Glossary
Lighting glossary
Short, clear definitions of the terms you will come across in technical specifications and product datasheets.
30terms
A
- Anchor bolt
- Threaded steel rods embedded in the foundation that connect the pole to the concrete foundation. The pole base plate is fixed to these bolts with nuts. Read in the guide
- Autonomy
- The number of nights a solar system can operate without receiving any sunlight. It is usually sized for 2–3 nights. Read in the guide
B
- Bollard
- A low pole, approximately 0.5–1.2 m high, that lights walkways and landscaped areas from below eye level.
C
- Candela (cd)
- The unit of luminous intensity in a given direction.
- CRI (colour rendering index, Ra)
- A value on a scale of 0–100 that expresses how accurately light reproduces the colours of objects. Outdoors, Ra 70 and above is common. Read in the guide
D
- Dimming
- Reducing a luminaire’s luminous flux at set times or via a sensor. Dimming after midnight significantly reduces energy consumption. Read in the guide
E
- Electrostatic powder coating
- A coating method in which powder paint is attached to the metal surface by an electrical charge and then cured in an oven. It provides a durable, uniform surface with a choice of RAL colours.
- EN 13201
- The European standard governing road lighting. It defines the M (motorised traffic routes), P (pedestrian and low-speed areas) and C (conflict areas) lighting classes. Read in the guide
- EN 40
- The series of European standards defining the design, material and strength requirements for lighting poles. Read in the guide
- EN 60598
- The European standard defining the electrical and mechanical safety requirements for luminaires; it is the European (CENELEC) adaptation of the international IEC 60598 standard. In Türkiye it is published as TS EN 60598. Read in the guide
H
- Hot-dip galvanising
- Coating a steel part against corrosion by dipping it into a bath of molten zinc. It extends the outdoor service life of steel poles. Read in the guide
I
- IK impact resistance
- A rating (IK00–IK10) indicating the resistance of the luminaire and housing to mechanical impacts. A high IK rating is required in areas at risk of vandalism.
- IP rating (ingress protection)
- A code indicating the housing’s protection against dust (first digit) and water (second digit). IP65 means dust-tight and protected against water jets; IP66 means protected against powerful water jets.
K
- Kelvin (K)
- The unit of the colour temperature of light. Low values indicate warm (yellowish) light, high values cool (bluish) light. Read in the guide
L
- LED driver
- An electronic unit that converts mains or battery power into the constant current an LED requires; it directly affects the luminaire’s service life.
- LiFePO4 battery
- A battery based on lithium iron phosphate chemistry. Thanks to its long cycle life and safe design, it has become the standard in solar lighting. Read in the guide
- Light pollution
- Unwanted light that spills into the sky or in directions where it is not needed, brightening the night sky and affecting living things. Read in the guide
- Lumen (lm)
- The unit of luminous flux; it indicates the total amount of light produced by a source. Read in the guide
- Luminaire
- A lighting unit combining the light source, optics, driver and housing. Outdoors, it is mounted on top of the pole or on its arm.
- Luminance (cd/m²)
- A measure of how bright a surface appears to the eye. Traffic routes are designed on the basis of luminance in the EN 13201 M classes. Read in the guide
- Luminous efficacy (lm/W)
- The number of lumens a luminaire produces for each watt it consumes. The higher the value, the less energy is used for the same amount of light.
- Luminous flux
- The total amount of visible light emitted by a source; its unit is the lumen. Read in the guide
- Lux (lx)
- The unit of illuminance. 1 lux is 1 lumen falling on an area of 1 m². Read in the guide
M
- Monocrystalline panel
- A solar panel made of single-crystal silicon cells that delivers high efficiency per unit area. Read in the guide
- MPPT
- Maximum power point tracking. A charge control method that draws the maximum power from the solar panel under all conditions. Read in the guide
P
- Photocell
- A sensor that detects ambient light, switching the luminaire on at dusk and off when it gets light.
R
- RAL
- A standard colour chart used in industry. Pole and street furniture colours are specified by their RAL code.
- RGB LED
- Lighting that creates the desired colour by mixing red, green and blue LEDs. It is used in pole body lighting for special occasions and city identity themes. Read in the guide
S
- Staggered (zigzag) arrangement
- Placing the poles on both sides of the road offset by half a spacing rather than directly opposite each other. It is applied when the road width is 1–1.5 times the pole height. Read in the guide
U
- Uniformity (U0)
- The ratio of minimum illuminance or luminance to the average. The higher the uniformity, the smaller the difference between dark and bright zones in the area. Read in the guide