Linear & cove · South Florida

Architectural linear and cove lighting

Continuous runs, perimeter slots, coves, extrusions and tape. The category where the detail on the drawing and the part number on the schedule most often disagree.

What is different

Linear is a system, not a fixture

A downlight is a part number. A hundred-foot continuous run is a system: segment lengths, joint treatment, feed locations, driver remoting, dimming protocol, and a ceiling contractor who needs the extrusion detail before he closes the ceiling.

Almost every linear problem I get called into is one of four things — a joint that shows, a run that arrives in the wrong lengths for the field condition, a driver with nowhere to live, or a dimming protocol that does not match the controls that were already bought.

Where it goes wrong

Four things to settle early

Joints and segment lengths. Ask what the manufactured segment length actually is and how the joint is treated, then compare that to the dimension on the drawing. A run that has to be field-cut is a different conversation from one made to length.

Driver location. Remote drivers need an accessible location within the manufacturer’s maximum run length. That is an architectural coordination item, not an electrical one, and it is usually discovered late.

Dimming protocol. 0-10V, DALI, DALI-2, phase, eldoLED, Lutron EcoSystem and Hi-Lume are not interchangeable, and the dimming floor runs anywhere from 10% down to 0.1% depending on the driver. If the controls package is already bought, the driver has to match it.

Damp is not wet, and IP is not a listing. This one trips people constantly on covered exteriors. Several linear lines publish an IP rating — IP65, IP67, even IP68 — but no UL wet location listing. An inspector working from a listing will not accept an IP number. Confirm which the job needs before you specify.

Coastal

Covered exterior and pool enclosures

A covered walkway, a porte-cochere or a natatorium is the condition that separates the lines publishing a real wet-location listing from the ones publishing an IP rating and hoping. Chlorinated, humid air is harder on a driver than rain is.

Where the run is visible from the beach, the turtle ordinance applies to linear like anything else — and long wavelength is a two-part test: 560 nanometers or greater and absent wavelengths below 560. A warm-looking tape that still leaks short-wavelength energy fails. See the sea turtle lighting page.

Common questions

Questions I get asked

Who is the architectural linear lighting rep in South Florida?

I am. I represent the SESCO lines across Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Okeechobee and Monroe. Send the ceiling plan or call 786-395-1222.

What dimming protocols do the linear lines support?

It varies by driver, not by brand. Across the lines I carry you will find 0-10V, DALI and DALI-2, phase, eldoLED and Lutron EcoSystem and Hi-Lume, with dimming floors from 10% down to 0.1%. Tell me what controls are already bought and I will match the driver to them.

Can I use an IP65 linear fixture on a covered exterior?

Not automatically. An IP rating and a UL wet location listing are different things, and an inspector working from a listing will not accept an IP number in its place. Some linear lines publish IP ratings up to IP68 with no wet location listing at all — check before you specify.

Do you quote LED tape and extrusion as a system?

Yes. Tape, channel, power supply, driver location and control all have to be quoted together or the package does not build. Send the run lengths and I will price it as one.

Next step

Send the schedule

Send the reflected ceiling plan and the fixture schedule. I will come back with lengths, joint detail, driver locations and a dimming protocol that matches your controls — and flag anything that will not build the way it is drawn.

Ask about a linear package · See the full line card · Lighting controls guide