Sports lighting: lux, uniformity, and mounting heights by sport | STADÉLUM

STADÉLUM · EUROPEAN STANDARD

EN 12193: lighting levels for sports facilities

The European standard EN 12193:2018 defines minimum requirements for the artificial lighting of the main indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Below is a summary of the requirements for maintained horizontal illuminance, uniformity, glare limitation and colour rendering according to lighting Classes I, II and III.

Class I High requirement level
Class II Intermediate level
Class III Training / general use
PA + TA Reference areas

Understanding EN 12193

The required lux level depends on the sport and lighting class

There is no single “EN 12193” value that applies to every sports facility.

The standard associates each sport with a reference area, a calculation grid and specific lighting performance requirements. A football pitch, a tennis court and an equestrian arena therefore do not necessarily have the same values for the same lighting class.

Reference areas

Principal Area and Total Area

The standard distinguishes in particular between the Principal Area (PA), corresponding to the main area required for practising the sport, and the Total Area (TA), which generally includes the PA and an additional safety area.

The dimensions and grid points depend directly on the sport being studied.

TA · TOTAL AREA
PA · PRINCIPAL AREA

Lighting classes

The three classes used by EN 12193

CLASS I High requirements

High-level competitions and high-level training, particularly where viewing conditions are demanding.

CLASS II Intermediate level

Intermediate-level competitions and training requiring good visual performance.

CLASS III General use

Lower-level competitions, general training, school sports and recreational use.

Important:

Class I does not automatically mean “national” and Class II does not automatically mean “regional”. Sports federations may use their own classification systems.

EN 12193:2018 · outdoor

Outdoor sports facilities

Ēm = maintained average horizontal illuminance · U0 = Emin / Eavg · GR = Glare Rating · Ra = colour rendering index.

OUTDOOR
Sport Class Maintained Ēm Uniformity U0 GR max. Ra min.
Athletics I 500 lux 0.70 50 70
II 200 lux 0.50 50 60
III 100 lux 0.50 55 60
Equestrian Outdoor jumping / dressage I 500 lux 0.70 50 70
II 200 lux 0.50 50 60
III 100 lux 0.50 55 60
Outdoor tennis I 500 lux 0.70 50 70
II 300 lux 0.70 50 60
III 200 lux 0.60 55 60
Outdoor padel I 500 lux 0.70 50 70
II 300 lux 0.70 50 60
III 200 lux 0.60 55 60
Football I 500 lux 0.70 55 70
II 200 lux 0.60 55 60
III 75 lux 0.50 55 60
Rugby I 500 lux 0.70 55 70
II 200 lux 0.60 55 60
III 75 lux 0.50 55 60
Outdoor basketball I 500 lux 0.70 55 70
II 200 lux 0.60 55 60
III 75 lux 0.50 55 60
Outdoor handball I 500 lux 0.70 55 70
II 200 lux 0.60 55 60
III 75 lux 0.50 55 60
Outdoor volleyball I 500 lux 0.70 55 70
II 200 lux 0.60 55 60
III 75 lux 0.50 55 60

EN 12193:2018 · indoor

Sports halls and indoor sports facilities

Values differ depending on the sport category, particularly for racket sports.

INDOOR
Sport Class Maintained Ēm Uniformity U0 GR max. Ra min.
Badminton I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 300 lux 0.70 40* 60
Table tennis I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 300 lux 0.70 40* 60
Basketball I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 200 lux 0.50 40* 60
Handball I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 200 lux 0.50 40* 60
Volleyball I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 200 lux 0.50 40* 60
5-a-side / 6-a-side football Indoor / futsal I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 200 lux 0.50 40* 60
Indoor tennis I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 300 lux 0.50 40* 60
Indoor padel I 750 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 500 lux 0.70 40* 60
III 300 lux 0.50 40* 60
Indoor equestrian Indoor arena I 500 lux 0.70 35* 80
II 300 lux 0.60 40* 60
III 200 lux 0.50 40* 60

* For several indoor applications in these tables, the GR criterion applies in particular to mounting heights above 10 m. The full EN 12193 text should be consulted for the notes specific to each sport.

Multi-sport hall

A sports hall should not be assessed using a single generic value

When a sports hall contains several marked courts, EN 12193 provides for performance to be assessed on each sports area using the calculation grid corresponding to the relevant sport.

A sports hall study intended for badminton, basketball and volleyball should therefore verify that the installation is suitable for each of these uses.

Reading the tables

Four values to consider together

Ēm Maintained average illuminance

Average lux level to be maintained across the area being assessed.

U0 Emin / Eavg

Checks that the least illuminated areas remain consistent with the average.

GR Glare Rating

An indicator intended to limit glare under the conditions defined by the standard.

Ra Colour rendering

Indicates how accurately colours are reproduced by the lighting.

An essential concept

The tables specify maintained values

The specified level is not simply the level a new installation should produce on its first day.

The design must take into account the ageing of the light sources, dirt accumulation on the luminaires, the environment and the maintenance strategy in order to maintain the required level over time.

STADÉLUM method

From an EN 12193 table to a real installation

The standard defines performance requirements. A photometric study determines how to achieve them on site.

01

Identify the sport

Determine the EN 12193 table and lighting class corresponding to the intended use.

02

Define the areas

Check the corresponding PA, TA, dimensions and calculation grid.

03

Analyse the site

Heights, poles, roof structure, available mounting positions and environmental constraints.

04

Select the optics

Distribute the useful luminous flux before increasing the number of luminaires or their power.

05

Check the results

Average lux, uniformity, GR, colour rendering and surrounding areas.

06

Optimise

Determine an installed power that is consistent with the required performance.

EN 12193 + SPORTS FEDERATIONS

What about your sport in France?

Sports federations may adopt EN 12193 values, supplement the standard or impose their own assessment methods.

Compare values by sport

EN 12193 PRELIMINARY STUDY

Which lighting level should be applied to your sports facility?

Before defining the number or power of the luminaires, STADÉLUM analyses the sport, the required lighting class, dimensions, height, layout and site constraints.

Request a preliminary study
Important

This page provides an educational summary of certain applications of EN 12193:2018 and does not reproduce the standard in full. The official text, its notes, reference area dimensions and any additional requirements must be checked for the project concerned.