The formal term for what most people call a light fixture: everything needed to produce, distribute and control light, including lamps or LEDs, reflectors, lenses or diffusers, the housing, the driver and mounting. Photometric data, efficacy and glare ratings all describe the luminaire as a system, which is why a good LED in a poor housing makes a poor luminaire.
Luminaire schedule has 14 types, but types D and D1 only differ by trim color, so combine them on the submittal.
In Britain a fixture is often called a fitting, and in North American trade talk fixture is more common than luminaire.
Also heard as
- fixture
- light fixture
- fitting
Do not mix it up with
- Lamp: The lamp is only the replaceable light source; the luminaire is the complete fixture.
Related terms
Lamp
The trade word for a replaceable light source, what consumers call a bulb, as distinct from the fixture it goes in.
IES file
A standard text file of a luminaire's measured candela distribution, loaded into lighting calculation software.
Luminous efficacy
How many lumens a light source or luminaire produces for each watt of electric power, in lm/W.
Cut sheet
The one- or two-page manufacturer data sheet for a luminaire, with dimensions, photometry and ordering options.
Troffer
The lay-in luminaire of grid ceilings, sized to take the place of a ceiling tile, such as a 2x4 or 2x2.