Outdoor lighting isn’t simply something to help you find your house keys at night.
It is also a way to show off the stuff your house is made of. Or the bushes, shrubs and trees that surround it.
By using a combination of lights to illuminate a tree and the ground around it, you can create the effect of moonlight when the real thing has taken the night off.
Under-the-eaves illumination can “wash” the sides of a house with light, highlighting architectural features for passers-by. That is, of course, if you have any features you want to show off.
And while you are creating a thing of beauty, you are enhancing security. No burglar can do his job successfully if he or she is in the spotlight. Or in artificial moonlight, for that matter.
If security is your first concern, here’s an idea: Install light on both sides and above the doorway so that steps, door, house number and the lock can be easily seen.
If aesthetics is your chief motivation, don’t aim directional lighting at the front door if the view of any visitors will be obscured by the direct glare.
House-mounted or overhead lighting illuminates the face and body of the caller. Avoid direct glare on the visitor and be sensitive to how it affects neighbors across the street.
Landscape lighting does not require the candle power used for night games at a football stadium.
Low-voltage lighting (12-volt) or energy-saving halogen or krypton-filled bulbs as low as 35 watts can keep the electricity bill this side of inexpensive.
“After style and security needs are met, most customers are looking for lighting that is economical to run,” said Wayne Scarborough, manager of the electrical department at Home Depot in Bensalem. “The low-voltage lighting remains popular for its economy of operation as well as the simplicity of installation.”
Ron Hazelton, home-improvement editor of ABC-TV’s “Good Morning, America”, said that “low-voltage stuff does almost everything that the typical homeowner would require.
“It’s also safe and easy to install,” said Hazelton, who is also Home & Garden Television’s “House Doctor”.
“And, with the help of a long extension cord, you can run the lights in any number of configurations and in any location to see what they look like– without having to bury the lines first.”
Hazelton emphasizes the “you” factor in landscape-lighting design. That’s because outdoor illumination should be a reflection of your taste. If you don’t like the effects you’ve created, keep changing them until you find them pleasing.
If you like what you’ve done, don’t mess with success.
In effect, you are painting a portrait of your yard and home with light. You are creating the shading and the colors and the contrasts.
The only rule in this kind of design is that less light is more, because your eye will be drawn to the light. Using lamps of low wattage prevent glare, which is what you want to avoid.
By using low-wattage lights, your eye is drawn to the result–the object being illuminated– instead of the source of the illumination.
To eliminate glare along a walkway, for example, use what are known as “mushroom” lamps. These are light fixtures on short poles that are close to the ground. The fixtures have a shield on top of the light source so the light is directed downward and out.
While lighting can highlight the exterior features of a house, they can do wonders for the interior, too. By lighting gardens or shrubbery that can be seen from the living or dining room, you provide a room-expanding view to the outside at night.
“By lighting the trees, and shrubs and landscaping, you can bring the indoors out of doors,” Hazelton said. “The rooms on the other side of exterior walls washed with light grow larger. The windows provide depth and drama to the interior as the exterior lighting transforms them from black, rectangular boxes.”
Until recently, consumers had limited lighting choices. Low-voltage was restricted to the mushroom lamps lining walkways or to deck lighting. But that has changed.
“There is much more available to the do-it-yourselfer these days,” Scarborough said. “The halogen uplights, downlights and spots weren’t widely available five or 10 years ago, but since they’ve begun mass-producing them, they are no longer very expensive.”
According to Scarborough, a basic model costs $3 or $4, while a halogen light falls in the $20 to $30 range. He said most of the lights he sells are for illuminating gardens, and that 50 percent of the buyers are do-it-yourselfers.
The number of lighting choices continues to expand. There are in-ground lights, down lights, lights that can fit into a brick walkway, beacons, deck and stair lights — both round and square — floodlights, wall lighting, and decorative lighting styles that recall the Victorian or Art Deco periods or provide a Japanese or Chinese feel.
All are in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors. Technology has created materials that resist the effects of weather — fiberglass, Teflon, aluminum — and creations without steel parts that succumb to rusting or need frequent painting or refinishing.
If you have a home near the seashore, for example, you might want to choose fixtures made of copper, brass or bronze with less than 20 percent nickel content to resist corrosion caused by salt water.
Some lighting fixtures come with warranties and may be more expensive because of it. Comparison shop.
Many experts complain that do-it-yourselfers choose landscape or deck lighting for their looks. The chief criterion should be the kind of light these fixtures provide. Different lights perform different functions. Low voltage lighting won’t work in situations where 120 volt lighting is needed.
With that said, here is a brief compendium of lighting techniques.:
– Uplighting describes the illumination of an object, area or surface from below. Walls, fences, bushes and shrubs and overhanging tree branches are likely candidates. Uplighting, which uses spotlights or floodlights, enhances the textures, sizes or colors of trees or large plants. Some uplighting should be used seasonally to highlight a flowering dogwood, cherry tree or azalea. Fall foliage might be better highlighted with a yellow or red-hued halogen bulb.
– Spotlighting uses a beam of light that is focused from above or below the object to draw attention to it, such as the spire of a church. There can be a problem with glare, so most spotlights come with some sort of shield to reduce or eliminate it.
– Downlighting also is called moonlighting. Lights are mounted in a tree canopy to soften the effect of the light on the ground surrounding the tree.
– Shadowing is when the light source in front of an object projects a shadow on the surface behind the object, such as a tree on the wall of a house.
– Crosslighting is used to soften shadows, and entails using two or more fixtures from different angles.
– Grazing is an effect achieved when a light source is placed within 12 inches of the surface and the light beam is aimed parallel to that surface. For example, a stone or rough-stucco house may look better when the textured surface is grazed by lighting.
– Backlighting or silhouetting is achieved when a light is placed behind an object and aimed at a wall or other vertical surface behind the object.
When lighting stairs, keep in mind that there are fixtures designed specifically for the task. Make certain that whatever lighting you select helps people navigate the steps safely. Consider seasonal problems such as ice and rain, and whether the lighting masks or points to spots that are slippery.
Path lighting should highlight borders and illuminate the walkway. When you do this, make certain the paths are evenly lighted by overlapping the patterns of light. Sharp contrasts between dark and light can often confuse and disorient people.
Lights for wooden decks tend to be small, low-voltage fixtures that provide accent lighting. Underwater lighting is often overdone, but if you have a swimming pool, small pond or a miniature waterfall and safety is a concern, it might be a wise investment.
The permutations of outdoor lighting are almost endless. But techniques and technology aside, the final result should be a reflection of your personality, tastes and lifestyle.
Above all, it should not compete with your home for attention, but complement it.
