Buying Guide For Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting fulfills several requirements
, it makes your premises visible so they are easy to find at night and have a welcoming appearance. Well lit premises can deter intruders and vandals, helping to keep your property safe. Properly illuminated outside areas can continue to be used for leisure activities after sunset, not just in the daytime. It can also contribute to the style and ambience of you property and be used to highlight architectural features or signs.
A Coordinated Lighting Scheme
To create an effective outdoor lighting scheme, you need to consider your ambient, accent and task lighting requirements.
Ambient or background lighting creates sufficient ambient light for your requirements, whether you want a low level glow to create a relaxing ambience or full illumination for practical purposes. There are several ways to achieve this:
*A series of small walkover lights installed around the perimeter of your patio or decking.
*Larger walkover and driveover lights are great for driveways and pathways
*If freestanding fittings are required, post or pedestal lights are ideal and can create pools of light over a wide area.
*Floodlights can provide full strength illumination for buildings and outdoor areas.
*A series of matching wall lights is a tried and tested way to provide effective exterior ambient light.
Accent lighting allows you to highlight specific features for either decorative or purely functional reasons, such as garden statuary, plants, trees, arches, windows, doorways, water features and signs. Install such lights a short distance from the feature and angle the beam to shine directly on or through it. Ideal fittings for accent lighting include:
*Walkover lights or floodlights used as uplighters highlight the feature from below.
*Wall mounted spotlights can downlight features by creating a pool of light around them.
*Garden spike spotlights can effectively highlight plants, flowers and smaller ornaments.
*Signs can be easily illuminated with specially designed sign lights with long arms and adjustable heads.
Remember that your property is viewed from different angles, for example you can view the driveway from the road or from inside the property so it's important to consider these different viewpoints when you choose your accent lighting.
Task lights are used for lighting very specific areas with a clear purpose such as brick lights for lighting steps, outdoor table lamps and low level path lights such as walkover or post fittings.
Security lighting
If security is a concern then install exterior security lights with a PIR (Passive Infrared) sensor. This sensor activates the light when it detects movement within a pre-set range, deterring potential vandals and intruders. Almost any exterior house light can be transformed into a security light with the addition of a separate PIR sensor.
Welcome lighting
Lights with a PIR sensor or a timer can also be attached to entrance lights so that they only light up when someone is within range, thus saving energy. PIR sensors are also useful for side passages.
Style of Lighting
Traditional lighting tends to be larger and more ornate, often in a lantern style. The design was influenced by the function of lighting in days gone by when the light source was candles or oil, and the architecture of the time which tended to be grand and ornate.
Modern lighting tends to be smaller and more simple in design, in modern materials such as stainless steel or durable plastics. Often the light fitting is designed to be hidden so that the eye is drawn to the object being illuminated rather than the light itself.
Commercial lighting tends to be larger in size, functional in design and robust in construction. Some commercial fittings use lamps such as sodium or metal halide that tend not to be used in domestic fittings as they have very poor colour rendering.
Choice of light source
When choosing exterior lights it is as important to consider the light source as it is the fitting itself.
*Halogen lamps are ideal for bright spotlighting, but consume relatively high amounts of electricity.
*Metal Halide is perfect for daylight quality illumination, its long life and energy efficiency makes it ideal for commercial premises.
*Low energy fluorescent bulbs are the ideal choice for outdoor lights that are on all night as they are long lasting and have low running costs.
*Popular for smaller and more flexible fittings, Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are an incredibly compact light source. LEDs are highly efficient and offer a very long average life.
*Traditional incandescent light bulbs are inexpensive and emit a warm bright light, but are not very energy efficient.
*Your outdoor fitting should have a minimum of an IP23 rating, as this means it is rainproof.
*Garden fittings that may be subject to splashing water from sprinklers need to have at least an IP44 rating.
*If you clean your external areas with pressure sprays then look for a fitting with an IP45 rating or above.
