Forum Lighting Solutions explains why products tailored to customers living in coastal areas are literally ‘worth their salt’.
Being islands, many of the UK & Ireland’s towns and cities have developed in our coastal areas, with visitors and locals alike recognising how beautiful they are, but also how open to the elements they can be. When it comes to lighting, this exposure to adverse weather and salty air can cause a major issue – corrosion.
In coastal locations it’s very common to see domestic lighting that has begun to rust and become unsightly. In a large percentage of these instances the light fitting in question won’t be very old at all, but its materials have unfortunately succumbed to the stress of salt in the air.
Making the grade
The majority of domestic exterior lighting is manufactured using the most common grade of stainless steel – grade 304 – which is very well suited to inland applications due to its resistance to standard rainfall. The issue with grade 304, however, can come when salt is present in the air, as this material is simply not resistant to it and can begin to corrode in a very short time. It is this issue that proved the inspiration behind Forum Lighting Solutions’ new ‘Coast’ range of exterior fixtures.
Forum’s aim was to provide people living in coastal areas with a range of lighting that was not only resistant to the salt air and harsh weather, but would be aesthetically pleasing and affordable.
The first decision that the company had to make was which primary materials to use in the construction of the light fittings in the range. Following a period of testing it was decided that grade 316 stainless steel would be used for all screws and brackets, with polycarbonate being used for the main body of the fittings.
A key difference in grade 316 stainless steel, when compared to grade 304, is its resistance to salt corrosion. Using this material allowed Forum to produce products that will enable the end user to avoid any such frustrating issues, such as rusting screws that become unusable, making simple tasks as changing a lamp impossible.
The grade is also superb for metal brackets and therefore forms a key component in the very popular Storm range of LED floodlights. This range now has a bracket that will match the extended life of integrated LEDs.
Pretty poly
The use of polycarbonate for the main body of the ‘Coast’ fittings made sense due to its durability, ability to be moulded into eye catching designs and its non-corrosive properties. Attractive, hard wearing light fixtures could be manufactured that provided the end user with an affordable means of improving the exterior appearance of any domestic property.
The ‘Coast’ range boasts a variety of fittings, including a full range of lanterns, up/down wall lights, integrated LED surface mounted bricklights, LED bulkheads, solar wall lights and LED floodlights.
