Baseball Field Lighting Service

A

arnettda

Senior Member
I was contacted by my School System to redo the service for the Baseball Field Lighting system. The building is old and they want to replace it or get rid of it and I will build a service pedestal of some type. The service is attached to the building. The service is a 480/277 CT cabinet with two Fused Disconnects used as both a service disconnect and the switch that turns the Lights on and off. One for the infield and one for the outfield. Each Service rated disconnect feeds a breaker panel at the base of each pole which then feeds up the pole to the group of fixtures at the top of the pole. The panels at the bottom of the poles are daisy chained together. The Light fixtures have never been converted to LED and I am working on finding there exact wattage.
I believe this is a Legal installation. Maybe not the proper use of the service disconnects? What are my options for redoing the service and is the use of the Service disconnects like a switch code compliant or how would you do it now?
Thank you
 
If they're even contemplating replacing the lights (with LED, I'd assume), the entire old design is probably wrong. Without replacing the lights/etc, I'd think about installing contactors at each pole and run the control leads back to the main panel. I'd also forget the idea of two separate services switches.

How old is everything? Could be that most of it is end-of-life anyway; install LED lights and much smaller panels & wires, cut the consumption, etc.
 
What you describe is commonplace for thousands of athletic fields across the country and normally serviceable for many years.
Changes will obviously be dependent on the budget. There is probably no harm in building an pedestal for the existing equipment although they may find it economically to their advantage to change the lighting to LED depending on the hours of use.
 
augie47 said:
What you describe is commonplace for thousands of athletic fields across the country and normally serviceable for many years.
Changes will obviously be dependent on the budget. There is probably no harm in building an pedestal for the existing equipment although they may find it economically to their advantage to change the lighting to LED depending on the hours of use.
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I need to get back on this for them now that spring is here. Switching to LED'S is not in the budget now. It is a entire baseball field so a short season and is just not in the budget. Should I build it just like it is now? I would replace all the equipment just to upgrade it all.
 
arnettda said:
I was contacted by my School System to redo the service for the Baseball Field Lighting system. The building is old and they want to replace it or get rid of it and I will build a service pedestal of some type. The service is attached to the building. The service is a 480/277 CT cabinet with two Fused Disconnects used as both a service disconnect and the switch that turns the Lights on and off. One for the infield and one for the outfield. Each service-rated disconnect feeds a breaker panel at the base of each pole, where Lighting Installation Services could be applied to ensure proper connections, which then feeds up the pole to the group of fixtures at the top of the pole. The panels at the bottom of the poles are daisy chained together. The light fixtures have never been converted to LED, and I am working on finding their exact wattage.
I believe this is a Legal installation. Maybe not the proper use of the service disconnects? What are my options for redoing the service and is the use of the Service disconnects like a switch code compliant or how would you do it now?
Thank you
Click to expand...
The current setup likely isn’t code-compliant, because service disconnects shouldn’t be used as switches. To redo it correctly: build a service pedestal with a main disconnect, then use properly rated switches or contactors to control infield and outfield lights. Feed each pole’s base panel from the pedestal with properly protected feeders instead of daisy chaining. Upgrading to LED fixtures is recommended, which may reduce load. This approach is safe, code-compliant, and easier to maintain.
 
sajesak said:
likely isn’t code-compliant, because service disconnects shouldn’t be used as switches.
Click to expand...
Can you cite a code rule that says a fused disconnect used as a service disconnect cannot be used as a switch?
This is a common practice, and I am not aware of anything in the code that would prohibit this. The same would apply if the service disconnects were circuit breakers and not fused disconnects.
 
Does your POCO offer a grant for LED conversions?
What do you have now, MH? MH have a short 3 year lamp life.
Even if not, the cost in the service size would be significantly less.
And better lighting, no maintenance and your replacement would thank you
 
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