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Welcome to Landscape Lighting 101. We&#;ll walk you through the types of landscape lighting and&#;
Landscape lighting can be the thing that transforms an outdoor space. In this guide we will walk you through a basic overview of the various types of lighting you&#;ll find in a landscape and exactly what each of them is supposed to do. We&#;ll look at the following elements, or click to jump directly to the section.
Like many things in life, less can be more&#;and this is the case when it comes to landscape lighting. The instinct be to light up everything&#;every detail, every tree, every nook and every cranny&#;is not only inefficient, but it can also wash the yard out.
What makes a space special during the night is the play of light and dark, highlighting features and creating visual contrast using the forms and plants in your yard. Playing with these elements creates intrigue and drama, and a well-lit space will often be one that feels most inviting.
So what do you light and what do you leave in the dark? Here are three things to consider:
Always consider an inviting and well-lit entryway. A properly illuminated entrance will safely guide family members or guests while creating that warm and welcoming curb appeal.
The goal of landscape lighting is to only see the effect of the light, not the light source itself. The exception is path lighting, which are designed to be decorative and on display.
There are a few basic types of fixtures that you want to get familiar with when you are making your lighting plan. Below are the various types of lighting you might find in a landscape:
The difference between a spotlight and floodlight comes down to beam spread. Spotlights project a concentrated, narrow beam of light that&#;s usually around 45 degrees. It&#;s easier to aim and adjust so that if you&#;re looking to highlight specific display points, like architectural details or landscape features, a spotlight will be your best choice.
Floodlights generally have a wider beam spread, up to 120 degrees. If you&#;re looking to cast light over general areas like a driveway or lot, use a floodlight. It&#;s better for overall safety and visibility.
Knowing the width of the beam spread you want isn&#;t nearly as important as the beam width in feet. You want to make sure the light reaches its subject and properly illuminates all the key features you&#;re looking for. To determine how much light will reach its target from a certain distance, use this formula:
Angle of Beam x 0.018 x Distance from Light Bulb = Beam Width
(Example: If you have an 80-degree floodlight and install it from 10-feet away, your formula will be 80 degrees x 0.018 x 10 feet = 14.4 feet wide)
An inground light, or well light, is typically a circle-shaped fixture that installs directly into the ground, and is often used to illuminate walkways and driveways. Ingrounds really heighten the sophistication and visibility of the features in your yard. It helps create drama and atmosphere with an uplight effect that illuminates the whole of a tree or structure. It also silhouettes the characters that stand around the yard&#;those you wouldn&#;t be able to see on a typical night. They&#;re best mixed with spotlights, if and when you can blend them, but uplighting on its own can be a strong lighting solution.
Since inground lights are hidden in the ground, the actual light effect is what stands out. In the case of an inground, make sure it&#;s used to light up a strong presence in your yard. Don&#;t worry about garden gnomes or short flowerbeds&#;concentrate on trees and garden walls.
Ingrounds may also be used to light up driveways for safer navigation through gates and lot areas. These need to have the proper vehicular weight ratings to suit cars that drive over them. Choose one that is strong and has ample weight sustainability. It&#;s also highly suggested to go with an LED option, as they have crisp color temperatures that look brilliant in the dark and last for thousands of hours.
Post lights (and their robust cousins, bollard lights) help accent the pathway to your home and set an ambient tone without the overpowering brightness of floodlights. Tall posts are great for illuminating driveways and long stretches of space that get lost in the dark. Shorter posts work well for paths and small alcoves.
Number of lights: To figure out how many post lights you need, take note of the diameter that the light encompasses around the post. Then set your next fixture outside of that space. The height of the fixture will help you determine the proper placement while the function of the light will let you know if it&#;s in the right place. Doing so will help prevent the yard from looking like an airplane runway. If possible, try placing the fixtures on either side of the path, working back and forth to create an effective and inviting entry.
Path lights are a basic outdoor fixture all yards should have. Similar to post lights in that they create light markers that run down a line, path lights are shorter and smaller in comparison. Path lights easily improve curb appeal and, of course, make walking along paths safer.
Size: When choosing path lights, take height into consideration. For even illumination, path lights should be installed about 14 inches high.
Scale: In terms of the borders, your paths should be within 1 foot from the sides of the walkway/pathway. Again, take note of the diameter of the light around the fixture itself and install lights outside of these areas to avoid overcrowding.
Materials: Path lights should be sturdy and made from materials that resist corrosion and wear. Powder-coated finishes have long-term resistance to the outdoor elements while soda lime glass stays tough throughout the seasons. LED path lights are highly suggested, as they keep costs low with reduced power consumption and burn cool with options in color temperature.
Used as an accent to architectural details and to add safe passage to dark stairs, deck and step lights are installed directly into a yard&#;s hardscape or decking. They can also be used for washing light down stone walls and lighting up entertainment spaces.
Similar to the spotlight or as strips of LED tape, made to be submerged to add drama to outdoor water features.
Hardscape lights are a newer addition to landscape lighting, thanks to LED technology. These are tiny lights with brackets or flanges that install onto or into structures that are used to wash and graze walls with light.
There are as many types of lights as there are spaces to place them. When scoping your own project it can be helpful to grab a high-powered flashlight with a dimming optic and get out into the space at night. Then, play with the light to see what looks nice and what doesn&#;t work as well.
Here&#;s a look at some landscape lighting effects to try:
Uplighting is one of the most basic forms of landscape lighting. It is used to create drama with a taller structure or tree. You can choose to highlight the trunk of larger trees or the underside of the tree&#;s canopy on larger or smaller trees.
