Light fixture
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This article is about architectural light fixtures. For stage lighting, see Stage lighting instrument.
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A light fixture or luminaire is an electrical device used to create artificial light or illumination. A complete lighting fixture unit consists of the light source or lamp, the reflector for directing the light, an aperture (with or without a lens), the outer shell or housing for lamp alignment and protection, an electrical ballast, if required, and connection to a power source. A wide variety of special light fixtures are created for use in the automotive industry, aerospace, marine and medicine.
Light fixtures are classified by how the fixture is installed, the light function or lamp type.
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[edit] Fixture types
- Free-standing or portable — table lamps, standard lamps and office task lights. Note: The use of "lamp" to describe light fixtures is different from it's use to describe electrical components - see Lamp (electrical component).
- Recessed light — the protective housing is concealed behind a ceiling or wall, leaving only the fixture itself exposed. The ceiling-mounted version is often called a "downlight".
- "Cans" with a variety of lamps — this term is jargon for inexpensive downlighting products that are recessed into the ceiling. The name comes from the shape of the housing. The term "pot lights" is often used in Canada and parts of the US.
- Troffer light — recessed fluorescent lights (the word comes from the combination of trough & coffer)
- Surface-mounted light — the finished housing is exposed; not "flush" with surface
- Pendant light — suspended from the ceiling with a chain or pipe
- Sconce — provide up or down lights; can be used to illuminate artwork, architectural details; commonly used in hallways and/or as an alternative to overhead lighting.
- Indirect lighting — light reflects off the ceiling for general illumination
- Cove light — recessed into the ceiling in a long box against a wall
- Track lighting fixture — individual fixtures (track "heads") can be positioned anywhere along the track, which provides electric power.
- Under-cabinet light — mounted below kitchen wall cabinets
- Outdoor lighting — used to illuminate walkways, parking lots, roadways, building exteriors, landscape and architectural details.
- Pole or stanchion mounted — for landscape, roadways, and parking lots
- Pathway lighting — typically mounted in the ground at low levels for illuminating walkways
- Bollards — A type of architectural outdoor lighting that is a short, upright ground-mounted unit typically used to provide cutoff type illumination for egress lighting, to light walkways, steps, or other pathways
- High bay/Low bay lighting — typically used for general lighting for industrial buildings
- Strip lights or industrial lights — often long lines of fluorescent lamps used in a warehouse or factory
- Emergency lighting or Exit light — connected to a battery or to an electric circuit that has backup power if the main power fails
- Balanced arm lamp is a spot light with an adjustable arm like anglepoise and Luxo L1.
[edit] Light fixture functions
- Accent light
- Background light
- Blacklight
- Downlight
- Emergency light
- Flood light
- Landscape or outdoor lighting
- Nightlight
- Safelight
- Safety lamp
- Sconce
- Searchlight
- Security lighting
- Solar lamp
- Step light
- Street light
- Strobe light
- Spotlight
- Study lamp
- Torch lamp or torchiere
- Wallwasher
[edit] Lamp types
- Fuel lamps
- Betty lamp, butter lamp, carbide lamp, gas lighting, kerosene lamp, oil lamp, rush light, torch, candle
- A-lamp, PAR Parabolic reflector lamp (PAR), Reflector lamp (R), Bulged reflector lamp (BR) (Refer to lamp bases)
- Obsolete types: Limelight, Carbon button lamp, Mazda (light bulb), Nernst glower
- Novelty: Blacklight, Lava lamp
- Special purpose: Heat lamp, Nernst lamp, HQI
- Halogen - special class of incandescent lamps
- Gas discharge lamp and High-Intensity Discharge lamp (HID)
- Mercury-vapor lamp, Ceramic discharge metal halide lamp, Metal-halide, Sodium vapor or "high pressure sodium", HMI
- Fluorescent
- Cold cathode
- Fiber optics
- Induction lamp
- Light-Emitting Diode (LED) (Solid state lighting)
- Nuclear: Self-powered lighting
[edit] Light fixture controls
[edit] See also
- Architectural lighting design
- History of street lighting in the United States
- Lighting designer for the theater
- List of light sources
- Luminous efficacy
- Study lamp
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