Elastomerics Blog

The picture shown is of an induction street light in New Jersey with its lens cover open.  One could argue that this helps the unit run cooler, especially when wind blown rain enters the housing… of course this is absurd, the lens cover should be closed and sealed to protect the light from the elements.  As with all lighting capital expenditures there is an anticipated ROI, this is especially true with solid state lighting like LEDs or induction. The long life and low maintenance cost associated with new lighting technology is considerable contributor to realizing the return on investment.

White Paper: Specifying Gaskets for Outdoor LED Lighting Fixtures

Being a gasket nerd, I pay attention to gasket materials used on a wide range of products and what type of sealing is being done.  Time and time again I see housings with low cost or improper materials used; often these will pass initial testing but given time in the field they become useless or offer minimal protection against the outdoor elements.  I commonly see massive compression sets, peeling gaskets and dry rotted gaskets… these enclosures are barely protected from ingress, almost as much as the light shown in the picture with its cover open.

There is hope.  Stockwell Elastomerics works with many reputable lighting companies, some are house hold names and others that are smaller specialty manufactures.  These companies are committed to investing time and effort to ensuring they’re housing is sealed properly.  They understand the small added cost of a quality gasket material is minuscule when compared to field repair or damage to the reputation of their brand.  The companies Stockwell works with are manufacturing quality lighting fixtures that will live up to the IP64, IP65, standards IP66 over the life of their product.

Stockwell Elastomerics maintains inventory of UL 50 and UL 94 gasket materials that are well suited for outdoor lighting applications.  For more information on how Stockwell Elastomerics can help with your lighting gasket design, please contact service@stockwell.com or call 1-800-523-0123.