Whether illuminating building façades, bridges, or other landscapes, selecting the right exterior wash fixtures can make all the difference in delivering architectural lighting designs that are both aesthetically appealing and functionally practical.
This article shares tenured insight on exterior wash lighting considerations through an in-depth discussion with Alvin Ang, Business Development Manager for Install Lighting at Martin Professional. Robert Svensson, Product Manager for Architectural Lighting at Martin Professional also contributed significantly to this discussion.
Our discussion shed light on the changing demands for exterior wash fixtures, key selection considerations, and thoughts on exterior wash solutions to take a closer look at.
APPLICATIONS
Alvin, what are typically the most popular applications for professional exterior wash lighting and how has demand for these fixtures evolved over the past few years?
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“In general, lighting designers and technicians use exterior wash fixtures to evenly illuminate large areas, such as building façades, large statues, bridges, landscapes, and more.”
“Exterior wash demand has been consistently growing in event venues such as churches and convention halls using exterior wash fixtures for both functional and effect lighting.”
TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS
What are some of the most important technical considerations for lighting designers, rental houses, and others evaluating exterior wash fixtures? Alvin continued:
“Color consistency has always been a key factor for lighting specifiers. Color differentiation is easily observed on façades at night.”
“Flexibility in optical considerations, such as more selections of beam angle, offer greater flexibility to the lighting specifier and users for different applications.”
“Durability and environmental considerations, such as weather resistance, corrosion resistance and operating temperature range are all important factors to consider, especially for installations located in areas with high humidity, such as Asia.”
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“Safety certifications such as UL, ETL and CE, and compliance are compulsory “
“Ease of Maintenance is also an important consideration. Of course, everyone loves something that is durable and maintenance-free for years or decades, but evaluating warranty and support and service options is also important.”
MANUFACTURER SELECTION
Alvin, when looking for reputable and qualified exterior wash lighting manufacturers, what is most important to look for?
“Ensuring that the manufacturer has a global distribution network is something we always recommend to lighting specifiers. This ensures there’s always a point of contact and support in throughout the world.”
“Evaluating exterior lighting projects with a proven track record is also recommended. As exterior wash fixtures are usually installed outdoors, they can typically be easily viewed by the public which eases the opportunity to evaluate them.”
FUTURE EXTERIOR WASH LIGHTING TRENDS
Where do you envision exterior wash lighting technology heading in the future and how can the market be ready to align with this direction? Alvin shared:
“The direction has always been towards developing eco-friendlier and more sustainable products and this trend continues.”
“The Martin Exterior Wash Pro Family offers eight different model variants to support a wide variety of unique applications. This includes four variants in Quad Color and four variants in CTC (Color Temperature Control),” said Alvin Ang, Business Development Manager of Installed Solutions for Martin Professional. Learn more.
“Manufacturers should focus on environmentally responsible designs by using recyclable materials, minimizing waste, and reducing carbon footprints.”
“With improved efficacy, color rendering and lumen-per-watt ratios will lead to more energy-efficient and visually-appealing fixtures.”
IDEAL SOLUTION:
MARTIN EXTERIOR WASH PRO FAMILY
Martin’s Exterior Wash Pro family is an ideal architectural illumination solution for designers looking for wash lighting that not only inspires creativity but is feature-rich, user-friendly, and highly durable. The family includes QUAD, CTC, and RGBW color mixing options in several sizes and beam angles to offer near endless exterior design possibilities.
Robert, in developing the Martin Exterior Wash Pro products, what strategy did the Martin team take in going to the next level from previous Martin exterior wash products?
“Since Martin’s Exterior Wash Pro fixtures are fully color-calibrated, it was possible to introduce dedicated color temperature control that provides lighting specifiers with a wide range of hue selection.”
“Durability and environmental considerations, such as weather resistance, corrosion resistance and operating temperature range are all important factors to consider, especially for installations located in areas with high humidity,” said Alvin Ang, Business Development Manager of Installed Solutions for Martin Professional. Watch to learn more about Martin’s Exterior Wash Pro QUAD fixtures that are built for extreme environmental dependability.
