FC Lighting wildlife friendly amber luminaires

The nine fixtures

Four families. Every one is amber, every one carries Wildlife Friendly Lighting Certification #2018-049 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and every one is finished for salt air.

Product photography courtesy of FC Lighting. Hold the Spec quotes and supplies to order; I do not hold these in stock.

Choosing between them

• Bollards. FCB450A and FCB460A are the same 43 in louvred bollard in aluminum and 316 stainless. FCBT690A and FCBT690SA are a different form — a slim rectangular tower with a cantilevered head that shields the source from view entirely, at 42 and 24 inches.
• Step lights. FCSL105A is the 10 in louvred full cutoff visor for walls and risers. FCSL1017A is the small one, with a photocell for dusk to dawn and a PIR sensor that can be set to a 5 or 10 minute delay by dip switch, or disabled.
• Cylinders. FCC610A and FCC813A mount surface, pendant or wall. Both use a clear anti-glare IK05 tempered lens and a spot optic. These are the fixture for entries and soffits where a bollard cannot go.
• Wedge. FCW1084A is ADA compliant, IP66, mounts to a standard junction box, and comes symmetric or asymmetric. It is the wall solution for entries, corridors and building perimeters.

The full wildlife friendly range

Nine fixtures across four families, all amber. The two bollards below are documented in full on this page; the rest I quote from FC published data and can pull complete photometry for on request.

All figures taken from the FC Lighting cut sheets hosted above, not from the catalog summary. Lumen figures are the amber variant. The 43 inch bollards are also made in 2700K to 4000K white for use outside the regulated zone; those versions are not FWC fixtures.

Downloads

FC Lighting documentation for all nine fixtures, hosted here so the links do not rot. Cut sheets are open. Photometry is released on request so I know who is designing with it. Specifications change without notice, so confirm the current revision with me before a submittal goes out.

• FCB450A cut sheet43 in aluminum bollard. 6 pages.
• FCB460A cut sheet43 in 316 stainless bollard. 6 pages.
• FCBT690A cut sheet36 or 42 in aluminum tower bollard. 6 pages.
• FCBT690SA cut sheet24 in aluminum tower bollard. 5 pages.
• FCSL105A cut sheet10 in louvered step light. 4 pages.
• FCSL1017A cut sheet3 in motion sensor step light. 3 pages.
• FCC610A cut sheet6 in cylinder. 6 pages.
• FCC813A cut sheet8 in cylinder. 6 pages.
• FCW1084A cut sheetForward throw wedge. 5 pages.
• Photometric files (IES) — complete set26 IES files covering all nine fixtures, with the ITL test matrices and two spectrometry reports. Released on request — tell me who you are and where the job is, and the download starts straight away.

Installation instructions are also hosted for each fixture — ask and I will send the right one, or they come with the quote. Documentation courtesy of FC Lighting.

Photometric files

Twenty-six IES files covering all nine fixtures, every one tested by ITL Illuminations Testing Laboratory, packaged with the manufacturer test matrices so you can see lumens, watts, beam angles and max candela per configuration before you open anything.

The 43 inch bollards also carry 4000K white photometry — 932.8 lm at 41.9W unshielded — because the same housing is sold outside the regulated zone. Those files are in the set too.

FC also publishes a spectral scan for the FCC813A, taken at ITL on 20 May 2024, covering 350nm upward. If you need to demonstrate to a reviewer that there is no emission below the 560nm threshold, that scan is the document that does it, and it is in the download.

If amber efficacy looks wrong to you, it is not. The lumen is weighted to human daytime vision and amber sits at the edge of that curve, which is why a 29.8W bollard reads 147 lumens. Design to the candela values and to the illuminance the ordinance allows, not to lm/W.

One caution on the published data: the FCB460 matrix labels its 270 degree white row with the amber part number. The photometry in the file is correct and matches the FCB450 sheet; the label is a typo. Read the test number rather than the model string.

Two fixtures ship with an independent spectrometry report as well as photometry. The FCC813A scan runs from 350nm up. The FCBT690SA report gives a peak wavelength of 611.3nm, a dominant wavelength of 601nm and a correlated color temperature of 1167K. If a plan reviewer wants proof rather than a certification logo, those are the documents that provide it, and both are in the download.

