Outdoor lighting

Outdoor Lighting:
The ultimate way to make your home distinctive, inviting and secure is to place outdoor lighting around your home. Nothing adds a more beautiful effect than accent lights used tastefully.

Not too long ago, outdoor lighting consisted of two 100-watt floodlights screwed into a pair of sockets by the back door casting plenty of light. The light also attracted bugs and moths by the hundreds, cast bizarre shadows, blinded you if you looked at them, and as for ambiance - forget about that!

Low-voltage outdoor lights provide a pleasant alternative to the above. And since they're low voltage (you can literally add wires and lights to the system while it's operating), they're safe to use and install.

A successful low-voltage lighting plan requires selecting the right fixtures, then placing and wiring them correctly. Use waterproof pond lights for illuminating pools, ponds, fountains and other water features; offset path lights for lighting walkways; cone lights for highlighting both walkways and the surrounding plants; tree-mounted spotlights for simulating moonlight; and flood lights for illuminating trees, buildings and other large elements.

As you design and shop for your lighting system, keep in mind:

- Buy a larger transformer than you'll initially need so you can add lights later as your landscape (and imagination) expands. If you'll be installing 400 watts of lights, buy a 600-watt transformer.

- Avoid overlighting. Outdoor lights look best as accents, broadcasting pools of light.
- When lighting a path, decide whether you want to light only the path or both the path and the features around it. As a rule, the broader the field you want to light, the higher the light pole you'll need. Path lights with a 20-watt halogen bulb at a 24-in. height should be spaced every 10 ft.

- Consider seasonal factors. Install lights where they won't be easily damaged by lawnmowers, weed trimmers, or shovels. Keep in mind, that some plants like hydrangea bushes, sumac, and dogwoods with colorful stems look cool lit up, even when they're leafless.

Take the time to install your lights correctly and they'll last longer, cast more light where you want it and require less maintenance.

Installation Tips:

- If your lights come with press-on fittings (the type that bite through the insulation and into the wire to make their connection) cut them off, strip off 1/2 inch of insulations and use weather-proof wire connectors. These wire connectors have a shield on the bottom and a blob of sealant inside that make them weatherproof. Your connections will be more solid and longer lasting.
- The farther a light is from the transformer (and the more lights installed between it and the transformer), the less light it will put out. Avoid "voltage drop" by creating a tee and running two short lines rather than one long one. A good rule of thumb is to put no more than 100 watts of lighting on one line. If you want to put ten 20-watt lights on a circuit, make a tee connection with five lights on one line and five on the other. You can also minimize voltage drop by using a thicker gauge wire.
- Always leave a little extra wire as you hook up the lights. This will give you the freedom to move a light after you've hooked it up for testing or after you've installed it.
- Burying the wires should be your last step. Lay everything out, hook up your lights, test your voltage, and look at your results at night before burying the lines.
- Purchase a transformer with a built-in photocell and timer. Orient the photocell with some western (sunset) orientation so it doesn't turn lights on too early.

Install lighting fixtures with motion sensors that light when someone approaches.
Use halogen or compact fluorescent light bulbs to lower energy costs and extend bulb life.

Outdoor Lighting Effects:

Washing:
Place the light at the base of a wall or hedge and the light 'washes' over the surface creating a soft glow effect. However this can also be achieved by 'lifting' the light at certain angles to wash the desired area.

Shadowing:
Place the light in front of the object you wish to illuminate. Depending on how high the light fitting is secured will depend on how dramatic the shadow will appear.

Crosslighting:
This effect can be very appealing as the subject is lit from two sides, which not only highlights the feature but also softens it at the same time.

Downlighting:
This effect is useful to pick out a particular plant or feature, and to create interest with shadows, etc. It can also be employed as a 'security' effect, to light doorways/entrances or for general luminance where entertainment may take place.

Moonlighting:
This is very romantic and effective way of using lighting. This effect requires the positioning of a light in a tree for instance. The ray of light is broken up to reveal a dappled effect on the ground.

Path / Step lighting:
The idea of path / step lighting is to create interest and a desire to see what is further down the trail. There are various ways of achieving this by using low leveling lighting or raised to reveal more detail. Another good other reason for this is to make the walkway safe.

Uplighting:
Uplighting can be achieved in various ways by placing a light at ground level. Place the light at the base of a tree to wash up the trunk into the canopy for a dramatic effect, or to illuminate a building.

Water lighting:
By placing a light in the water it can produce some exciting effects. Moving water is especially appealing with every ripple being enhanced by the light. Fish 'crossing' the beam of light produces flashes of color and shadow. Using the light in the water to focus on a fountain or feature is also possible and helps to keep the light fitting concealed in the water. The other major reason for lights in and around water is the reflections that can be produced by using the water surface as a natural mirror.

Buy outdoor decorative lanterns in finishes ranging from copper, brass, pewter, alabaster, black or white to dress up the entrance to your house while providing night-time security and a warm welcome for guests. Choose from post lanterns, hanging lanterns and wall mounted lanterns.

Outdoor lighting fixtures include:
Spot lights, lanterns, pendants, ceiling fixtures, path, post mounted, step/deck/brick lights, dark sky qualified, well lights, lighted house signs, outdoor ceiling fans with lights, and patio light fixtures.

Types of outdoor lights include:
Flood lights (metal halide/incandescent/halogen/compact fluorescent), cutoff wallpacks, outdoor ceiling fans with lights, vandalproof lighting, motion sensors, focus lighting, etc.
focus lighting, coastal, and solar lights (dusk to dawn lights).

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