Effective Landscape Lighting Planning and Design
When you are landscaping, or installing outdoor lighting for a newly-built home, or redesigning an existing landscape, the results will be much more satisfying if you plan first. This sounds obvious, but when you start landscaping a property, or installing outdoor lighting, the urge to begin planting, or placing outdoor lights immediately is almost overwhelming.
Developing The Basic Plan
A landscape and the associated landscape lighting is a picture, with a great opportunity for artistic composition. With a home the central feature is the house and the fundamental objective is to make good use of every part of the grounds and to avoid scattering trees and bushes all over the area surrounding the house.
So you need a definite plan on paper for the location of the key features of the landscape and the associated outdoor lighting. Consider the features and functions of the different components - the residence itself, outdoor areas and patios, any out buildings, walks and drives, the service areas, the border planting, flower-garden, and possibly a vegetable-garden.
To begin, it is recommended that you draw a base plan to scale. For most properties a scale of 1/8?=1? is workable; for small properties or a particular area of a larger development 1/4?=1? may be better. Graph paper with lines indicating a particular scale is also helpful.
Include all the major features of your property on your drawing. After you have prepared the base plan you can either use tracing paper or transfer the drawing into a suitable PC drawing/graphics program. Then you can sketch possible ideas and solutions to your landscaping and outdoor lighting needs.
Steps For Drawing The Plan
- Indicate the compass directions in relation to the house by drawing an arrow (N->) pointing north.
- Measure each property line and record the measurements.
- Accurately locate one corner of the house on the plan by measuring the distance from the back edge of the curb or edge of the street and nearest property line. From this corner of the house, measure each side of the house and place it onto the plan.
- Locate other existing features on the plan by measuring from known reference points, such as the street, property line or house.
- Identify potential outdoor living and entertaining areas. Terraces and patios are now an integral part of many homes. They should be located, if possible, where they will receive summer breezes and afternoon shade. If sun is a problem, add trees or overhead shading structures.
Once key features are located on the plan, next decide which of these will require outdoor lighting. Some will need functional lighting e.g. patios and decks, paths and walkways, others will be lit for aesthetic value and other lighting will be for security purposes.
Tips:
- Don’t go overboard with the number of lights. It increases the costs for installation, maintenance and the running the outdoor lighting.
- Too many lights also don’t look good.
- The best (and most used) outdoor living areas are usually located adjacent to living areas of the house where they can easily be served and seen from inside. Even when they are not in use, well-planned, attractive decks and terraces adjacent to the house give a feeling of added space to interior rooms.
- A terrace is sometimes placed away from the home to take advantage of a striking view, good afternoon breezes, or the shade of a large tree.
Feature and Aesthetic LightingThere may be some striking features on your property that you wish to highlight. There is a huge range of lights available. Again be restrained – less is more here – and remember that just like you trees and shrubs don’t like to be brightly illuminated night after night. It interferes with their natural rest cycles.
Lighting Paths and Entrance Areas
The amount of path lighting required depends on:
(a) The amount of ambient light from other sources, such as streetlights, “always on” security lights and outdoor lighting attached to your home and outbuildings.
(b) The smoothness of the surface of the walkway, the presence of steps.
Outdoor lights linked to motion detectors are a popular and efficient choice for entrance areas as the light only comes on when needed.
Security Lighting
The main objectives with outdoor security lighting are to illuminate dark areas and detect and recognize movement in “protected areas”.
The best vision with outdoor lighting is obtained from downward directed and shielded security lighting that is “always on”, supplemented with instant-on lighting triggered by motion detectors.
Overall, the best position for security lights is mounted as high as possible on your property, directing light in a downward position for safe and reliable operation.
Motion detectors sense movement and turn outdoor security lights on when movement is detected and are ideal for both security lighting and energy management. They are often used in conjunction with floodlights that raise the overall brightness. However, the aesthetic drawback of floodlights is they can make your home look like a jail.
The author enjoys the simple but rewarding pleasures that come from a well designed garden with tasteful outdoor lighting.
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Outdoor Wall Lighting – Enhancement of Image and Security
Lighting design is the planning of a lighting system to achieve optimal lighting effect in a given space. This design is often an under appreciated element of home decor. Outdoor wall lighting with placement alone can give you the feeling of elegance and security. Perfect outdoor wall lighting is a bright idea that adds to the image of your home and can increase your homes value.
When planning outdoor wall lighting you must look at what activities will occur, what atmosphere you wish to create and the decorative elements you need to emphasize. There are two main goals for outdoor lighting. The first is to enhance the aesthetic beauty of a homes landscape and second, is to increase security.
The basic types of lighting are general, accent, task and security. General lighting emits a comfortable level of brightness, enables one to see and walk about safely and a basic form of lighting that replaces sunlight.
Accent lighting directs the light to emphasize a particular object or architectural detail. Accent lighting requires at least three times as much light on the focal point as the general lighting around it.
Task lighting helps you perform a specific task and it should be free of distracting glare or shadows. It should also be bright enough to prevent eye strain.
