When bad weather brings gloomy conditions the need to resign oneself to riding in an indoor arena is all but inevitable. Besides suffering the psychological effects, you can find yourself spending a fair bit of money lighting an indoor arena even during the day. However, whether you are building a new arena or updating an existing one there are ways to take advantage of the power of the sun to light the arena and ward off the gloom while saving money and considering the environment too!

Daylighting

Of course, one obvious sustainable solution is to reduce reliance on electric light fixtures by adding glazing or windows to the arena. (You could also switch to a form of alternative energy but here we focus simply on maximizing daylight). Now certainly this is not something new, but if you are going to invest in glazing you want to make it as effective as possible. With a little planning a simple idea can become a really effective one, and the initial expense you incur can be offset by taking the fullest advantage of the sunlight the glazing allows into the arena.

Placing Windows in an Indoor Arena

One of the most effective and straightforward ways to glaze an indoor arena is to add a row of windows or translucent panels at the top of the long walls. You need to consider the plusses and minuses of glass verses translucent panels that are made of a material such as fiberglass. Glass, of course, will allow a lot more light into the arena and creates more of a direct connection with the outside which has a big psychological advantage but is more breakable than translucent panels. So if you are going for glass keep it high in the wall to avoid flying shoes and the like from breaking the glass.

Light Shelves

A light shelf is a simple but effective technique used to control and extend the effectiveness of the sunlight entering through a window. It is a shelf installed at the bottom of the windows on the inside of the arena and high enough to clear a mounted rider’s head. The more reflective it is the better it will work thus they are often made of metal but can be made of wood painted a light color. It works (see illustration) by bouncing light entering in through the window up onto the ceiling of the arena, which in turn, is bounced back into the arena. This creates a more even lighting that reaches farther into the arena. Another big plus is light shelves can help to reduce or eliminate hot spots of light on the arena floor that, as we all know, can easily spook a horse. You can further exploit the sunlight if you paint the ceiling of your arena a light color or white. Light colors, beyond seeming lighter, actually reflect more light than darker surfaces and thus return more light into the arena. 

So with a little “green” ingenuity even a simple window can be made to take full advantage of the natural resource of sunlight.

We would love to feature YOUR creativity and ideas.  Contact Ellen Whittemore at savaarchitects@verizon.net and Susan Mills at Susan@wellcp.com.

Copyright 2009.