Squash Pro Sheds New Light on Courts by Georgetta Morque
Elmsford, NY - (January 18, 2016) –
Squash courts with dim, yellow lighting and glare have consistently
plagued players and pros alike while high electricity costs continue to
burden court facilities. Improved LED lighting has been making its way
to athletic venues, although the products haven’t fully met the needs
of squash. To correct the sport’s lighting issues and provide optimal
visibility on court, longtime pro Lee Witham has introduced LED Squash
Lighting, (ledsquashlighting.com), new energy-efficient, cost-effective
lighting technology that’s a first for squash that eliminates glare and
replicates daylight.
Committed to squash, Witham plans to
reinvest revenues from LED Squash Lighting back to the sport to sponsor
up-and-coming players and tournaments. Witham says his goal in business
is always the “why factor” and to create a win-win situation. “The club
is saving money and getting ideal light, the game receives needed
support and most importantly, we move a step closer to offering
protection to the environment.”
Three years ago, Witham
became a part owner of an LED manufacturing plant in Korea specializing
in street lighting and office space applications and has worked closely
with the manufacturer of LED backlights for Samsung TVs and
smartphones to come up with the best lighting for squash. Witham has
tested variations of the many LED flat panels on the market, but found
they fell short on many fronts for the sport. Witham, who has been
involved in squash for 30 years, determined that some products provided
too much light which produced shadows, others were too bright -
creating too much glare - and in some cases, the wattage was too high
which reduced efficiency.
Witham’s LED Squash Lighting uses
Samsung chips and Edge-Lit technology, which eliminates glare and
produces light uniformity throughout the court, giving it a daylight
feel. Witham compares the experience to watching LED TV. “Do you want
more light or more clarity? LED brings out the actual colors you want
to see.” The product is manufactured entirely in-house. Each flat panel
is 1inch in height and constructed with aluminum and a hardened plastic
to withstand ball impact. Engineers can offer 3-D photometrics to
configure the correct lighting for each facility.
A
typical fluorescent fixture in a squash court is 200 watts, whereas an
LED light is 50 watts, a 75 percent lower electric consumption. By
Witham’s calculations, squash courts in the U.S. use approximately 6.3
million watts per year, an estimated $1.65 million in electricity.
Switching to LED lighting can reduce these numbers to 1.5 million watts
and $412,000 in electrical consumption costs, according to Witham. LED
Squash Lighting also carries DLC certification which enables facilities
to earn state rebates of up to 90 percent. Another plus is that club
owners no longer need to hire staff and put up scaffolding to replace
lights on a regular basis. Unlike current fluorescent
lighting, LED lighting does not contain mercury and has a much smaller
impact on the environment, and using little wasted heat, is far more
efficient. Most electronics are produced to have short life cycles and
end up in landfills. LED lighting, on the other hand, has long life
cycles and can last 10 times longer than fluorescent bulbs and 20 times
longer than incandescent bulbs. LED lighting does not produce infrared
(IR) radiation or ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
This past
fall, LED Squash Lighting was installed at the Westchester Country
Club’s squash facility in Rye, NY, and members are more than pleased.
Alister Walker, world ranked 38, tried them out. “I have been fortunate
in recent months to have trained under the LED Squash Lights,” said
Walker. “The light is uniform throughout and the anti-glare means
overhead shots can be taken with ease. The lights are a massive step
forward for court lighting and I can't wait to see them on tour!”
A
native of Oxford, UK, Witham competed on the PSA World Tour in the
early ’90s. He coached in Germany, Malta and England before moving to
the U.S. in 1998 where he has trained 18 top 10 junior players. Three
currently represent Dartmouth College. A Westchester County, NY
resident, Witham has consistently explored ways to protect the
environment and eight years ago, built an Eco Net Zero Energy house in
upstate New York. “It was then I discovered that LED lighting was the
easiest thing to change to make a large impact in saving energy,”
Witham explained. He therefore took the opportunity to invest in LED
and make a difference in its manufacturing. The natural progression, he
said, was to make a change to squash lighting and in turn, support the
game. For more information, visit www.Ledsquashlighting.com or email info@nortonled.com
Photo 1: Before and after comparison. New LED Squash Lighting on the left and fluorescent lighting on the right.
Photo 2: Lee Witham under the lights of his new LED Squash Lighting
