Make your outdoor property usable day and night by installing Landscape and walkway Lighting. These lights are an easy, beautiful way to light up your garden so that you can stay outside as long into the night as you want to.
Forget messy torches and candles--transform your yard or garden into a prime relaxation location with a system of Landscape and walkway light features. Designed for outdoor use, these durable lights provide gentle illumination to your property so that you and your guests can continue to enjoy the evening outside without struggling to see. Contact an electrician in your area to set up an appointment to start the Design process. They will work with you to create and install a Lighting scheme that will highlight the beauty of your property and create a welcoming, safe, and well-illuminated location.
The first step in the process of outdoor Lighting Design is to determine how you want to use your outside space and what your overall Lighting needs are. Do you want to create a general glow and ambiance to the whole area? Do you want to concentrate on Lighting a specific portion of the patio? Do you have walkways that need to be lit? Your Design expert will work with you to address all these questions so that you arrive at an overall Lighting scheme that fits your needs and your space. They will also help you choose the appropriate fixtures and configurations to achieve the look that you're going for, choosing from options such as solar Landscape light units to specially focused accent Lighting.
Once the Design process is complete, your outdoor Landscape Lighting expert will then start the actual installation process. Outdoor Lighting professionals have years of experience in installing these systems. They will be able to do all of the technical work of attaching the fixtures and connecting the wiring in a way that is non-intrusive to your outside space, both during and after installation. From concealing the Lighting in the contours of your Landscape, to burying the wiring so that it isn't even noticeable, these professionals will create a system of illumination that complements your space without drawing attention to itself. All you will be left with are beautiful, durable lights that will allow you to enjoy a well-illuminated exterior for years to come.
Landscape Lighting is a wonderful way to add usable space onto your home and property. Instead of dealing with temporary Lighting measures each time you want to spend time outside at night, invest in professionally Designed and installed Landscape lights.
During the day, you may look at your flowers and garden beds, enjoy vegetable or herb gardening, have play and seating areas, deck and cooking areas. Walkways are important aspects of your property, providing access to the areas of your yard. In the evening and hours of darkness, you probably have different needs in your backyard living areas - sitting and visiting, cooking, relaxing with friends, sitting by the fire or chimenea. How you view your yard at night - if you can view it at all, may change your perspective on outdoor Lighting.
Is your yard completely dark or have you flooded the area with bright floodlights? Did you make a trip to the home improvement store and come home with a box of inexpensive little fixtures that you didn't really know where to put, and turned out to be rather dim and disappointing?
It's usually best to consult with a professional Lighting Designer and have them work together with you to create a satisfying Lighting Design that will suit your needs and desires. Professional grade Lighting equipment lasts longer and performs better, and professional quality state-of-the-art fixtures live up to your high expectations and offer you a product that will provide beauty, reliability and longevity.
The secret of knowing exactly what to use and where to put it are the arena of the professional Landscape Lighting Designer. Most professional Designers work with you individually to Design a plan that enhances the architectural features of your home and best aspects of your property using a creative palette of light and shadow to set the perfect mood. Each project is as individual as you are. Hire an experienced and educated staff that knows how to take full advantage of modern Lighting technology to set the stage for your lifestyle. From formal events to casual gatherings, the most important aspect of your Lighting Design is to create evening pleasure for your family.
In addition to our providing Design/build services, you should ask your outdoor Lighting Designer if their projects are offered with a workmanship warranty and maintenance agreement to optimize your investment. Plant growth and Mother Nature provide constant change to your property, so your will need to ensure that the original Design is maintained over time. Have a professional clean, adjust, re-lamp, trim plant material and move fixtures to create the optimum effect, annually at a minimum, and more often if you have Landscape plant material that changes frequently or is fast-growing.
Additionally, your Designer may recommend re-positioning fixtures, changing lamp wattages and beam spreads as your plant material matures. These changes can make significant differences in the voltage drop and greatly affect the appearance of your Lighting Design, so a professional should make these changes. Your outdoor Lighting Designer should be a long-term partner for progress in your outdoor environment.
Professionally installed outdoor Lighting not only increases the security and safety of your home and its surroundings, it expands your living space to the outdoors and makes your home, lawn, and garden more beautiful, more functional, and more inviting. The benefits of outdoor Lighting for your home, Landscape, poolside, patio, and deck are endless.
For Professional Outdoor Lighting Design in the Dallas-Ft.Worth Texas area
What to look for in hiring an outdoor Lighting contractor. Landscape Lighting can truly set your home apart from the crowd and give you many extra hours of night enjoyment. Landscape Lighting can turn your home into a show place while also creating an inviting atmosphere for your family and friends to enjoy relaxing evenings at home. In my 23 years of Landscape Lighting Design and installation I have seen many outdoor Lighting systems that do not achieve the desired results of homeowners. I have had to totally redo many outdoor Lighting system. This unfortunate waist of money and frustration of a home owner could be avoided if they asked their Lighting contractor a few simple important questions. such as.
Do they have Landscape Lighting experience?.Make sure they have Landscape Lighting Design and installation experience. Not that they installed a Malibu's system on a few of their other projects. I have seen expensive outdoor Lighting system installed by licensed electrician that were dangerous and voltage drop so great that it took the electricity 2 seconds to activate fixtures after it was turned on.... Yes that's right 2 seconds and this was in a 3 million dollar house.
Make sure that they are Licensed in the right category for outdoor Lighting we have a c-10 electrical license.
Do they have references dealing with outdoor Lighting?
Do they offer fixtures that are durable and will withstand the harsh exterior elements? Many Landscape Lighting manufacturers offer a lifetime warranty?
