Here’s an updated article in which city officials plan to turn on the lights: Hermosa Beach tennis court lights to be turned on again next week
The city turned off the new tennis court lights behind the community center last Monday, and it’s unclear when they will be back on. Tennis players can still play during the day, but instead of volleying under the lights until 10 p.m., as is the normal schedule, the courts have been closed at 7 p.m. and will be for the foreseeable future.
At issue are the new lights themselves, which were installed over the summer. Some tennis players say the new lights are dimmer than the old lights, but city officials say that’s not so.
As part of its long-term effort to become more energy efficient, the city used a $108,000 Federal Recovery Act Grant issued through the state energy commission to pay for replacing old 1000-watt lights with more efficient new 400-watt lights, both at the tennis court as well as in the downtown parking structure, said Public Works Director Frank Senteno.
“We replaced the lights with a lower wattage light and we were able to provide the same level of illumination,” Senteno said. “It’s a different light. It’s a white light. It’s a completely different level of illumination, where the other one was more like yellow. This is white and it’s more reflective. So you get more light, so to speak.”
Senteno likened it to replacing a 100-watt incandescent light bulb in a home with a 25-watt LED light. “There’s a significant amout of savings and energy, and yet you are producing the same amount of light,” Senteno said.
The new lights at the Hermosa Beach Community Center tennis courts were installed beginning on about June 21. After the lights were installed on two of the four lower public courts, Bill Hein, an avid tennis player who has worked in the lighting business for 30 years, said he took light readings to test both the old lights versus new ones.
Gauging foot candles, the unit of measurement used in the lighting industry, Hein used a handheld light meter to measure about 38 foot candles at the center of the courts under the old lights. The new lights measured far less— about 15 foot candles, he said.
At the time, Hein said he called the city and asked that the project be slowed down and investigated. Hein wasn’t the only one to complain. Joe Testa, a tennis instructor who pays $550 a month to the city for use of the courts, said the new lights provide less than adequate lighting.
“The new fixtures cast a shadow down the middle of the court and reflect as much light off the court as they do on the court,” Testa wrote in a letter to the public works department.
Testa, like fellow tennis instructor Adam Burt, has been forced to abandon his tennis lessons in the evenings.
“Down the middle of the court, the lighting got worse,” Burt said after wrapping up his tennis lessons for the day last week. “It’s definitely brighter around the outside of the court.”
Like Hein, Senteno said he and staff, as well as the vendor and light manufacturer, also took light readings using handheld light meters. But they only took light readings directly below the light fixtures at the base of the pole, and the light levels were found the same between the old lights and new ones, Senteno said.
“Typically you measure the light at its source,” Senteno explained. “We took photos before and after, and we can’t tell the difference. I think the white lighting is an improvement.”
Senteno, who said he interviewed people playing tennis under the new lights and heard no complaints, said that the tennis instructors complaining have higher standards of lighting that aren’t realistic for free, recreational courts.
“They want the city to put in something that’s at a professional court standard and level of lighting, and that’s just not possible,” Senteno said, adding that brighter lights would not qualify for grant funds because the city had to demonstrate a savings in electricity.
“The goal was not to upgrade the tennis courts or playing standard. The goal was to replace existing lighting with high energy savings-type lights,” said Senteno.
Hein said tennis instructors understand lighting better than the general public. Hein said the U.S. Tennis Association in conjunction with the American Builders Association calls for a minimum of 30 foot candles of lighting over time for recreational park lighting. Because lenses get dirty and lights overheat and dim over the years, Hein said the new lights ought to initially measure about 40 foot candles in the middle of the court, as the old lights did.
The $108,000 grant called for retrofitting lights throughout the city with induction lighting fixtures. Hein said that induction lamps are not very effective at illuminating tennis courts, and there are other, brighter induction lights than the ones installed at the tennis courts over the summer.
Induction lighting is harder to control and is often used for parking lots or warehouses, Hein said, adding that induction lighting for tennis courts is “extremely uncommon.”
Senteno, on the other hand, said that induction lighting is regularly used for tennis courts, parks and street lighting.
Hein cited a 2005 study performed by the energy consulting firm KJK&A of San Diego that identified ways to reduce city energy consumption without hurting operations. Among the findings was a recommendation to retrofit the 1000-watt metal halide tennis court lights with new 600-watt “pulse start” metal halide lamps with electronic ballasts, according to the report. An addendum to the report also recommended using 400-watt electronic ballasts and bulbs for the existing lights, which Hein said would have provided similar but slightly improved results.
