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There are two general types of LED chips in terms of "look." The first one is a domed chip, where there is a silicone dome lens on top of the light-emitting elements. The second one is a flat chip, where the interconnects (aka wirebonds) are all miniaturized, and oftentimes multiple small LED chips are placed on one carrier (aka substrate) to make it look like a single LED chip.
Both types usually have an approximately 120-degree beam angle, unless the domed version has a special dome design to emit light at other beam angles, which are usually narrower. A 120-degree beam is very wide and oftentimes does not serve the application well, as it is too scattered, producing significant glare, or limiting the range the light beam can travel and hit a target.
DuraBrite products are famous for their real-world brightness due to the use of a highly engineered optical collimator for each model that converges the 120-degree beam as soon as it comes out of the LED chip into a narrow-focused and very potent 25-degree spot beam. When this lens is paired with high-power LED chips, the result is unmatched – superior clean and crisp light that hits your desired target.
Depending on the location of your installation, especially if you have a low roof, T-top, or structure where the light is mounted, chances are part of the light beam will still hit the bow, producing unpleasant glare when driving at night, even with that 25-degree spot. To solve this problem, we offer an available externally mounted glare shield to further control how the light exits the luminaire. The shield essentially cuts off the lower portion of the light cone so the bow glare is eliminated.
For floodlights, we decided to retain the spot optical collimator but add a diffusing element right on top of it to get the best of both worlds – a flood with a strong punch, unlike other luminaires where the floodlights only give a wide beam angle but have a limited range. The end result is a strong 76-degree flood beam. Such flood optics can be had even if you own a luminaire with a spot beam. Your light can be converted from spot to flood by installing the available external flood lens, which produces a similar conversion effect like the internally installed diffuser.
Finally, strong optics are not always necessarily a good thing. Depending on the situation, you may have a need to dim it down. That's why we came up with available dimming options for all models so you can dial in the exact optical output to light up your scene.
DuraBrite is not your average lighting provider. We passionately create products and lighting solutions with technical rigor. Call us to further discuss what you need and how we can help your vessel reach its full potential.
