Outdoor optics
Optics development
Optics are the heart of Fagerhult’s luminaires. This is why we develop and produce our own optics. Fagerhult’s R&D centre and the adjoining lighting laboratory are situated in our Habo facility. This is where we develop new, innovative optics with peoples' needs in focus.
When we develop, produce and install the optics ourselves, we have control of the quality, of the environmental considerations and the performance. We can also be more flexible. Another big advantage is the short distances between sales company, development and production. We work closely with product managers and marketing companies to ensure customer satisfaction. If there is a need in the market, we can quickly meet it.
"When it comes to visual comfort and uniformity, we never compromise. And this means in-house development is the only real choice,” says David Löf, optical designer at Fagerhult Research & Development.
We are constantly developing new lenses to meet our customers’ needs and to make it easy for them to switch to LEDs. The conditions for a project can vary considerably, depending on geography, lighting culture and existing technical solutions. Above all, we have to meet the various lighting needs depending on whether we’ll be working with a footpath, bike trail, a city street or major traffic artery.
Many customers also want to keep the posts they’ve already invested in. This means we also have to take the post distances, how far from the road the posts are and whether or not they have cross pieces into consideration. With a selection of different lenses in the tool box, we can resolve issues related to functionality, operating economy and light comfort – while also satisfying the requirements of the applicable standard (EN 13201).
We begin with functionality. Then we design the lens in the Photopia simulation tool. Development is conducted in a number of different steps to ensure visual comfort and uniformity. We divide the roadway into different zones and optimise each part of the lens, zone by zone. Everything is then assembled into a complete lens geometry that is carefully optimised.
The lens design is verified throughout the entire process in Dialux against the given roadway conditions. The lens development process is concluded by producing prototype lenses and measuring the light in the planned luminaires. With this method, we ensure compliance with our stringent requirements for light quality.