Outdoor Lighting
*Garden Lights
*Exterior House Lights
*Security Lighting
*Modern Lighting
*Traditional Lighting
Garden Lights
A well designed garden lighting scheme serves two main functions. Firstly it provides practical illumination for your guests and customers to enjoy the use of the garden, well after the sun goes down. And secondly, modern lighting enhances the beauty of your gardens and provides a stunning view whether seen from inside or outside the building.
Perfect views from a conservatory
Garden lighting is particularly magical seen from inside a conservatory, as the glass normally turns black at night, with nothing of the outside visible. Good garden lighting brings the outdoors inside, makes an enchanting scene and creates a wonderful feeling of space.
Using garden lighting
Just as with indoor lighting, there are three main types of garden lighting; background or ambient, accent lighting and task lighting.
Background or Ambient Lights include floodlights, post or pole and pedestal mounted lights, wall lights and bulkheads.
Accent Lighting is designed to highlight specific features of your garden such as trees or shrubs, garden buildings and seating, artwork and statuary. The light fittings are placed a short distance away from the object to shine directly on it and highlight it.
Accent lighting can also be used to illuminate water features such as ponds, waterfalls and fountains, and these may also be placed underwater. Another use for accent lighting is in sign lighting; illuminating a name or number on the outside of the building.
Task lights is a type of lighting designed for specific functions, which includes path and step lights (including brick lights inserted into walls next to steps and ground lights), short post lamps, bollards and outdoor table lamps and spotlights.
IP Rating - Your Guide to Waterproof Lighting
Outdoor light fittings commonly carry Ingress Protection or IP ratings. This rating has the letters IP followed by 2 digits. The first digit indicates solid objects and the second digit concerns the protection against water. The second number ranges from 0 to 8 and the higher the IP rating, the greater the protection.
*The minimum rating you should look for in a garden light is IP44, which means it is spray proof and splash proof, so it can withstand rain, hoses and sprinklers.
*For decking or patio lights that are cleaned with jet sprays you need to look for a fitting with an IP45 rating or above.
*Lights to be installed in shallow water from 15cm to 1m deep require a rating of IP57.
*If installing lights over 1m underwater in ponds, lakes or swimming pools, then opt for a fitting with an IP68 rating.
Practical background lighting
Your background garden lighting ensures there is adequate general light for your gardens at night.
*Recessed walkover lights are very popular for this purpose, as they are discreet and safe to use in areas where people frequently walk such as lawns and on patios and decking.
*If you prefer your light fittings to be more visible and decorative, then a pedestal or post fitting is the best choice.
*Install floodlights if you require full strength illumination for your whole garden.
Highlight your Garden's Best Features
Accent lighting allows you to show off the best features of your garden. When deciding where to place your lighting, a good rule of thumb is to light up the features that are the focal points of the garden during the day. It can be more effective to highlight just one or a small number of features than trying to light up the whole garden.
When choosing this part of your lighting scheme, don't forget to consider the different viewpoints from which people see your gardens, both indoors from rooms such as the dining room or lounge, and outdoors from the patio or seating area.
*Adjustable spotlights are great for drawing attention to particular flowers, trees or smaller garden ornaments.
*Garden spikes allow you to install lights right in your flower beds to great effect.
*To highlight larger features such as walls, statues or lakes, angled floodlights are the best option.
*To enhance the appearance of your ponds, fountains and other water features, light them from within using underwater walkover lights or rock lights (where the light source is concealed within a casing designed to look like a garden stone), for stunning results.)
Illuminate Pathways
Lit pathways are far safer for your guests and visitors and also discourage them from walking where they might cause damage to your gardens. Garden spikes or short post fittings are ideal for this purpose as they clearly define the path boundary. Alternatively, for more discreet path lighting, choose unobtrusive rock lights or recessed walkover lights.
Automatic Garden Lighting & Security
Fittings with dusk to dawn sensors turn your garden lights on at sunset and off at dawn. This ensures your gardens stay lit through the night and that no energy is wasted lighting your gardens once the sun has risen.
Most garden lighting can be fitted with a PIR (Passive Infra-Red) sensor to only go on when movement is detected. This can be useful for security, and also helps reduce energy consumption on welcome lights.
by: Sarah Drew
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