Security lights and fixtures are practical and effective ways to prevent crime around your home. Statistics show that crimes are less likely to occur because lighting is an excellent deterrent.
Since there are so many outdoor wall lighting fixtures your choices can become quite confusing and intimidating. Here are a few ideas on what fixtures work best in which areas. Exterior wall sconces are the most traditional form of outdoor lighting. They provide style and ample light for safety at night.
Lanterns and wall sconces are excellent choices for main entrances and the garage. They complete the look of your entryway with an old world feel. Outdoor flush mounts are the perfect touch for covered porches or where a size requirement prevents anything larger. They often have matching wall sconces to complete the picture.
Ceiling fixtures seem to be popular for porches and breezeways. Post lights are used to light main driveways and walkways. Pier mount adapters allow you to install outdoor post lamps on your wall or column. Flood lights are excellent for providing extra security near entrances or as a down light on outdoor decks or back yards. Some outdoor lighting fixtures include photocells that turn lights on at sunset and off at sunrise when you are away.
Some areas for accent lighting would be climbing rose bushes, unusual trees and shrubs or a swimming pool. These can all become focal points with the proper outdoor wall lighting. The select elements for security are main entranceways, driveways, walkways, steps, paths and garage entrance.
Out door wall lighting prices vary widely. Adding a dimmer switch can save energy and extend the life of the bulb while saving you money. Many people execute their lighting plans in stages adding additional lighting fixtures each year.
New landscape lighting bulbs can provide twenty five percent more light and a much longer life span. The consumer has choices of incandescent, compact florescent, LED, mercury vapor and halogen.
There is greater attention given to the fixtures construction and finishes. Matte finishes such as nickel, brushed steel and weathered patinas provide more depth and blend smoothly with various decor styles. These fixtures must endure harsh extremes of temperature and weather. Check to make certain that the finishes are durable and are UL certified for out door use.
Whether you select warm tones or lighting that makes your landscape come alive, you will be able to enjoy your surrounding and feel safe at the same time.
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Outdoor Solar Lighting – The Solar Benefits
Have you ever heard of solar powered lights? Well, if not, they are basically light fixtures that do not use electricity. They are powered by the sunlight through the use of solar rechargeable batteries. Basically they can be used indoors (using a solar panel attached to the outside of the house) or outdoors. These lights are the perfect choice to enhance the look of your house (indoors or outdoors) or simply install them to save money on your electric bills. The outdoor solar lighting is also good for those who enjoy outdoor recreational activities, have remote buildings, have cabin, enjoy camping, etc. Even when there is no electricity available, these lights will keep on shining. Many homes in remote areas in Africa and China are discovering, for the first time the advantages of having light after the sun goes down at night. It is something we take for granted but for them it is a valuable gift.
Now, let us talk about the benefits of using outdoor solar lighting. The following are said benefits that you can get from choosing solar lights:
Will save you money – Using outdoor solar lighting will indeed save you money as compared to the conventional electrical light fixtures. If you use outdoor lights for security and like having a well lighted yard, the switch to solar will offer a dramatic reduction in your monthly power bill. Yes, it may not come as cheap as buying electric powered lights, but in the long run you will recover the difference, many times over, through your savings on your power bills.
Gives you light when nobody can – Lets say you have an area where there are no electrical outlets. It would require a skilled handy man or contractor and a lot of money to wire the area for electricity. But with outdoor solar lighting, you simply identify the spot where you want the light, secure the light with a stake in the ground, attach to a wall, the fence or a pole and immediately light will be available for the evening hours. And, many of the new solar lights provide light equal to electric lights but with no recurring power bills.
Easy to install – We all know that figuring out the electrical system in our home is not easy. However, outdoor solar lighting takes only a few minutes to install and requires no special skills. Just push the stake in the ground and the light is ready to provide the light with no need for wiring or connecting to a special power source. For high intensity lights, there is often a separate solar panel that can be attached on a stake nearby or attached to the side of a building or a pole and the light provided is often equivalent to many conventional lighting choices.
Safe to use If you are concerned about the environment or the safety of your household members, then this is an excellent choice. Not only do you not have to change your bulbs regularly, because the solar LED has a typical life expectancy of about 20 years, but there are no dangerous wires to contend with. It is quite easy to install since there is no need to worry about placing these lights near an electrical outlet. And, you can eliminate running dangerous extension cords to the locations where the light is needed. This allows installation without fear of personal safety and removes the risk of tripping over cords and electrical shocks from wiring issues.
It enhances the look of your outdoors – Using outdoor solar lighting will make your outdoors look more beautiful, with a wide variety of sizes and styles available. Your outdoors will never be the same once you discover the many uses of solar lights for low light levels for ambiance as well as high intensity lighting for security and safety.
The price for a solar light fixture is now comparable to conventional electric powered light fixtures. This means you may spend about the same amount for the light fixture but have a lot more flexibility, in the placement of the lights, and see a big change in your electric bills. These lights are now easy to find through online retailers. So, why stay in the dark when you can light practically any outdoor area with the power of the sun? Save money now and enjoy the other benefits of outdoor solar lighting.