Landscape lighting tips will help brighten your gardens and landscape during the evening hours. Some landscape lighting tips are meant to show off different areas of your garden landscape. Landscape lighting is not only popular to homeowners but also business owners to highlight the business building during the evening. Everyone enjoys low voltage lighting and solar lighting because they are inexpensive and easy to install and are available to purchase almost anywhere.
Low voltage lighting has been around the longest and you will find are used by many homeowners. Low voltage refers to the line that is sending the voltage from the house outlet to a transformer and lowers the voltage to only 12 volts. This style is quite safe and can be install easily without hiring an electrician or without procuring a permit. The transformer that comes with the low voltage kit will plug into a 110/120v outlet located on the exterior of your home. Multiple cable runs are attached to the transformer that can connect up to a group of six light fixtures.
Solar units have become more popular these days as outdoor lighting because they are easier to install than the low voltage kits due to the fact there are no wires attached. All you do is attach a fixture or solar panel where it will receive direct or indirect sunlight. Some solar lights come with a solar panel that is attached with a wire; these are usually spot lights or uplights that highlight an area that is usually sitting in darkness most of the time. You position the light on a tree or some other object to be highlighted and the solar panel needs to be inserted in an area that receives sunlight to absorb the sun's energy. There are some solar lights that are recessed for placing in decks and others for placing on posts or railings; these will need a screwdriver for installation. The solar landscape fixtures consist of a solar panel, LED bulb, and anywhere between 1 and 4 rechargeable batteries. The energy from the sun will be changed to electrical energy by way of the solar panel and be stored in the batteries. It will take about eight to ten hours of sun to completely charge the batteries after the initial installation of the solar landscape lights. After the charging is complete the units will come on at dusk.
Here are more landscape lighting tips that will apply either to low voltage or solar lights for good results in the garden. You can accomplish uplighting by placing the light below a target and positioning the beam on an upwards angle for highlighting, this will create a focal point. Downlighting is done by doing just the opposite; place the light source high above an object and position the beam of light on a downward angle to highlight an object or large area. By placing a downlight close to ground level it will create light puddles to light a walkway or pathway. Grazing an object means to position the light close the surface and it will display the texture of the surface. To silhouette an object hide the lights behind and below that object and the night sky will show its silhouette.
Other than the above ways to light objects there are other ways such as spread lighting, path lighting, moon lighting and security lighting. Spread lighting is done by using low-level lights to cast light upon ground covers, shrubs, or flower beds; these can also be used underwater to highlight a pond. Path lighting can consist of low impact lights or lights that are shielded so they shine on the path for visibility and safety. Moon lighting is accomplished in the same manner as downlighting as described above. We use security lighting to guard against crime and uninvited pests. It is best to illuminate all areas that intruders like to hide and the best ones for that are spotlights that are set to come on when any type of motion occurs.
There are a few things to avoid in regards to landscape lighting. When there are too many lights lighting up your property it will look too garish and you do not want that. You basically only want to bring out the most interesting aspects of your landscape features, structures, and/or special areas. When you place lights along a pathway do not line them up evenly, alternate them for each side and make sure they are spaced according to what the manufacturer recommends.
Do some experimenting with low voltage lighting and solar lighting. Both types of lighting are flexible enough to move things around and adjust angles for the right effect. Some solar lighting spotlights and the low voltage lighting kits have wiring that you can bury but can be left until last until everything is positioned correctly. When your patio area and the landscape in the front yard look good to the eye you wisely used some good landscape lighting tips.
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