Turtle Friendly Lighting for South Florida Coastal Property

What makes a fixture compliant

Three things have to be true at once, and a fixture that gets two of them right still fails inspection.

• Long wavelength source. 560 nanometers or greater. The state rule wants light at 560 nm or above and absent below it, which rules out warm white LED however low the color temperature reads on the box.
• Full cutoff and fully shielded. Completely downward directed, with the lamp, globe or glowing lens not visible from the beach.
• Mounted low. As close to the ground or finished floor as the application allows. The state model caps bollards at 42 inches; some cities define low profile as 48 inches.

Because all three have to hold, the compliant answer is usually a specific fixture in a specific configuration rather than a catalog family. That is the part worth getting right before anything is ordered.

The lines I can price that publish amber and turtle friendly ranges

Acuity Brands documents turtle friendly lighting across several of its houses, built on low wattage phosphor converted amber and true amber limited wavelength LEDs combined with proper shielding. Four of the brands it names are lines Hold the Spec supplies:

• Hydrel. Architectural and landscape exterior, and the one most often specified on serious coastal work.
• Lithonia Lighting D-Series. Named specifically for its phosphor converted amber and true amber options.
• Luminis. Exterior architectural.
• Luminaire LED. Exterior and site lighting.

All four are territory lines I represent, which means I can price them across Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. That happens to be exactly the geography where the coastal ordinances apply, so the overlap is a useful one.

Beyond the Acuity houses, several of the other lines on my card publish amber or wildlife options in their exterior ranges. Tell me what the application is and I will tell you which of them has something that fits.

Where these fixtures actually go

The applications that come up repeatedly on beachfront and near-beach property, and what tends to work in each.

• Pool decks and terraces. Usually the biggest source of visible light. Low mounted, fully shielded, amber. Step and recessed wall units rather than anything at head height.
• Walkways and paths. Bollards under the local height limit, or low level path fixtures. This is where the 42 versus 48 inch difference between jurisdictions bites.
• Balconies and lanais. Often overlooked, and on a tower the cumulative effect of hundreds of them is the whole problem. Shielded downlight only.
• Parking and drive areas. Pole heights and cutoff matter here, and this is where the wind load engineering also has to happen.
• Building mounted. Full cutoff wall packs and shielded sconces, aimed down, with no uplight component at all.

How to get it priced

Send the exterior lighting schedule, or the drawings, and tell me the municipality. The municipality matters more than the county, because the nesting dates and the mounting height definitions are set locally and they differ.

I come back with fixtures, the configuration that makes each one compliant, pricing and lead times, and the manufacturer documentation your permit set needs. If something on the schedule cannot be made compliant, I say so on the quote and propose the alternative rather than quoting it and letting it fail at inspection.

Common questions about turtle friendly lighting

Where this comes from

• Acuity Brands — turtle friendly lighting — the named brands, the amber LED approach and the note that FWC compliance should be confirmed against the FWC list
• FWC — certified wildlife lighting fixtures and bulbs — the authoritative list of certified products
• FWC — Sea Turtles and Lights — the three rules and the 560 nm threshold

The full sea turtle lighting rules · HVHZ and exterior lighting · Outdoor and landscape lighting · Light poles and structures · Request a quote · FWC certified amber fixtures from FC Lighting