shielded outdoor lighting

Shielded lighting fixtures are used in outdoors and home entry points, to avoid light pollution and to get energy savings.

Shielded vs. unshielded lighting

Traditional unshielded lights produce light pollution, that is, light that alters the appearance of the night sky and collides with the nighttime environment and is harmful to human health and to nocturnal ecosystems and wildlife; Unshielded lights may also project light onto other properties and roadways, also affecting them negatively.

Standard unshielded lighting fixtures with incandescent or fluorescent bulbs will cause light to travel near the ground and up into the sky, instead of just lighting crucial points.

On the contrary, shielded fixtures focus the light on the wanted spots, and just on them.

In typical shielded lighting, the bulb, lens and other refracting or reflecting elements are housed inside the fixture. Typical shielded lights are designed to be mounted vertically with light pointing down.

These lights are labeled as cutoff, full cutoff or fully shielded, and provide better visibility, less glare and more security with less electricity.

Uses

Shielded lighted may provide an energy-efficient lighting solution for pathways and to light some landscape points, or to illuminante home entry points.

Alternatives to shielded lighting

New directional lamps – namely LED (Light Emitting Diod) lamps – overcome the disadvantages of traditional unshielded lighting. Since LEDs are directional, we can focus the light where it is most needed, without the known inconveniences of traditional unshielded fixtures even without using shielded fixtures.

Qualified fixtures

Prefer Energy Star or The International Dark Sky Association and other qualified shielded fixtures.