Worth noting what the numbers say about the FCC610A. At a 10.7 degree beam and 7,427 candela it is a genuine spot, an order of magnitude tighter than anything else in the range. That makes it the one fixture here that can do accent and feature lighting on a regulated site rather than only path and circulation.

The files are released on request. Tell me who you are and where the job is and the download starts immediately — no waiting on a rep, no follow-up call unless you ask for one.

What I need to quote it

Amber exterior on a regulated site is priced from the site plan, not from a part number. Send whatever you have of the following and I will come back with a takeoff rather than a guess.

• The site plan or civil drawing, with the fixture locations marked
• Which county or municipality the job is in, and whether it sits inside the regulated coastal zone
• Whether the local ordinance sets an illuminance limit, a mounting height limit, or both
• Line of sight to the beach from each fixture, which decides shielded versus unshielded
• Mounting condition — new concrete, existing base, or retrofit onto an existing anchor pattern
• Finish, and whether the environment justifies stainless over powder coated aluminum
• Quantities by type, and whether the job is phased

If the specification is already written and you just need it priced against the schedule, send the schedule. No charge for a takeoff.

What the FWC certification actually means

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission maintains a list of luminaires certified as wildlife lighting. On a regulated coastal parcel this is not a preference, it is a pass or fail condition at inspection, and an uncertified fixture cannot be substituted late in the job without re-opening the approval.

FWC requires a minimum wavelength of 560nm. The FC amber option uses AlInGaP chip technology with spectral control held between 590 and 600nm, comfortably above that floor. The FCB450A and FCB460A both carry the certification in their own right.

Two things follow for a specifier. Long wavelength amber is the whole point, so a warm white substitution is not equivalent no matter how low the color temperature reads. And the fixture has to stay shielded and downward directed as installed — the certification covers the luminaire, not a careless aiming decision on site.

FC publishes the certification as Wildlife Friendly Lighting Certification #2018-049, and the number appears on the FCC610A, FCC813A, FCSL105A and FCSL1017A cut sheets. The FCB450A and FCB460A sheets carry the certification statement without repeating the number. Ask me for the current FWC listing before it goes on a submittal — these listings are revised, and the version on the sheet is only as current as the sheet.

FC also measured the FCSL105A at a correlated color temperature of 1581K with a dominant wavelength of 591.0nm, which is a more useful pair of numbers than "amber" when a reviewer asks what is actually being installed.

Shared electrical and performance

• Voltage. Universal 120 to 277 VAC on both bollards, with 347 and 480 VAC optional.
• Driver. Integral Class II electronic, high power factor above 94 percent at 120V.
• Dimming. 0-10V to 10 percent as standard. ELV on 120 VAC only, DMX and DALI optional.
• Lumen maintenance. L70 greater than 70,000 hours.
• Color consistency. 3 SDCM, 85 CRI on the white versions.
• Operating range. Minus 13F to 122F, or minus 25C to 50C.
• Listing. ETL and cETL listed. UL1598 and CSA C22.2 No. 250.0; UL8750 and CSA C22.2 No. 250.13; tested to IES LM-79 and LM-80.
• Warranty. Five year limited.

Installed on Florida coastal property

Amber reads warm and low on site. These are FC Lighting project photographs — the point of them is that a compliant scheme still looks finished, which is the objection you will hear from an owner or an architect who has only seen amber on a spec sheet.

Photography courtesy of FC Lighting.

Where this gets specified

Beachfront condominium and resort walkways, dune crossovers and boardwalks, coastal parking and drive aisles, oceanfront single family, and municipal beach access. Anywhere a sea turtle nesting ordinance reaches, which in Florida is most of the coast from roughly March through October depending on the county.

It also does honest work away from the beach. The same amber spectrum is used on dark sky sensitive sites, near observatories, on nature preserve trails and around bird habitat, and the motion sensor step light is specified in healthcare for night circulation without waking a patient.

Getting it supplied

FC Lighting is represented by SESCO Lighting. Hold the Spec quotes, specifies and supplies the line for projects across South Florida on the same purchase order as the rest of your lighting package.

For work elsewhere in Florida or the wider Southeast, send it to me anyway. I will price what I can and route the rest to the SESCO branch that covers your territory, so you get a local quote without having to work out who to call.