Landscape lighting
Landscape lighting emphasizes key garden elements, creates stunning lighting combinations and helps to turn drawbacks into an asset. You can try different lighting schemes, where different functions will call for different light intensities, powering them when needed. Another great option is an automatic lighting schemes switch timer, used in the evening. When deciding on lighting design, avoid both over and under-illumination of certain areas. Lighting should be soft and uniform, landscape lights and luminaires must meet certain criteria. Shadows and their shapes, created either by a house, garage, arboreal or shrub plants should be taken into consideration when deciding on landscaping lighting design.
Landscape lighting adds hours to the enjoyment we get from our gardens. Appropriate lighting respects the natural components and atmosphere inherently linked to a garden. Landscape lighting allows to alternateilluminated elements with low-illuminated ones, leaving some of them in the dark. Illumination of certain plantscan enhance their particular features, like color and texture, the source of light being hidden.
Image source: geograph.org.uk
Landscape lighting ideas include differentplants illumination strategies. In order to light up hedgeslike cedar,spiraeaand dogwoodwashing lighting effect is a great option, which creates a soft glow over the whole area.
Flower gardens andparterres can be lit from below, revealing the shape and texture; a light shining down from the top will achieve moonshine effects. Another option is to position the lights inside the plants. A great variety of garden lighting and luminaires is available. It is no surprise, that with so many possibilities, thousands of landscape lighting ideas are at our disposal.
Why we should use landscape lights
Landscape lighting, first of all, has a practical purpose: it makes outdoor spaces safer and our homes more secure.Lighting should be an extension of house architectureand generally blend with garden design stylistics. Lights and luminaires can be high or low powered. In order to avoid dazzle light effect, such factors as general amount of light, light divergence angleand hight should be taken into consideration when deciding on lighting design. Landscape lightprovides necessary amount of light in the garden in any season. Itis used bothas a main artificial light source in the garden and decorative element. Floodlight lightsare generally used in big spaces. They are suitable for illuminating such areas as parking, sport facility or children playground- places where people usually gather. To light up pavilions, recreation areas, plant groups and other garden elementsdiffused illumination is the best option.
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Mild light is diffused with the help of sculptured plafond, which is spreading the light at a certain distance. Light plafond can be sphere or cylinder shaped of 40-125 volt. Such landscape lighting is one of the most versatile design elements, transforming the garden into a more welcoming area and creating atmosphere and cosy environment.
Street luminaires
Outdoor luminaires with high illuminancelevel and different mounting options (vertical or horizontal) are also very popular in landscape lighting. A variety of lighting solutions allows to select appropriate lighting for each area in the garden. Outdoor luminaires should be weather resistant and meet all security requirements. Precipitation, temperature drops and gusty wind should not be an obstacle for trouble-free service. For this reason protected access to electricityis required, as well as polycarbonate made plafonds. Exterior luminaires can be used to light up slopingareas, aisles,paths curves and turns. They are also suitable highlighting small architectural forms, beautiful plants and ponds. Exterior luminaires are indispensable elements in landscape design.
Image source: Flickr
Landscape light can be suspended, wall-mounted or overhang. Outdoor wall-mounted luminaires are usually used to light up the house or other garden buildings. They can be built-in or mounted on the wall surface and are generally placed near the house entrance or around the perimeter of a building. This type of illumination can be represented either by a spotlight or diffused lighting with different brightness levels. Wall-mounted outdoor luminaires can also be used as an architectural lighting device, enhancing the features of the buildings and individual elements of the façade. As far as technical characteristics are concerned, luminaires are divided into low and high voltage. Chosen lighting solutions must be intended for outdoor use only. The power of outdoor lamps should correspond with luminaire technical data.
