Applicable to both indoor and outdoor locations, catenary lighting solutions, where luminaires are strung on an overhead catenary system (OCS), allow light to be delivered exactly where it is needed without the obtrusive installation of high density light poles, columns, and other ground-based support structures. The introduction of catenary lighting addresses the need for maximized use of activity areas in residential and commercial environments.

A catenary lighting system consists of luminaires, catenary cables, power cords that run in parallel with catenary cables, the mounting mechanism for mechanical attachment of luminaires, and accessories for suspending catenary cables between two support structures. Depending on the span of overhead spaces as well as the luminaire distribution requirement, the catenary suspension system can be designed as a single cable catenary system, linear grid catenary system, central spine catenary system, or central ring catenary system.

Catenary lighting systems provide a platform that can be used to accommodate a variety type of luminaires. The cable strung luminaires can be solely functional, decorative, or architecture-inspired. An infinite variety of design possibilities with regard to function and form of luminaires have been created with the use of LED technology.

LED pendant luminaires for catenary systems are available in a complete suite of light distributions for visually comfortable ambient lighting and floodlighting with precise spatial distribution of light to an application. These luminaires can be self-contained lighting systems that have integral constant current LED drivers, or they can be designed to operate on remote power supplies. Along with tight line and load regulation, the LED drivers can come integrated with different levels of controls, sensors and connectivity to manage and automate the delivery of the correct amount of light.

Outdoor catenary lights are engineered to survive a range of environmental stresses that impact performance and longevity of the lighting systems. The size and weight as well as the EPA (Effective Projected Area) and circuit wattage of a cable strung luminaire must follow the specifications of a catenary mounting system.