Note 005 · S2 Selection · 29 Oct 2026
Indoor fixed, outdoor fixed or rental: the six decisions that change the spec
The category is not a marketing label. It sets six parameters before anyone argues about price, and getting the category wrong is the one mistake that cannot be fixed on site.
Three lines, one fork: IP rating. Fortis is IP31, wall-mounted, 600 to 800 cd/m². Fort is IP65 front and IP54 rear, structure-mounted, 4,500 to 6,500 cd/m². Flare is IP31 at 800 cd/m² and hangs. IP, brightness, cabinet, maintenance, mounting and power separate them before price does.
The fork is IP rating, not price
Every other difference between the three categories follows from one question: what is on the other side of the panel? Indoor fixed assumes still air and a dry room. Outdoor fixed assumes rain driven sideways and a wall that will be hit by a pressure washer. Rental assumes the panel will be handled, stacked and flown, so it needs edges that survive contact and a cabinet light enough to hang.
Once that question is answered, brightness follows, then cabinet weight, then how the panel is serviced, then how it is fixed, and finally the power budget. Price is the last variable, not the first.
The six decisions, side by side
| Decision | Indoor fixed — Fortis | Outdoor fixed — Fort | Rental — Flare |
|---|---|---|---|
| IP rating | IP31 | IP65 front / IP54 rear | IP31 |
| Brightness | 600–800 cd/m² | 4,500–6,500 cd/m² | ≥800 cd/m² |
| Cabinet | 250 mm module, 1000 × 500 to 500 × 250 mm | 500 × 250 mm module, 1000 × 1000 × 83 mm | 250 mm module, 500 × 500 × 84 mm |
| Weight | 3.0–9.8 kg | 21–26.5 kg | 8 kg |
| Maintenance | Front access | Front and rear | Front and rear |
| Mounting | Wall-mounted | Structure | Hanging |
| Max power | 350 W/m² | 650–800 W/m² | 800 W/m² |
| Voltage | 90–240 V | 90–240 V | AC90–264 V |
Fort's 1000 × 1000 mm cabinet can be ordered at 1500 mm width with 500 or 750 mm height; the module stays 500 × 250 mm.
How to run the conversation
If the panel sees weather at all — including a covered terrace with driving rain — then start at IP65 front and accept the weight. If it will be struck, stacked or flown weekly, then start at the rental cabinet and accept the higher power per square metre. If the room is dry and the wall is permanent, then indoor fixed is the answer and anything heavier is waste.
- Ask what is on the other side of the panel — weather, or air.
- Ask who touches it after installation, and from which side.
- Ask what the nearest viewer will be standing on and how far away they are.
- Only then read the brightness ladder, and choose the lowest rung that holds up at the worst hour.
- Check the structure for the cabinet weight before confirming the mix.
- Size the circuit from the maximum power per square metre, and the cooling from the average.
Where the categories blur
1. An indoor wall is specified for a semi-outdoor space. A shopping-centre entrance or a stadium concourse is dry by intention and wet in practice. IP31 with front access is the wrong panel there, and the failure appears in the second winter, not the first week.
2. A rental wall is specified as a permanent installation. Rental cabinets carry front and rear access and are designed to be struck. Bolted to a wall for five years, the extra weight and the 800 W/m² maximum are paid for weekly and used never.
3. The outdoor wall is seen mostly from inside a vehicle. Then viewing angle and brightness at an oblique angle decide more than peak nits, and a 140 ° horizontal angle may be the binding constraint rather than the IP rating.
4. The wall is a feature element inside a lit atrium. Indoor fixed at 600 cd/m² can lose against daylight through a glazed roof. That is a lighting question first; the panel is not the only lever, and adding nits may not be the cheapest one.
One thing we got wrong ourselves
We used to open these conversations with pitch, because pitch is the number clients arrive with. It is the least useful starting point: pitch follows from the nearest viewing distance, and the nearest viewing distance only matters once the category is settled. The order above — IP, brightness, cabinet, service, mounting, power — is the one we use now, and it shortens most selections to one meeting.
- Datasheet — Fortis, Fort and Flare series sheets: IP ratings, brightness, cabinet sizes, weights, maintenance access, installation method, maximum power per square metre and working voltage, as published for each model.
- Practice — Selection practice of starting from ingress protection and service access rather than from pitch or price. It is a working method, not a standard, and it assumes the site has been seen.
Questions we get on this
Sometimes, and it is a legitimate engineering answer rather than a shortcut — but the enclosure then owns the IP rating, the heat path and the service access, and it must be designed by someone who will sign for it.
Because it is often used in daylight or in a lit hall at a distance. Flare is rated at 800 cd/m² or more at 800 W/m² maximum, against 600–800 cd/m² for Fortis at 350 W/m².
No. Pitch follows the nearest viewing distance in all three categories. What changes is whether the wall can be built at that pitch — outdoor ranges are coarser, from 2.976 mm to 10 mm in Fort.
Tell us what is behind the panel and who touches it.
We will name the category, the IP rating and the cabinet weight before we quote a price — in writing, with the site questions we still need answered listed.