Explosion Proof Lighting Blog | Guides & Technical Articles

Refineries and oil terminals carry the largest single concentrations of classified-area lighting on any industrial site. A single process unit can hold thousands of fixtures across pipe racks, pump rows, tank perimeters and the marine loading interface, and the demand repeats as the same plant type is built again across the Gulf, South and Southeast Asia. That repetition is what makes the specification worth getting right: the same selection logic is applied hundreds of times inside one project, and a fixture chosen for the wrong ambient or the wrong format is repeated with it. This page sets out where the demand sits, what drives the specification inside a refinery, and which formats carry the load. The fixture count is easy to underestimate for the same reason: the classified points sit where the process runs, not where the people are.

Where refinery and terminal lighting demand sits

Hazardous-area luminaires in a refinery are bought by process area, not by product family, and each area stretches a different part of the specification. Five area types account for most of the fixture count.

Area type	Typical location	What drives the lighting spec
Process units	Pipe racks, pump rows, exchangers, fired heaters, compressor houses	Dense structure and deep shadow, mixed Zone 1 / Zone 2, hydrogen and other IIC service in hydroprocessing; high mast and rack-mounted runs
Tank farms and storage	Tank roofs, bunded areas, perimeter roads, gauging and sampling points	Long, thin perimeters and access ways where uniform line light beats spot lighting; salt spray on coastal tank farms; Zone 1 at roofs and vents
Loading and dispatch terminals	Road and rail loading gantries, manifolds, metering skids	Ex db duty at the loading point, glare control toward the operator and the vehicle, and a layout that changes with every product line
Marine interfaces	Jetties, berths, loading arms, sea-water intake and outfall	Continuous runs over water with a marine atmosphere on top; corrosion class competes with the zone as the binding constraint
Utilities and offsites	Substations, flare areas, cooling towers, waste-water and sulphur units	Wide ambient swing between day and night, remote positions with infrequent access, and occasional sour or hydrogen service near the flare

The practical consequence is that one project buys the same luminaire family across all five areas, and the specification that survives is the one written for the worst of them — the highest zone, the hottest ambient and the least accessible mounting position — not the one that reads best on a catalogue page.

Refinery selection runs on the area drawing

Selection follows the same IEC 60079 principles that apply anywhere, and in a refinery two of them do most of the work: the zone envelope, which is dense and irregular inside a process unit, and the certified ambient temperature range, which is the binding constraint on Gulf projects. Selecting on T-rating alone, without reading it against the certified Ta range, is the most common specification error on hot-ambient refineries.

Selection axis	What it changes	Our data point
Zone	Dense process structure means Zone 1 pockets inside Zone 2 areas, often within metres of each other	Zone 1 duty met with Ex db (flameproof) construction; Zone 2 with Ex nR (restricted breathing). Our Ex db Zone 1 types are FL7 and HB21; our Ex nR Zone 2 types are FL8, GS and LU
Gas group	Most hydrocarbon streams are IIA / IIB; hydrogen and some chemical service reach IIC	Group is matched point by point to the area-classification drawing, not assumed from the process name
Temperature class (T-rating)	Must be read against the certified ambient, not a 40 °C default	T-class stated against the marked ambient for our Zone 1 and Zone 2 series; confirmed per project
Ambient temperature (Ta)	The binding constraint on Gulf and tropical refineries	Ta range verified on the certificate before selection; derating applied where the site exceeds it
Mounting and format	Decided by the structure, the throw distance and the access window	Format, bracket and pole or rail interface confirmed against the mounted position; replacement path agreed up front

Matching format to duty

Once the zone, the gas group and the ambient range are fixed, the remaining choice is the physical format, and in a refinery the geometry of the area usually decides it. A rack that is walked twice a shift asks a different question from a tank roof that is visited once a year, and the mounting arrangement answers it.

• Long, thin, continuous planes. Pipe racks, pump rows, tank perimeters and access ways are continuous runs rather than discrete points. A linear format gives the required uniformity with fewer fittings and less glare than a row of floodlights, and the LU Series LED linear luminaire covers those runs for Zone 2 duty; the LO series serves the same duty where a pendant or Zone 1 position applies.
• Concentrated high points. Tank roofs, loading areas, rack extremities and open process areas need throw rather than line light, and a floodlight format carries the output. The FL8 Series explosion-proof floodlight is specified for that duty, and the FL7 Series where the point sits inside Zone 1.
• Canopy and shelter positions. Loading gantries, metering skids under canopy and shelter positions are served by a compact canopy format, matched to the zone and the mounting height at each point.

Formats and mounting at a glance

The table below maps the common refinery positions to the format that usually carries them. It is a starting point for a bill of materials — the zone, the gas group and the certified ambient at each mounting point decide the final marking.

Position in the plant	Format that usually carries it	Zone coverage	Typical mounting
Pipe racks, pump rows, tank perimeters	Linear luminaire	Zone 2 (Ex nR); pendant types where Zone 1 applies	Rack rail, soffit or bracket
Tank roofs, loading points, rack extremities	Floodlight	Zone 2 (Ex nR); Ex db types for Zone 1 points	Pole, high mast or tank top
Loading gantries, metering skids	Canopy fitting	Matched to the point from the drawing	Canopy ceiling
Turnaround and maintenance positions	Portable or task light	Task-dependent, confirmed per unit	Local arrangement

All formats ship with the IECEx and ATEX evidence set out below; the certificate that applies is the one listed against the specific type, not inferred from the series name.

What we provide

The manufacturer's side of the technical file is what we hold and what we hand over. Every number below is stated as issued, and the certificate for a given type is the one listed against that type.

Document	Number	Issued by / covers
ATEX Type Examination Certificate	CSANe 25 ATEX 1229X	CSA Group (Netherlands notified body) — LO series
IECEx Certificate of Conformity	IECEx CSA 25.0093X	CSA Group — LO series
ATEX Quality Assurance Notification (QAN)	CSANe 26 ATEX M076	CSA Group Netherlands — LO series
IECEx Quality Assessment Report (QAR)	GB/CSAE/QAR26.0002/00	CSA Group (UK) — LO series
ATEX Type Examination Certificates	TÜV CY 26 ATEX 0207611 / 0207612 / 0207613 X	TÜV (Cyprus); correspond to the FL8, GS and LU series

In practice we supply the IECEx test reports, the IECEx Certificates of Conformity, the IECEx QAR, the ATEX certificates and the quality assurance notification — the technical evidence a project needs in order to assess the equipment — together with installation manuals and the parameter set below.

What we need from you to quote

For a quote and lead time, please provide: the area-classification drawing (Zone 0/1/2 or 20/21/22, gas group, temperature class); the site ambient temperature range and the mounting height; the required illuminance and uniformity for each task; the mounting arrangement (pole, rack rail, tank top, canopy or bracket); the supply voltage and frequency; and the project node and required arrival time. With those we can match the protection concept, the certified ambient range and the format to the duty, and return a bill of materials rather than a single catalogue item.

Frequently asked questions