Lighting Glossary
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AC (Alternating Current)
An electric current that repeatedly changes its direction or strength, usually at a certain frequency or range of frequencies.
Aluminium Reflector Lamp
A lamp that has a thin film of aluminium on the inside to help reflect light and heat forwards of the lamp.
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Ballast
A piece of electrical equipment required to start and control the flow of current to a light source such as a CFL or HID.
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Cool White
Referes to the colour temperaure of light at approximatley 6000°K.
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DC (Direct Current)
An electric current that moves in one direction with constant strength.
Dimmable
Defines whether a lamp source can be dimmed.
Dimming
Varying the light output of a light source.
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Efficacy
Expressed in lumens / watt - (LPW) it is a measurement of how effective a light source is in converting electrical energy into light
Efficiency
The fraction of electrical energy that is converted into light by a light source.
Electronic Transformer
A device that uses electrical componets to convert standard hosehold mains voltage into lower voltages to be used in lighting.
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Hertz (Hz)
Unit used to define the frequency in which current or voltage modulates.
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LED
An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a solid that directly converts the input electrical current into light.
Lumen
The lumen (symbol: lm) is the SI derived unit of luminous flux, a measure of the total "amount" of visible light emitted by a source.
Luminous flux
Luminous flux or luminous power is the measure of the perceived power of light.
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Multi Output
The device can power multiple light sources at once.
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Optics
A glass / polycarbonate lens used to bend/spread lightwaves.
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Toroidal Transformer
A device that uses ircon cores wound by copper wires to convert standard household mains voltage into lower voltages to be used in lighting.
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Warm White
Referes to the colour temperaure of light at approximatley 3000°K.
Watts
The unit of electrical power. In lamps it represents the rate at which they use electrical energy.
