Selectable Wattage and CCT Explained
Selectable wattage and CCT, explained
Almost every fixture in this catalog is selectable. If you have been buying fixed output fixtures, this changes how you stock a truck and how you quote a job.
What the switches do
A selectable fixture has one or two small DIP switches, usually behind a cover plate or on the driver housing. One switch steps the wattage. The other steps the correlated color temperature. Everything else about the fixture is identical across the settings.
Wattage selectable
A 2x4 panel rated 30 to 72 watts is not a 72 watt fixture you can dim. It is a fixture whose driver runs at five discrete outputs, each with its own lumen figure and its own efficacy. Set it low and it draws less and delivers less. Set it high and it draws more and delivers more.
Efficacy usually peaks in the middle of the range, not at the top. A fixture advertised at 140 lumens per watt may only hit that at one specific step. Compare fixtures at the setting you actually intend to use.
This matters on a rebate claim. Prescriptive programs pay by fixture category, and the category is often defined by installed wattage. Being able to land on the right side of a tier boundary without reordering is worth real money. How utility rebates work.
CCT selectable
The second switch steps color temperature, typically five options on an indoor fixture. Lower numbers read warm and yellow. Higher numbers read cool and blue white. These hold up on most commercial jobs:
| Setting | Where it belongs |
|---|---|
| 3000K | Hospitality, lobbies, and anywhere the space is meant to feel residential |
| 3500K | Offices where the client wants warm but not yellow |
| 4000K | The safe default. Offices, schools, clinics, retail. When nobody specifies, use this. |
| 5000K | Warehouses, shops, garages, anywhere the task is visual inspection |
| 6500K | Cold storage and industrial spaces where apparent brightness beats comfort |
Mixing color temperatures within a sightline is the most common complaint after a retrofit. If you are phasing a building, set every fixture the same even if the phases are months apart.
Why this cuts your inventory
A single selectable 2x4 panel replaces what used to be fifteen separate part numbers, five wattages times three or five color temperatures. That means:
- One SKU on the truck covers most of a building
- No reorder when the walkthrough changes the spec
- Leftovers from one job are usable on the next
- Fewer chances to order the wrong thing
Set them before you go up the ladder
The switches are accessible from the back or the side of the fixture, which means once it is in the ceiling grid or on the pole, changing a setting means taking it back down. Set the whole batch on the ground, power up one fixture to verify, then install.
It is worth writing the setting on the box or on the fixture housing in marker, so whoever services the building in five years knows what it was set to.
Browse selectable fixtures
Every product page here links the manufacturer spec sheet with the full step table.
Not sure which setting the job needs?
Send us the space, the ceiling height and the fixture count. We will tell you the wattage and the color temperature to spec, and what it qualifies for on the rebate side.
Ask us