Explosion Proof Lighting Blog | Guides & Technical Articles

October 2026 · 9 min read

Search for an explosion proof light fixture and you get product pages before you get an explanation. But "fixture" is not one product — it is a family of enclosures engineered around different tasks: washing a tank farm with a floodlight, lighting a workbench with a linear fitting, marking an escape route with a certified exit sign. Picking the wrong type is a more expensive mistake than picking the wrong brand, because a fixture that is the wrong shape for the task gets replaced at the buyer's cost. This guide walks through every fixture type used in hazardous areas, what each is for, and which zone each can legally serve.

The Fixture Types, One by One

Flood lights

The workhorse for wide, outdoor or high-mounted areas: tank farms, loading bays, perimeter lighting, rig floors. Flood lights are defined by beam angle and power more than by shape — a narrow beam reaches across a storage area, a wide one covers a work apron. Our FL7 covers Zone 1 (flameproof Ex db, 60–400W); the FL8 covers Zone 2 (restricted breathing Ex nR, 50–300W) at a lower cost.

High bay lights

Mounted high (typically above 6 m) over production halls, warehouses in classified areas and process buildings. The design question is delivering controlled light from a great height without glare, in a housing that survives dust and washdown. Our HB21 is a flameproof high bay (Ex db IIC — the most severe gas group) spanning 15–300W, with the 150W step delivering 22,000 lumens.

Linear and pendant lights

The everyday fittings of a plant: along walkways, above pumps, over workbenches, in workshops. Linear fixtures replace fluorescent battens one-for-one and carry the highest day-to-day count in most plants. Our LO series (Ex db IIB, 20–80W) is the flameproof option; the Bay 51 series (Ex db eb mb IIC) adds a triple-protection design with an optional 3-hour emergency supply; the LU series (Ex nR, 40–150W) is the Zone 2 workhorse.

Street and area lights

Roads inside refineries and petrochemical complexes, tanker access routes, plant perimeters. The optical requirement differs from a flood light — a shaped road beam rather than a broad wash — which is why a street light is a distinct fixture type and not a flood light on a pole bracket. Both our FL7 (Zone 1) and FL8 (Zone 2) families have street variants.

Canopy lights

Recessed into fuel-dispenser canopies at petrol stations — a special case with its own constraints: limited depth, upward light control, and the Zone 2/22 classification created by the fuel vapour itself. Our GS series is designed for exactly this mounting, 100–200W with power-switchable steps to reduce the SKU count per site.

Portable work lights

Maintenance jobs, tank cleaning, shutdown work — lighting that moves. A portable Ex fixture is certified with its handling in mind (impact resistance, supply flexibility). Our FL8 portable (Zone 2/22) accepts battery supply on DC 24V; the HB21 portable covers Zone 1 work with a flameproof housing.

Emergency and exit lights

Escape routes inside classified areas need the same certified construction as the working lights, plus a battery. The BAJ52 is a flameproof emergency luminaire (2 × 3W / 2 × 4W, about 3 hours of backup); the BAYD82 is a certified illuminated exit sign with a visible distance beyond 25 m. Both are fittings buyers discover late in a project — worth ordering with the main batch.

T8 tubes

The retrofit path: a certified tube that drops into existing G13 sockets, converting legacy fluorescent installations without replacing the whole fitting. Our BT8 (Ex d e, Zone 1 and 2) does this at half the energy — 9W replaces an 18W fluorescent tube.

