Do LED stadium lights require an emergency lighting configuration?
Yes. As venues with high occupant density, stadiums must be equipped with emergency lighting systems in compliance with national building fire safety codes (such as GB 50016) and stadium lighting standards. Emergency lighting falls into two categories:
Evacuation lighting: Used to indicate evacuation routes and safety exits; it requires an illuminance level of at least 1 lux and must be powered by batteries or a generator for a duration of no less than 90 minutes.
Standby lighting: Used to ensure that a match or event can continue or be safely terminated if normal lighting fails. For stadiums hosting televised broadcasts, standby lighting must provide at least 30% of the normal illuminance level, with a switchover time not exceeding 15 seconds (typically achieved using dual-circuit mains power, a generator, and an EPS). In practical LED stadium lighting systems, emergency lighting can be implemented in the following ways:
1) Connecting a portion of the LED fixtures to an emergency power supply (EPS or generator) that automatically switches over during a mains power outage.
2) Using LED drivers with built-in batteries; the fixtures automatically switch to battery power during an outage (typically lasting 10 to 90 minutes, depending on battery capacity).
3) Installing dedicated emergency lights (such as LED emergency downlights) directed at evacuation routes. For major stadiums, a combination of dual-circuit mains power, a generator, and a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) is recommended to ensure seamless lighting switchover in the event of a primary power failure.
During design, note that while the color temperature and color rendering properties of emergency lighting may differ from those of normal lighting, the system must ensure a high level of reliability and safety.