The city would save nearly $5,000 a year with the new lights, which would pay for the cost over five years, the report said.
“The trick is to lower your wattage without lowering your light levels,” Hein said.
Hein has been ranked as a top 20 U.S. tennis player for players 50-years-old and up is also on the National Council on Qualifications for Lighting Professionals. Hein founded Visionaire Lighting of Rancho Dominguez, which manufactures outdoor lighting and poles. Hein, who left his position at Visionaire to be a manufacture’s representative and consultant, said that Visionaire “dominates the Southern California market for shopping centers and tennis clubs.”
The outdoor venues that Visionaire has lit includes Plaza El Segundo, the Manhattan Beach Country Club, the Mira Costa High School tennis courts and the pier lights in Manhattan and Redondo beaches.
Hein said that Visionaire had a contract with the city of Hermosa Beach to install 750-watt fixtures at the Community Center tennis courts in 2008, but that contract was cancelled because of the recession. Hein said he does not hold a grudge over losing that contract.
One of the companies that bid last year and was not awarded the contract to procure the new high-efficiency induction lights was West-Lite Supply of Cerritos. Although a 2011 Visionaire press release says that Visionaire and West-Lite have a “long-standing relationship,” Hein said Visionaire is nothing more than “one of 500 manufacturers” used by West-Lite and other lighting vendors, and that Visionaire is not affiliated with West-Lite in any meaningful way.
Garry Haverland, president of West-Lite, confirmed Hein’s account. “They’re a manufacturer. We’re a distributor. We use their product from time to time, and there are a lot of other lighting companies whose products we use when we sell,” Haverland said.
Hein believes that he risks losing future business over supplying street lights to the city by speaking out against the new lights at the tennis courts.
“I want to sell street light fixtures to the city, but I also want to do what’s right and speak up with my tennis friends,” Hein said.
After complaining about the 32 new lights over the four lower tennis courts, some tennis players met with city officials as well as the light vendor and manufacturer, which stand by their products and service. About a dozen people gathered on the courts Sept. 6, including tennis instructors and members of the public. The meeting deteriorated quickly and became contentious, according to those who were there.
At the meeting, Hein told city officials that without the proper amount of light on the courts, the city is in jeopardy of a lawsuit if someone gets hurt.
Senteno said that potential legal liability prompted him to close the courts at 7 p.m. so no one can play beneath the lights.
“We’re looking at what can we do, and we’re not sure right now,” Senteno said. “We’re sort of scratching our heads over what the next step is going to be. It might be a matter of adjusting the lights, pointing the lights a little better toward the courts… We’re looking to open them as soon as possible.”
“I never wanted the lights turned off, but maybe there will be a resolution,” said Hein, who has invited city and officials to measure light readings at nearby tennis courts in the South Bay for comparison.
Crystal Lighting of El Monte, the light manufacturer, issued a statement on Thursday that said, “We were presented with an opportunity to provide a lighting solution for the City of Hermosa Beach tennis courts. There was a fixture that was specified for the project but was not available by the specified manufacturer. We were asked if we had an equal fixture as the one specified and if we can meet a deadline. We responded yes and got the job and delivered by the deadline given. We believe our client and the city are happy with the results and we stand by the quality and warranty of our products.”
Greencrest Energy Solutions of Anaheim Hills was the vendor awarded the $70,268 city contract last August to procure 137 new energy efficient lighting fixtures for the parking structure and other city facilities. “Greencrest supplied what was spec’d by the city. We did not create the specifications,” a Greencrest representative said in a text message.
On Friday at 7 p.m., a city worker informed a handful of people playing tennis that the courts had to close. Scott and Paige Warden were leaving the courts and said they like to play recreationally about once a week. They played under the new lights about week earlier.
“When we played, the lights were fine for us,” Scott Warden said.
“They were bright enough,” said Paige Warden.
Jamie Suard, a tennis instructor, was also leaving the courts. Asked what she thought about the new lights, Suard said, “They’re dimmer. It’s harder to see.”
Suard said she is supportive of the city government, which she considers responsive to the public’s needs. “Where else can we play tennis for free?” Suard said. “That’s why it was surprising that the (new) lights were darker.”