Master Table: Type, Task, Zone, Model

Fixture type	Typical locations	Zones covered	Our series	Ex marking	Power
Flood light	Tank farms, loading bays, perimeters	1, 2 / 21, 22	FL7	Ex db IIB T6/T5 Gb	60–400W
Flood light	Tank perimeters, workshops, pumping stations	2 / 22	FL8	Ex nR IIC T5/T6 Gc	50–300W
High bay	Process halls, classified warehouses	1, 2 / 21, 22	HB21	Ex db IIC T6/T5 Gb	15–300W
Linear / pendant	Walkways, pump rows, workbenches	1, 2 / 21, 22	LO	Ex db IIB T6 Gb	20–80W
Linear / pendant	Workshops, offshore modules	1, 2 / 21, 22	Bay 51	Ex db eb mb IIC T6/T5 Gb	18–60W
Linear	Zones 2/22 long runs	2 / 22	LU	Ex nR IIC T6 Gc	40–150W
Street / area	Plant roads, tanker routes	1, 2 / 21, 22	FL7 street	Ex db IIB T6/T5 Gb	60–100W
Street / area	Plant roads in Zone 2	2 / 22	FL8 street	Ex nR IIC T5/T6 Gc	50–200W
Canopy	Fuel-dispenser canopies	2 / 22	GS	Ex nR IIC T5/T6 Gc	100–200W
Portable	Maintenance, shutdown work	1, 2 / 21, 22	HB21 portable	Ex db IIC T6 Gb	15–40W
Portable	Zone 2 maintenance work	2 / 22	FL8 portable	Ex nR IIC T6 Gc	50–100W
Emergency	Escape routes in classified areas	1, 2 / 21, 22	BAJ52	Ex db IIB T6 Gb	2×3W / 2×4W
Exit sign	Exits, stairways, corridors	1, 2 / 21, 22	BAYD82	Ex db IIB T6 Gb	6W
T8 tube	Retrofit into G13 sockets	1, 2	BT8	Ex d e IIB T6 Gb	9–28W

Environment ratings are consistent across the range, so they can be specified once for a whole project:

Rating	Value	Applies to
Ingress protection	IP67	All families except the BT8 tube (IP33)
Impact resistance	IK10 (20 J)	All families
Corrosion protection	C4 (ISO 12944)	All families
Ambient temperature	-20 °C to +55 °C	All luminaires (BHD51 box: -60 to +60 °C)
Supply voltage	AC 100–277 V, 50/60 Hz	All families (portables also DC 24 V)
Colour temperature	5700K ±250K standard	3000K / 4000K optional across the range

Protection Concepts Behind the Types

The fixture type answers "where does the light go". The Ex marking answers a different question — "what can this fitting survive". Two axes matter and they are independent:

Axis	Options in our range	What it decides
Protection concept	Ex db (flameproof) vs Ex nR (restricted breathing)	Zone: db fits Zone 1 and 2; nR fits Zone 2 only
Gas group	IIB vs IIC	Which gases: IIC covers hydrogen and acetylene; IIB covers most hydrocarbons like propane
Temperature class	T5 / T6	The hottest surface the fitting can reach vs the auto-ignition temperature of the gas
Dust protection	Ex tb (Db) vs Ex tc (Dc)	Zone 21 vs Zone 22 dust areas

A frequent surprise: our Zone 2 families (FL8, LU, GS) are rated IIC while the Zone 1 FL7 flood is IIB. The gas group does not imply the zone — the protection level (Gb vs Gc) does. When comparing fixtures between suppliers, align the markings character by character rather than trusting a "Zone 2 rated" label.

Fixtures and the Wiring System Around Them

Luminaires are only part of an Ex installation. The wiring between them lives in certified enclosures too — our BHD51 flameproof junction box (Ex db IIC, up to 800 V and 32 A) exists because in Zone 1 even a wiring joint must be contained. When planning a project, count the junction boxes at the same time as the fixtures: they are the fittings most often discovered missing on site.

How to Read a Fixture Nameplate

Every certified fixture carries a nameplate that is its legal identity. Before accepting a shipment, check four things on it:

• Ex marking — identical to the certificate, character for character;
• Certificate number — present and verifiable in the issuing body's register;
• Manufacturer — the entity holding the certificate;
• Ambient and temperature class — matching the environment you are installing into.

Our guide to reading and verifying ATEX certification decodes the marking format in detail, including what the "X" suffix on a certificate number changes.

Choosing Between Two Certified Fixtures

When two fixtures are both certified for your zone, the decision usually comes down to three things, in this order:

1. The photometry. Delivered lumens and the beam shape for your mounting height — request IES/LDT files and run the calculation.
2. The mechanical fit. Mounting interface, cable entries (our fittings ship with an M20 or M25 nickel-plated brass gland and a matching plug), weight, and whether maintenance access exists at that location.
3. The commercial terms that survive the project. Lead time, spares availability for years, and the documentation set. A fixture is a 10–15 year commitment; the cheapest quote rarely survives that arithmetic.

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