Versatile performer

The Denver Elite Wall external wall-mounted luminaire has been designed for use with a variety of lamp types. Andy Pearson talks to Holophane Europe’s new product senior design engineer, Victor Fernandez

“A lot of manufacturers are designing LED-only luminaires, but we’ve designed a product suitable for a variety of different lamp types,” says Victor Fernandez, senior design engineer at Holophane Europe. Fernandez is talking about the company’s Denver Elite Wall light, the latest addition to Holophane’s range of external luminaries. “We felt there was a gap in the market for a performance, wall-mounted product that could house different lamp types without compromising optical performance,” he says.

Launched in April, the Denver Elite Wall has been designed specifically for use with either ceramic metal halide (HID), compact fluorescent (CFL), CosmoPolis and LED options. The Elite Wall is part of a new range of external luminaries developed by Holophane that incorporate the latest electronic ballast technology. The decision on which lamp types should be accommodated by the new fitting was based on Holophane’s experience of sales on its existing Denver Wall luminaire. “We designed the Elite to incorporate a new LED option and the best-selling lamp types from the existing Denver range,” Fernandez says. He adds that light distribution will vary slightly between options, “because the lamp centre is slightly different for each lamp type”.

Easy to upgrade

The luminaire has been designed to make it easy to swap light sources. This should make it easier to enable an installation to be upgraded in the future. The triangular-shaped fitting has a die-cast aluminium body with a downward-facing sculpted glass lens. An aluminium internal reflector is fitted for the HID and CFL lamp types.

To enable the fitting to be changed from, say, a CFL lamp to an LED, all a contractor will need to do is to remove the unit’s front cover, take out the reflector and replace it with the LED module, complete with its attached reflectors.

A bespoke LED module has been developed for the fitting. This incorporates 32 individual LEDs, which are available with either forward or lateral throw lenses, depending on whether the light distribution is required in a sideways or downward direction. “The lens options will enable the unit to throw light along the length of a path, for example, or to illuminate the path beneath a fitting,” Fernandez explains.

In addition to the individual LED lenses, the light distribution is further controlled by the geometry of the main lens. This has an aperture with a raised centre section to throw light forward, so the luminaire can illuminate the path beneath the unit as well as washing the wall to which it is attached. Control of the light distribution is further enhanced by the option of two different types of lens: a glass prismatic refractor or a clear glass lens. “The prismatic refractor gives more glare control,” says Fernandez.

According to Fernandez, the LED module has been future-proofed to allow specifiers to take account of the speed at which the technology is developing. “In, say, five years from now we expect to be offering an up-to-date replacement module, which will be more energy-efficient and have a higher light output for the same energy input,” he says.

The luminaire has been carefully designed to dissipate heat from the LED module. The module includes an aluminium heat sink attached to its rear. Because this is an external luminaire, the fitting’s aluminium body has been designed to be weather-proof, with an IP rating of 65. The LED’s heat-sink is mounted directly onto the fitting’s aluminium backplate so that heat generated by the LEDs can be transferred from the heat sink to the luminaire’s housing by conduction.

External ribs moulded onto the rear of the housing help dissipate this heat using convection. To facilitate this process, the fitting has been designed to stand approximately 15mm clear of the wall to create the necessary air paths.

Concealing the ribs at the rear of the fitting means the aesthetic remains uncompromised. Holophane describes the unit’s triangular shape as “trilobular”. Fernandez says its unusual shape was derived from of the three-sided form of the Elite Bollard luminaire, while maintaining a consistently styled design throughout the range.

The casting has been detailed to provide various cable knockout points to ensure a variety of different mounting options. “We have tried to create a good-looking product with a good performance,” says Fernandez. The luminaire’s aesthetics can be enhanced with the option of adding a weatherproof lens on top of the fitting in place of the photocell. “If the photocell is not required, an IP-rated lens can be fitted to create an accent light on top of the fitting,” says Fernandez.

The Elite Wall joins Holophane’s existing Denver Elite Bollard, which was launched last year. A new pole-based version of the lamp is due to be launched next year, which will increase the range still further.

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