Click here to view Outdoor Lighting Fixtures at Louie Lighting.com
It was a rainy evening, many years ago (I can’t say how many...) and I was sitting in the living room at a friend’s house looking through immense French windows and admiring the beauty of the view. The raindrops came down and beams of light were shining onto the bushes and trees from the landscape lights. Everything was so dramatic, and magical and from that point on I fell in love with outdoor lighting and the effects that can be created with it.
There are many advantages I find in outdoor lighting, one is that creating a fantasy and magical environment is both easy and fun. Sculptural and artistic lighting effects can be created with a quiet and simple process. Landscape lighting allows for an extended use of the outdoors well into the night as well as an increase in safety and one’s sense of security. With the correct outdoor lighting the outdoors can become part of the indoors in the way of a backdrop. Lighting outside the windows creates depth and is a lot like hanging a beautiful three-dimensional picture on the wall that is rich and dramatic.
There are many techniques that can be utilized for outdoor lighting and the one that is used most often is up lighting. This type of lighting provides the most dramatic results and because the human eye is used to seeing lighting coming from above, reminiscent of the sun, up lighting creates a fresh and unexpected look. In most cases it also complements trees and shrubs, enhancing their attributes and often making them look “better”. Up lighting is especially great in planters under a roof and in interiors when irregular patterns of light and shadow are created on the ceiling. I typically like using low voltage MR16 spotlights, which are small but powerful. They also offer greater control of the light beam and have an extended lamp life. The use of color filters can create even more magical effects in addition to livening up the space.
Another technique is “moonlighting,” which is created by hanging or mounting sources of light within trees. The lights are placed higher in the trees and angled downward so that the light dances through the branches resulting in enchanting patterns of light and shadow on the ground. This attractive and captivating technique also allows for area lighting that gives way to a soft and magical atmosphere.
When it comes to illuminating wide areas like walls or fences, floodlights are very practical because the light beam is wide and a larger area of coverage can be achieved. For path lighting there are many fixtures to select from. For pathways that are 6 feet or wider I like using path lights that allow me to direct the beam of light to the center of the path. This will result in more coverage and at the same time it can create interesting patterns of light that help in orientation. Path lighting is important not only for the light they provide to the surface but also as visual cues. They lead the eye and provide more comfort for walking or driving by signifying the border of the path and indicating direction.
When it comes to fixtures for residential use I usually recommend the low voltage systems over the line voltage. Low voltage systems are much safer, easier to install, and smaller fixtures make them more attractive and inconspicuous. The halogen lamps used in the professional low voltage lights are usually very efficient and provide great beam control as well as a longer lamp life.
When installing low voltage systems great attention needs to be put into the correct wiring of the system and to into eliminating excess drop in voltage. This is due to the fact that at 12V the amperage is 10 times that of 120V, which results in fast drop of voltage in long wire runs.
Enjoy your next outdoor lighting project,
Click here to view Outdoor Lighting Fixtures at Louie Lighting.com
