Both outdoor and indoor batting cages require lighting so we can practice at night or indoors. Lux and lumens are common lighting specifications that we should consider because these values affect the brightness of the batting cage.
What are Lumen and Lux?
Lumen and Lux both indicate the intensity of light. Lumen is the amount of light that is being emitted from the light source. Lux, on the other hand, provides the luminance of a specific surface such as a workstation and more. The non-SI unit of light intensity is also known as footcandle. We should consider these useful parameters if you want to get the correct lux and lumens for the batting cages.
How Many Lux is Required for Batting Cage Lights?
Batting cages required different lux levels depending on the level of competition. It can vary from recreational training and professionalism. Apart from lux, sometimes we use footcandle to represent the illuminance. (1 footcandle = 10.76 lux)
| Type of batting cage | Lux or fc required |
| Recreational | 200 to 300 lux, or
19 to 28 fc |
| Training | 400 to 500 lux, or
37 to 47 fc |
| Professional | 700 to 1,000 lux, or
65 to 93 fc |
1. Recreational
If the batting cage is for recreational purposes, it will require light from 200 to 300 lux. It doesn’t need to be very bright since the players don’t have to be competitive while practicing.
2. Training
Batting cages for training needs 400 to 500 lux, so the baseball players can concentrate. Some high school or college indoor batting cage also requires this lux level.
3. Professional
If the batting cage is designed for professional use, the lux level required would raise to 700 to 1,000 lux. The intense lighting improves players’ accuracy when hitting the baseball. Besides, bright illumination is also important for photography and video shooting during the match.
How Many Lumens is Required for Batting Cage Lighting?
Understand the lux level is the first step of getting the right batting cage lights. Next, we need to consider lumens requirement.
How to Calculate Lumen?
Here is the simple formula: lux value x batting cage area (in sq. meter) = lumen required
| Type of batting cage | Lumen required |
| Recreational | 25,000 to 60,000 lumens |
| Training or baseball club | 50,000 to 100,000 lumens |
| Professional | 150,000 to 250,000 lumens |
a) Recreational
25,000 to 60,000 lumens are required for recreational purposes. It will provide a better experience for the recreational players. Since they are playing to have fun and enjoy, it doesn’t have to be very bright compared to other players.
b) Training / Baseball Club
Training or baseball club requires 50,000 to 100,000 lumens. Practicing how to hit the ball is very important for baseball players to win their games. The bright light can help them to improve their performance and hit the baseball more accurately.
c) Professional
Professional baseball batting cages need to have 150,000 to 250,000 lumens lighting. The players on the professional level need to improve their performance on a grander scale compared with other players.
What Determines the Lumen Required of Batting Cage Lighting?
1. Size of Batting Cage
Batting cage size affects the lumen required. Generally, the lumen is directly proportional to the area. You can calculate the lumens needed by learning the lumens requirement of the batting cage.
For example, if the dimension of the batting cage is 20 x 5 meters, the total area is 100 sq. meter. By applying the formula, the lumen required for batting cage = lux requirement x size (in sq. meter) = 500 lux (for training) x 100 sq. meter = 50,000 lumens.
2. Level of Competition
The concept is that the more professional the batting cage, the brighter the light should be.
a) Recreational Needs Lower Lumens
Since the purpose of recreational batting cage is for entertainment, too much light may create excessive stress on baseball players. In fact, 200 lux to 300 lux is sufficient for this type of batting cage.
b) Training Needs Higher Lumens
Training batting cage needs brighter lights, so that the students and coaches can see the fast-moving baseball clearly, as well as the batting movements.
3. Batting Cage Height
If the batting cage light is installed at a higher height, we need more lumens to compensate for the light loss. Generally, we need 5 to 10% extra lumens if the ceiling height is increased by 3 meters.
Conclusion
Learning more about the required lux and lumen is the first step to illuminating the batting cage successfully. The lux depends on level of competition while the lumen depends on the dimensions of the batting cage. If you need more help about lighting design, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
