Different Types of Light Beacons

The light beacon is a device that signals a visual warning, or alarm, or highlights a location. They are used across many industries and for various reasons. In our public lives, we interact with them via traffic lights, police or emergency vehicles, or fire alarms. During our working hours, we may see them on forklifts, equipment, as security alarms, or in many other situations. Here, we will look at the different types of light beacons available and their uses.

Colours

There are several colours that light beacons come in, most of them we are used to seeing and can immediately understand what they are trying to tell us. Such as with traffic lights. The green means go, red is stop, and amber means prepare to stop. Red can also mean fire or danger, amber is caution, and green is all clear. We know blue is for police or security alarms. Some industries use purple instead of red to indicate danger, because they use a red light beacon specifically for signalling a fire, and some use blue to indicate a change. With the colours being largely standardised through all industries and services across Australia it makes it easier for everyone to instantly understand what the light beacon is signalling.

Lights

The coloured beacons are generally illuminated by white lights. However, red light beacons have a red light, this way if the outer cover is broken it remains a red signal. Light beacons use incandescent, halogen, Xenon, or LED bulbs. The strength of these bulbs goes in that same order, with incandescent as the least powerful (8-24 lumens per watt) and the LED (100+ lumens per watt) as the most.

Types

Not only do light beacons come in different colours but there are also different types:

  • Rotating – these have a reflector that revolves 360 degrees around the light
  • Flashing – the bulb turns off and on continuously
  • Static – continuous beam

Each one is used in different circumstances. Such as lighthouses using a rotating light beacon, or flashing lights for alarms, or static light beacons for search and rescue situations.

Uses

We have already discussed a few uses of light beacons, but we haven’t addressed light beacons on the water or out to sea. They are especially vital in search and rescue operations, such as man overboard situations or avoiding collisions. They not only work on the sea but on the mountains or in the bush too. Whatever you need a light beacon for, talk to the team at RS for quality products and expert advice. With nearly 1,200 light beacons in stock, they are bound to have what you’re looking for.

There are several types of light beacons available for many different uses, in lots of industries. Their colours are designed to signal different issues and are uniform to make identifying the issue easier. So, when you buy your light beacons get the right beacon with expert advice. For the best security and safety light beacons contact RS for support or place your order online.