how much light is hitting a surface over a square metre area. This can be termed 'useful light'.

 

NOTE: To measure lumens accurately requires laboratory standard conditions, which makes it hard to verify individual manufacturer’s claims and to use these to evaluate performance.

Lux levels can be measured more easily in a practical situation using a simple meter, making it possible to compare the actual effectiveness of competing products.

Because lumens describe only the light emitted from the light source in any direction and do not consider any loss due to lenses, diffusers etc, lumens are not helpful in describing the level of illumination arriving on an area of a given size and distance from the light source.

Understanding how much lux results from the combination of lumens produced and the efficiency of the light head, and thus how much light actually hits the ground to light up the playing surface, is therefore crucial to enable customers to identify the best product required to meet their lighting requirements.

How does 'Beam Control' work?

The Sports Lite 'Beam Control' concept uses bespoke lensing to control the direction of the light produced and to focus it effectively onto the playing surface, thereby reducing lumens wasted as light spillage. This also reduces glare and light pollution, making it less likely that using the lights will impact surrounding properties.

Improved efficiency also reduces power usage and the cost of using the lights because the LEDs operate at optimum lumen output per watt to ensure that as much energy as possible is converted into light rather than heat. This makes the lights more efficient and maximises the reliability and longevity of the product.

Equivalent Lumens

Because most consumers are understandably not familiar with all of the specialist technical information outlined above, and will therefore take the published lumen output of competing products as a measure of their light output, we have calculated the output of our lights when compared with products that do not have 'Beam Control' technology. We call this measurement 'equivalent lumens'. To back up this figure we have tested the Sports Lite against competing products in practical situations and are therefore confident that it offers the actual performance indicated.

The Sports Lite Product DNA

When you purchase a set of Sports Lite LED floodlights you are getting the benefit of a specific design philosophy.

 

	BEAM CONTROLLED DESIGN Designed to give maximum useful light for any application with bespoke beam controlled lensing ensuring glare and light pollution are minimised.
	EFFICIENCY Designed to be as efficient and energy saving as possible whilst providing ultra bright high powered LED lighting for your training sessions.
	FLEXIBLE & VERSATILE Can be used for multiple applications both indoors and outdoors. Compact design makes the lights conveniently portable and easy to store.
	ZERO EMISSIONS Supplied with highly efficient lithium batteries for maximum power output and no light loss over the full period of use.
	ROBUST & RELIABLE Waterproof, dust proof and shatter proof. Suitable for use by clubs, schools or at home.
	BUILT TO LAST Manufactured using high quality components to maximise product life and maintain exceptional performance for many years.

 

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