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Luminaires

Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

  • 637 Accesses

Synonyms

Fitting (Anglo-Saxon English); Fixture (American English)

Definition

Devices that control the distribution of the light emitted by a lamp or lamps and that include all the items necessary for fixing and protecting the lamps (and sometimes the gear, too) and for connecting them to the electricity-supply circuit [1].

Luminaire Characteristics

The principal characteristics of luminaires can be listed under the following headings:

  • Optical

  • Mechanical

  • Electrical

  • Thermal

  • Aesthetics

Optical Characteristics

The optical characteristics of a luminaire determine the shape of its light beam, or light-output distribution. The light distribution of a luminaire defines how the luminous flux radiated by the lamp or lamps is distributed in the various directions within the space around it. Different lighting applications require different light distributions and thus different luminaires.

The desired light distribution of a luminaire is obtained through the application of one or more of the...

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References

  1. CIE Publication: S 017/E: 2011, International lighting vocabulary. International Lighting Commission, CIE, Vienna (2011)

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  2. IEC International Standard, 60598-1: ed 7.0, Luminaires – part 1: General requirements and tests. (2008)

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. van Bommel Lighting Consultant, Andoornstraat 16, 5672, Nuenen, Netherlands

    Wout van Bommel

Authors
  1. Wout van Bommel
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wout van Bommel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Design University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Ronnier Luo

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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van Bommel, W. (2013). Luminaires. In: Luo, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_137-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_137-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Luminaires
    Published:
    13 July 2021

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_137-5

  2. Original

    Luminaires
    Published:
    01 October 2014

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_137-4

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