DIN EN 12193 explained: what the standard regulates for sports facilities

The standard is titled “Light and lighting – Sports lighting” and applies to artificial lighting for the most widely played sports in Europe, indoors and outdoors. For each sport it summarises the minimum values in a table. It also describes measurement methods and gives advice on the arrangement of luminaires.

Class III has the lowest requirements, Class I the highest:

• Class I: top-level competition and top-level training, spectators at a long viewing distance
• Class II: mid-level competition and performance training, spectators at a medium viewing distance
• Class III: simple competition, mostly without spectators, general training, school and leisure sport

The class follows from the level: international and national Class I, regional Class I or II, local Class I, II or III, training Class II or III, school and leisure sport Class III.

Four values determine whether an installation meets the requirements:

• Average illuminance in lux: how bright it is on the playing area, determined over a grid of evaluation points
• Uniformity: ratio of lowest to average illuminance, a higher value means fewer bright and dark zones
• Glare rating GR: on a scale from 10 (no glare) to 90 (unbearable glare), only for sports with an outdoor playing area, as a rule at most GR 50
• Colour rendering Ra: Ra 100 is the best value, the lower the index, the worse colours can be recognised

This is what it looks like for a football pitch, in each case average horizontal illuminance, uniformity and glare rating:

• Class I: 500 lx, 0.7, GR 50
• Class II: 200 lx, 0.6, GR 50
• Class III: 75 lx, 0.5, GR 55

Other sports have other values. You can find them on the respective sport pages.

The standard values for average illuminance are maintained values. They must never be undershot; once they are reached, maintenance is required. A new installation is therefore deliberately above them. How far above is set by the maintenance factor, which takes ageing, dirt and failure into account. Always compare quotes with the same maintenance factor.

DIN standards are in principle voluntary. They become binding when they become part of a contract or the legislator prescribes them. According to DIN, anyone who applies them can more easily prove proper conduct in the event of liability.

In practice, the standard still plays a firm role. The federal Kommunalrichtlinie requires a design according to DIN EN 12193 by a qualified specialist planner and allows at most 30% above the value of the class. Sports associations set their own requirements depending on the league, often going beyond the standard.

For television pictures, predominantly horizontal lighting is not enough. What matters is the vertical illuminance in the direction of the cameras, and colour rendering should reach at least Ra 80. An existing installation therefore cannot simply be converted to suit television afterwards. For training videos, standard-compliant general lighting is usually sufficient.