Products, Materials + Tools | Jul 20, 2010

Powercast: Economical, Energy-Efficient and Adaptable

The demands placed on high-quality outdoor lighting have been constantly rising. The result is that economical considerations and the energy-efficiency of the lighting tools used are now just as important as the precise illumination of architectural details and optimum visual comfort.

ERCO meets these specific requirements with its new luminaire range: Powercast. These all-purpose projectors and floodlights use current technologies such as LEDs and Spherolite reflectors to provide high visual comfort with exceptional economic efficiency.

System design with universal mounting bracket:
Whether for the accent lighting of signs or vegetation or to floodlight entire facades or arcades, the various projectors and floodlights of the Powercast range cover a wide spectrum of applications. Their system design uses a uniformly styled housing, which has many practical installation features and is extremely weatherproof. The multiply powder-coated cast-aluminium housing is rated to IP65 protection mode and is available in two sizes. It contains all the lighting components and control gear. It can be mounted on the wall, floor or ceiling with the robust mounting bracket or in combination with purpose made brackets by others. A ground socket is also available as an accessory for mounting on the ground. A lockable hinge inscribed with a scale allows the angle of inclination to be set accurately and makes precise alignment easier in outdoor areas. The housing features two cable entries to allow for through-wiring.

One housing – a range of light intensity distributions:
Powercast projectors can produce all the required light intensity distributions – from narrowly focused beams to wide flood patterns. The luminaires fitted with LEDs are particularly efficient and, thanks to their long life, virtually maintenance-free. The projectors are available, with LEDs up to 42 watts, in the warm white and daylight white colours. To control the light, ERCO has developed innovative lens systems consisting of a collimating lens to form parallel rays and Spherolite lenses to create various beam angles. With the LED projectors, a choice of light intensity distributions is offered: “spot” for precise accent lighting, “flood” for the efficient highlighting of larger objects and “wide flood” for wide flooding illumination of surfaces.

Powercast projectors with high-quality Spherolite reflectors are also available in versions for low-voltage halogen lamps up to 100 watts and metal halide lamps up to 250 watts. Then there is the “narrow spot” light intensity distribution.

The reflectors are easily replaceable without tools, which allows the light distribution to be adjusted to suit each application. An optional anti-dazzle cylinder improves glare protection, for use with narrow spot and spot reflectors.

Lighting tools for vertical illuminance:
The Powercast floodlights – for uses such as the illumination of facades, lettering or groups of trees in parks – are available in versions for low-voltage halogen lamps up to 100 watts and metal halide lamps up to 250 watts. In addition, “oval flood” and “washlight” Spherolit reflectors, which are also replaceable without tools, are available. With the oval flood version, the reflector can be freely rotated and clicked in position in 90° steps to allow the axes of the oval beam to be orientated to suit the requirement. The asymmetric light distribution of the washlight version is ideal for the illumination of vertical surfaces such as facades, walls or hedges.


About ERCO:
ERCO GmbH, Lüdenscheid, is one of the leading companies in the luminaire industry. The family business founded in 1934 now operates with over 60 subsidiaries, branches and agencies all around the world. Working together with internationally renowned designers, lighting engineers and architects, ERCO develops hard and software for all areas of architectural lighting: luminaires and lighting systems for indoor and outdoor areas, as well as lighting controls and software for scenographic lighting applications. In keeping with the corporate philosophy of "Light not luminaires," lighting equipment is not offered simply as furnishing for rooms, but rather luminaries are offered as instruments of lighting design. Many demanding architectural projects are illuminated using ERCO equipment, including the Berlin Reichstag, the Louvre in Paris and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. In 2008, ERCO's worldwide workforce of over 1,080 employees recorded sales of approximately 159 million euros.

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