Do they use stainless steel transformers and have multiple voltage taps for longer Lighting runs?
Do they have photographs of actual projects they have done and not photos off a web site or from a Landscape Lighting fixture catalog?
Do they understand creative Lighting and Design?
Do they have your best interest in mind or are they just trying to sell fixtures to drive up the price. We will even talk clients out of fixtures if we don't feel it serves a practical or artistic purpose. It's all about value.
Do they understand Ohms law and how it affects voltage drops and Lighting effects?
Have they been in business for a while? What is their track record and experience?
Do they offer follow up maintenance or service or do they install the Landscape Lighting system and leave you in the dark (no pun intended) If there is a problem down the line will they be available to provide service? Maintenance and repairs is a big part of a Landscape Lighting professional Lighting business.
If you have an existing system with quality fixtures and transformers, will they try to incorporate them into your new outdoor Lighting system or just try to sell you everything new (note fixtures and transformers in most existing systems are not adequate but some times they are and we are happy to reuse what we can if it doesn't comprises the quality of the outdoor Lighting Design and installation.
Do they bury the cable at least 6-8 inches below the surface.
Are the connections at all the lights crimped with copper sleeves and inserted in a waterproof cap?
Is Outdoor Lighting and Landscape Lighting a passion of theirs?
A true Lighting professional will address all these issues. This simple list of questions could of saved many homeowners thousands and thousands of dollars. Dont proceed with Landscape Lighting until you have asked these important questions. Knowledge is power.
Chuck Evans is the founder of Illuminated Concepts Inc. in Laguna Hills CA He has been providing creative Lighting experiences since 1976. Chuck started his Lighting career in NY by Designing and running stage Lighting for many musical productions. see their work on the web http://www.oclights.com
The best way to start your next landscaping project is to come up with some Landscape Lighting Ideas to help you plan out what you will be doing. However, coming up with Great Ideas for illuminating your Landscape areas may not be as easy as it seems. This is especially for those who have little experience or knowledge with outdoor Lighting methods. Here are some Ideas to help you get started.
1. Find a theme. The theme does not have to be something like "fairy tale dreamland". Instead, it can be something as simple as Lighting various features from the same angles and with the same type of lights. Find a common unifying theme that can tie everything together.
2. Choose Your fixtures. Before you begin, you need to know exactly which type of Lighting instruments you will be using. There are several different types of lights, including bullet lights, well lights, and path lights that work in different ways to illuminate your outdoor areas.
3. Keep it minimal. Many times when people begin thinking about Landscape lights, they think that they need many different Lighting fixtures to provide all kinds of light all over their yard. However, remember that too much of a good thing is not a good thing. This is very true with Landscape Lighting. Try to keep the minimum amount of lights and use them as efficiently as possible to get the best effect.
4. Use a central figure. Think about using some kind of landscaping feature as a central figure of your yard. Many people choose to make this central figure a fountain or a large tree. If you have a very old or particularly characteristic tree in your yard, consider having it moved to a central location.
5. Use a mixture of up Lighting and down Lighting. Up Lighting of course, refers to lights that have been placed on the ground and shine up onto something that is higher than the lights. Down Lighting is just the opposite, the lights are placed high and shine down on something below them. Consider using a mixture of the two to get a nice effect.
6. Think about shadows. If you have a large wall or other kind of flat surface, consider casting a shadow onto that surface. Large trees and shrubs can be used to cast shadows for some very interesting landscaping effects.
In addition to these Landscape Lighting Ideas, there are of course, many other ways you can illuminate your landscaping at night. The possibilities are virtually endless, and you are limited only by your creative imagination and/or your budget.
You can get lots more Landscape Lighting Ideas here, at the Malibu Solar Lights website.
Using LED lights in the Landscape is a great way to be able to see your Yard during the hours of darkness. Using Landscape Lighting has many different benefits from the added security of being able to see into your Yard to the visual appeal it gives when used as an accent Lighting for a focal point in the Landscape.
LED lights have many added benefits and are a much greener solution than using conventional bulbs. They are much more economical due to their longer lifespan, increased durability and energy saving qualities over the conventional type of light bulb.
There are many other reasons to use LED lights to turn your Landscape into an eco-friendly Yard. The LED Landscape is both environmentally friendly and also economically smart. Since LED lights use less energy than conventional lights they save on our energy costs. They also have longer lifetimes than other light bulbs and therefore create less waste than other types of lights.
The light emitting diode, or LED, has been sold for about 50 years. These lights have come a long way since first being employed and are now much safer, durable, last longer, are more efficient and cost less than they did when first used.
LED lights are extremely efficient, especially when you compare them to standard halogen bulbs. LED's use 90 percent less energy than halogen bulbs which means you pay only around 10 percent of the normal costs when it comes to your electric bill. LED's are also produced without using harmful and poisonous chemicals such as mercury, which is another great reason to use them.
LED's have an incredible lifetime. When you compare these bulbs to halogen lights you can see the amazing differences between them. Standard halogens last for about 3000 hours while specialty halogens last for about 12000. LED's last much longer at about 40000 hours of life. If you turned them on and never turned the lights off they would last for around 4 and a half years in total.
These bulbs are extremely efficient and another added bonus to using them in your Landscape is that they produce a large amount of light for how little energy they use, the perfect compliment to any Landscape. You can see the obvious benefits to using these bulbs when choosing a type of Lighting for your Landscape.
Eco Friendly Houses writes about many topics related to solar, green trends and eco-friendly products among other topics related to this field. Please feel free to read more about this topic on our site at LED Landscape Lighting.
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