What Are Bunker Lights?
What is the purpose of bunker lights?
What are the popular types of bunker lights?
Where do bunker lights originate from?
How do you add bunker lights to your home or décor setting?
Can bunker lights be used outside?
What is a good IP rating for outdoor bunker lights?
There is no industrial lighting style more evocative of its original purpose than bunker lights. Originally used for practical maritime, commercial and military purposes in the early to mid-20th century, the rise of the modern industrial trend has seen bunker lighting highlighted as a popular choice for both interiors and exteriors, owing to their often robust and practical purpose as well as their raw, unassuming design.
What Are Bunker Lights?
Bunker lights, sometimes known as bulkhead lights, are most often utilised as round or oval wall and ceiling lights. They can be used on interiors, covered exteriors, or if they have a high IP rating, in uncovered exteriors.What is the purpose of bunker lights?
In their original usage, bunker lights were used to disperse light unobtrusively while still making a space secure and usable. Popularly used in wartime bunkers (hence the name) as well as mining and maritime environments, bunker lights were also required to be durable to protect against explosions and debris.
Modern bunker lights serve a similar purpose, used as sturdy outdoor lights as well as unobtrusive interiors lights ideal for adding ambience.
What are the popular types of bunker lights?
Commonly caged in keeping with its industrial origins, bunker lighting can also be uncaged for a more minimalist look, or appear with an ‘eyelid’, obscuring the top half of the light.
They are typically designed to sit flush with the wall or ceiling, though modern iterations of bunker lights can also be extended away from the wall on a short arm or be suspended as a pendant from the ceiling.
As with any other light, bunker lights can be fitted with clear or opal glass to convey a specific look. The opal glass cover creates a more homogenous, diffuse light that has a timeless yet modern appeal, whereas a clear glass cover can be paired with an LED filament bulb to embrace the vintage industrial aesthetic.
Where do bunker lights originate from?
Although commonly used in other industrial purposes since the widespread use of electricity, this specific kind of illumination has become intrinsically linked with the utilitarian lighting solutions of 20th century warfare, especially WWII.
WWII was a time of great innovation in lighting, and the need to operate around the clock was as essential as the need to avoid detection.
An early solution to night time travel was the Notek blackout light developed by the German forces. The light was obscured by a hooded housing and reflected off a mirror to illuminate the road ahead while remaining almost invisible from the air when used at its dimmest setting.
Similarly, the need to direct light downward resulted in bunker lights with an eyelid, which hark back to widespread blackout regulations in places like England during WWII. Everything from streetlamps to bicycle lights were required to be diffused or covered to deflect light downward, making it less visible from the air.
How do you add bunker lights to your home or décor setting?
From discreet modern designs to mid-century industrial replicas, bunker lights are as versatile as your imagination.
Maximise space in the smallest areas of your house by adding a bunker light to the ceiling of your cellar or walk-in pantry. Flush-mount bunker lighting is an ideal solution for small or low-ceiling bathrooms and can be used either as the main light or as a design element.
Give your exterior some vintage appeal with a caged entrance light or utilise bunker lights with an eyelid to lend ambience to a walkway or deck. Bunker lights are also a great choice for garage spaces, as they are both hardy and practical.
For commercial properties, lean into the origins of your heritage pub with bunker lighting in the beer garden or add stylish but unobtrusive illumination to restaurant booth seating. Make the most of small or narrow spaces such as hallways or entrances by adding unobtrusive bunker lights to the wall or ceiling.
Can bunker lights be used outside?
Absolutely! For outdoor bunker lights, it’s important to consider where they will be placed and the extent of exposure they will receive – how much dust is likely to accumulate, will it receive direct rain and wind, or only indirect spray and occasional light gusts? These elements can be quantified by the Ingress Protection rating, or IP rating.
The IP rating can also be used to determine whether your lights will be suitable for wet areas like the bathroom.
What is a good IP rating for outdoor bunker lights?
Depending on where you intend to place your outdoor bunker lights, the IP rating will vary. Anything above a rating of IP44 can generally be considered for outdoor use, but your electrician will be able to guide you on the best IP rating for the area you are wanting to place lighting. For more information about IP ratings, click here.
Now that you know a little bit about the history and style potential of bunker lights, why not find inspiration from our collection of modern and vintage-style bunker lights and other industrial lighting solutions?