“A lighting designer recently embraced this innovation by sharing: ”..now we have a huge range of magenta to play with.’ This and a lot of additional feedback we’ve received supported our goal to improve color temperature control in our exterior wash fixtures.'”
“We also completed a number of shoot-outs with competing manufactures’ fixtures that consume significantly more power than our Exterior Wash Pro fixtures. Time and time again, Exterior Wash Pro continually outperforms on color brightness. Enhanced color brightness benefits the customer from not only a budget perspective but also from a power consumption perspective.”
BUILT FOR VERSATILITY
Alvin, how does the design of the Exterior Wash Pro family address the needs of different facility applications and sizes?
“The Martin Exterior Wash Pro Family offers eight different model variants to support a wide variety of unique applications. This includes four variants in Quad Color and four variants in CTC (Color Temperature Control).”
“Additionally, each variant includes different beam angle options (native + 5 beam lens spreads) and using RDM, it is also possible to limit total power consumption, which expands the range from 4 to 8 size/lumen variants, just through the firmware.”
RELIABILITY IN HARSH ENVIRONMENTS
How did you design the Exterior Wash Pro family to perform in extreme or challenging outdoor environments? Alvin, answered:
“Martin’s color boost technology, utilized in Exterior Wash Pro, allows the fixture to maximize its capacity at any color temperature,” said Alvin Ang, Business Development Manager of Installed Solutions for Martin Professional. Explore this product overview.
“Exterior Wash Pro meets rigorous environmental standards and is designed for permanent outdoor installations including:
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- Power surge protection on both data and power lines
- The exterior surface treatment including anodization and electrostatic powder-coating
- Outdoor IP66 protection rating for protection against the most extreme outdoor elements
- Impact resistance of IK08
- Corrosion resistance: C5 High (ISO 12944-6)
- Vibration resistance: 1.0g, Sinusoidal (IEC 60068-2-6), 0,7g RMS Random (IEC 60068-2-64), 3.0g (ANSI C136-31)”
MAXIMIZING WITH COLOR BOOST TECHNOLOGY
Alvin, can you share how Exterior Wash Pro’s color boost technology works and what differences it can make in a design?
“Martin’s color boost technology, utilized in Exterior Wash Pro, allows the fixture to maximize its capacity at any color temperature.”
“The fixture consumes all available PSU power regardless of any color combination.”
“Martin color boost technology ensures that the lighting produces consistent vibrant color across the entire color gamut space.”
“With color boost technology, lighting specifiers can now achieve accurate readings of each LED value and decide if they are able to select a more compact fixture to meet their design intent.”
LOCAL DIAGNOSTICS
“Martin’s local diagnostic tool, included with its Exterior Wash Pro fixtures, was designed to reduce complexity and time required for troubleshooting…” said Alvin Ang, Business Development Manager of Installed Solutions for Martin Professional. Check it out.
Why did Martin develop the magnetic local diagnostic tool, includes with the Exterior Wash Pro and how is the Field receiving it? Alvin commented:
“Martin’s local diagnostic tool was designed to reduce complexity and time required for troubleshooting and can be done locally at the fixture without the need for an external controller connected.
“The local diagnostic tool has been well received by lighting integrators and is a user-friendly and convenient way to perform diagnostics and during angle adjustment focusing.”
CLIENT FEEDBACK
Alvin, can you share specific feedback you may have received from clients who have used Exterior Wash Pro fixtures in their projects?
“We specified the Martin Exterior Wash Pro for Topgolf Jakarta, where a powerful, narrow-beam outdoor spotlight was required to illuminate several netting poles that were nearly 30 meters high. After reviewing multiple brands with the client, only Martin’s Exterior Wash Pro could reach the top of the netting poles.”
” ‘In addition to its technical superiority, Martin also provided professional support during the on-site mock-up,’ said representatives for Meinhardt Light Studio, Singapore.
” ‘What an impressive compact wash fixture! I love how flexible the spread lens can be used without losing much intensity output,’ said representatives for PT Chayolite.”
We wish you continued success in your journey to identify the right exterior wash lighting for your design or project. If we can be of help or support, please don’t hesitate to reach out to give us the opportunity.
EXPLORE FURTHER
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Explore all the Martin Exterior lighting product and case study videos.
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