Use with: Spotlights, Well Lights
This is a fantastic effect for highlighting dramatic shapes you might have hiding in plain daylight. Place the light source behind the item, and light toward where the main vantage point will be, making sure that the light source itself cannot be seen.
Use With: Spotlights, Well Lights
This is the reverse technique of silhouetting. Placing the light between the main vantage point and the item being lit, with the light source aimed at the item. This only works when you have a wall or flat surface behind the item being lit to catch the shadows created. But it can create a bit softer, more moody effect.
Use with: Spotlights, Well Lights, Flood lights
This is an especially effective way of using lighting when you have larger trees in your space. The light source is placed high up in the tree aimed down, washing the branches and ground below in light. It creates an impressive effect when used with an open-branched tree.
Use with: Spotlights
Have an extra-large tree that deserves a special treatment? Giants, especially evergreens, can look amazing when you double-team them with lighting. Get both a spotlighting and a moonlighting effect by placing two spotlights half- to three-quarters of the way up the tree. Aiming one light up and one light down will create a dramatic effect, and the year-round foliage will hide the light sources.
This can be a great option if you have a hardscape-heavy yard. Grazing involves placing the light close to the flat surface and aiming directly up or down the surface to create dramatic light and shadow play. You can graze up or down, but the idea is to take advantage of a texture across a flat plane, so uneven or irregular patterns work best. This can add an upscale touch, as it is often seen in hotel and restaurant design.
Use with: Well Lights, Hardscape Lights
Sometimes a space requires more ambient lighting. To create a well-lit space, try flooding a large wall or hedge in an entertainment area with light, which will &#;wash&#; the space with light. Use a wide-beamed light placed between the main vantage point and the surface to cast an even, gentle light over the whole area.
Use with: Flood Lights
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Lumen output for landscape lighting can be subjective&#;it depends on how brightly you wish to illuminate any particular element. Look for fixtures with adjustable lumen output, so you can control the brightness yourself.
LED landscape lighting is the new standard, with lower operating costs and longevity that can&#;t be beat. Plus, new LED lights have features you will want to take advantage of, like adjustable beam spread.
And don&#;t forget the color temperature. The best lighting for your landscaping should be in the same color family as the objects you&#;re lighting up: Use warmer light on oak trees and brown siding, while cooler colors like those found on pine trees or dark gray exterior stone play better with a more neutral color temperature. Very cool whites (-K) are best suited to ultramodern or commercial landscape projects. See our guide to color temperatures for more.
Your lumen output will depend on the height of your trees. This is important because too high of output could cause a tree to look blown out and too low of output could prevent the viewer from seeing the tree&#;s details. We suggest following these guidelines:
Now you have the basics to go forth and lay out your own landscape design. It is important to note that you should consult with a professional when laying out your landscaping plan so they can ensure you&#;re working with the right voltage for your transformer and other important details.
The key is to take your time. And you can start small and build from there&#;an over-lit space can be as uncomfortable or unusable as a completely dark one.
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C'mon, admit it! We all do it: on an evening drive or leisurely walk after dinner it is fun to admire the welcoming glow of different homes. What makes one house stand out from the others? It&#;s often the remarkable effect of well-placed landscape lighting. Here is every need-to-know method for lighting up the night and making your home the talk of the block:
Path lighting is used to enhance dynamic landscaping elements such as flower beds, shrubbery and borders while safely illuminating pathways.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: Path lights are staggered around the walkway to create pools of light that illuminate a safe passage to the home&#;s entrance.
Grazing emphasizes a textured surface (such as a tree trunk, a stone wall, climbing ivy, etc.) by placing a landscape light source within one foot of that surface and aiming the light beam parallel to that surface.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: Spot lights are placed beneath each stone pillar to create dimension, complementing the home&#;s entryway.
Wall washing is a landscape lighting technique that refers to the general illumination of a wall or surface.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: Spot lights are placed along the front of the home to create a soft wash of light.
Shadowing is an effect created by placing a landscape light source in front of an object and projecting a shadow onto a surface behind the object.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: Spot lights are placed directly in front of the tall bushes, producing shadows which are projected on the home&#;s face, creating an interesting and inviting façade.
Uplighting is a landscape lighting technique that illuminates an area, surface or object from below to create a focal point in the landscape.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: A spot light is aimed at the tree in the foreground while the front of the home remains relatively dark.
Also called backlighting, silhouetting is a landscape lighting technique used to dramatize an interesting shaped object.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: A spot light is placed between the tree and the front of the home. The spot light is aimed at the front of the home creating a dramatic silhouette of the tree.
Step and brick lights can be used in masonry and wood constructions. These landscape lighting fixtures are designed to safely illuminate stairways and walkways.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: The steps are gently illuminated leading up to the doorway to ensure safely. STRIDE RIGHT: Reduce the danger potential around your household by adding LED step lights to illuminate multi-level decks, entry steps, patios and wheel chair ramps.
Step, brick and hardscape lighting can be used in masonry and wood constructions. These fixtures are specifically designed to provide safety and accent lighting while creating a warm atmosphere.
CREATING THIS EFFECT: A surface mounted deck sconce is placed on the wall above each step to illuminate a safe entryway to the deck. A hardscape fixture under the bench, coupled with deck sconces mounted to the corner posts create a soft glow.
Nuvi landscape fixtures feature exceptional dimmable horizontal illumination, perfect for diverse mounting applications. Available in three finishes, its solid vinyl alloy construction is suitable for harsh environments as well.
Ready for more? If you enjoy a good DIY project, enjoy our video about landscape lighting techniques to find out how easy it is to install landscape lighting on your own! Landscape Lighting Made Simple
If you want to learn more, please visit our website Underground LED Light Manufacturer.