Thermal protection and Color Kinetics luminaires

Thermal protection technology continuously monitors luminaires temperature, preventing overheating in extreme temperatures, preserving the luminaire and preventing failure.

Chuck Spaulding
Updated by Chuck Spaulding

During normal operation you should never see thermal protection in action, but in extreme temperatures Color Kinetics built-in thermal protection can be a lifesaver.


Thermal protection technology continuously monitors luminaires temperature, preventing overheating in extreme temperatures, preserving the luminaire and preventing failure.

Thermal protection includes Overheat Protection, and Thermal Management.


Overheat Protection interrupts all incoming light data reducing power consumption and managing heat. When a luminaire enters this state it will glow dull red (color-changing luminaires) or glow faintly (iW luminaires) indicating the luminaire is too hot.


Thermal Management is a more nuanced approach to Thermal Protection. Thermal Management scales down incoming light data, reducing power consumption with the goal of preventing overheating. If the luminaire is still overheating in the reduced power state, Overheat Protection is then triggered causing the luminaires to glow faintly. 

In either situation once the luminaire temperature returns to a safe range it will automatically returns to normal operation.


In most situations Overheat Protection and Thermal Management will not be triggered as long as the ambient air temperature remains within the luminaires' normal operating temperature. See luminaire specification sheets at www.colorkinetics.com for the specific temperature range of your luminaires.


Overheat Protection is built-in to all Color Kinetics luminaires except the Accent, Flex Compact, and Flex Micro families.


Additionally, Thermal Management is built into all Graze, Graze Compact, PureStyle Compact, and BurstScape luminaires.


Vaya luminaires do not feature thermal management.

Thermal management technology is another Color Kinetics advantage.

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