LC Blog
Demystifying Litecontrol Lighting Lingo
January 16, 2012 at 1:43 PM by Heather Cipullo
New to specifying Litecontrol product? Then this post is for you. You are probably wondering what all those letter designations and numbers mean. Years of working on marketing materials for Litecontrol has made me quite familiar with the numbers and letters that make up our world of lighting lingo. In the next few posts I will de-mystify our lighting short hand.
A good place to start is with Litecontrol’s catalog ordering number.
Mounting = How the fixture is installed in a space.
P = Pendant mounting. Depending of the fixture can be aircraft cable or stem.
S = Surface mounting. Fixture is installed directly to a surface, such as the ceiling.
W = Wall mounting. Fixture is installed directly to a wall.
CC = Concealed Cove mounting. Fixture is installed in an architectural cove (built by a contractor).
R = Recessed mounting. Fixture is installed into a drywall or plaster ceiling.
LG or G = Grid mounting. Fixture is installed into a grid ceiling. Usually means a 15/16” grid, but check the product technical sheet for details.
NG = Narrow Grid Mounting. Fixture is installed into a 9/16” narrow grid ceiling.
SS = Screw Slot Grid Mounting. Fixture is installed into a screw slot grid ceiling.
Distribution = How the light comes out of the fixture.
I = Indirect. Light comes out of the top of fixture (uplight).
ID = Indirect/Direct. Light comes out of the top and bottom of the fixture.
D = Direct. Light comes out of the bottom of the fixture (downlight).
AI = Asymmetric Indirect. Light comes out of the top of the fixture with more light going to one side or the other.
ASD = Asymmetric Semi-Direct. Light comes out of the fixture mostly from the bottom with the light going more to one side or the other. A little light comes out of the top.
S/I = Semi-Indirect. Most of the light comes out of the top of the fixture and a little light comes out of the bottom.
S/D = Semi-Direct. Most of the light comes out of the bottom of the fixture and a little light comes out of the top.
Series Numbers = The heart of the catalog ordering number.
This two digit number
represents the core fixture or product number (sometimes with an
additional letter designator). The series number is key for finding
information about a product. Any series number can be typed into our
website's quickfind search and a list of related product links will
appear. Why a list? Why not one product? Often times there are many
versions of a fixture.
For example: Our 59
product (Arcos) has an indirect/direct version, a indirect version with a
perforated housing and a 59M which is a “mini” version of the 59
indirect/direct. So knowing the series number will help guide
you to the general product line. Add mounting and distribution and you
now have a product chosen.
Next comes lamping (T8, T5, T5HO,
BX, LED), length and lensing or diffusers (BW, SGL, PBSS, PBCWM and many
more) which leads us to additional blog posts. Stay tuned.
Or if you have an immediate question, feel free to ask.
Cindy 
