A squash club can install efficient LED fixtures and still waste electricity by lighting empty courts. Before investing in controls, find out when lights are on without being needed. The best solution fits your booking pattern and gives staff a clear way to manage exceptions.
Record unused lighting hours first
For a representative week, compare court bookings with actual switch-on and switch-off times. Include cancellations, coaching overruns, cleaning and periods between bookings. Distinguish an empty court from one that is temporarily quiet: an automatic system must not interrupt a session because players pause.
Keep a simple record for each court: booking start and finish, actual lighting hours and the reason for any extra time. This identifies whether a timer, clearer staff procedures or integration with the booking system would address the problem.
Choose the right level of control
- Staff-operated switching: simple to understand, but relies on someone checking empty courts.
- Time schedules: useful for opening and closing hours, provided exceptions are easy to manage.
- Booking-linked switching: can follow reservations, but needs compatible hardware and software, cancellation handling and a fallback if the connection fails.
- Presence sensing: requires a court-specific assessment of coverage, delay and behaviour during pauses. Test it in real play before relying on it.
TRILUX's sports hall lighting guidance describes controls that adapt lighting to use. The actual control arrangement still needs to suit your squash courts.
Agree what happens at the end of a booking
Plan a sensible transition period, clear communication to players and a staff override. Do not create an abrupt blackout while a court is occupied. Coordinate court controls with circulation lighting and any separate emergency lighting. Ask the installer to demonstrate the response to lost connectivity and power restoration.
Specify switching and dimming separately. A booking connection does not make a non-dimmable fixture dimmable. Before ordering, confirm the exact driver and control interface, including whether the proposed arrangement suits existing fixtures.
Estimate savings without overstating them
Use avoidable operating hours, not total opening hours. For example, a hypothetical 0.45 kW court installation avoiding two unnecessary hours on 250 days saves 225 kWh annually. At an assumed €0.25 per kWh, that is €56.25 in electricity before any taxes or tariff adjustments. This is an illustration, not a guaranteed saving.
Compare the result with the installed control cost, subscriptions and maintenance. A simple procedure may be enough for a small club; a larger site may benefit from individual court control.
Test before handing the controls to staff
Test back-to-back bookings, cancellations, overruns, cleaning and manual operation. Label controls and keep a short instruction sheet at reception. Review actual operating hours after the first month.
Planning a change? Send Global LED Lights your court count and booking pattern. Also read our multi-court squash lighting budget guide. Control compatibility and installation scope must be confirmed for your project.