subject: Great Lighting Ideas For Water Features [print this page] For many folks their outdoor spaces are just as important as their indoor spaces and water features are often the focal points of their gardens. If used properly, landscape lighting can turn that water feature into a wonderful centerpiece of the night time experience for your guests. Landscape lighting can be used to make a fountain glow or a illuminate a pond from within. You'll want to consider a few items before starting your next water feature lighting project
First, you want to choose your lighting type for your project. Fountains do best with a submersible light. Submersible landscape lights are placed below the surface of the water in the basin and pointed upward toward the body of it. They help to create a shimmering effect as well as illuminate the fountain. It also illuminates the streams of water being sprayed into the basin of the fountain. A good way to add some creativity is to use color filters. Often the lights will come with these filters and they can add a vibrant modern effect to your landscape.
Another option is to use non-submersible lighting that is placed at the base of the water feature. Landscape lighting options include solar, incandescent or LED landscape lighting. Solar landscape lighting is very popular these days because they are so easy to install, use no electricity and have a much less negative effect on the environment. LED lighting is also a great choice because it is much less expensive than traditional incandescent lighting (saves as much as 50% on power usage) and can last much longer as well. The moonlight globe is another very cool option for fountains, pools and ponds. They are battery operated free floating globes that light up and create a stunning effect in the landscape. They also can be hard wired and permanently installed around the base of water features as well to create permanent lighting. These are great choices for outdoor activities like parties because since they are battery operated they can be removed and stored for later events. A great feature with these globes is the speakers that they can come with because they create great ambience.
Studying your specific site and the particular setting that your water feature is in is important to determine the type of lighting that you would want to use. Depending on the specific situation, you may want to use up or down lighting. Or as mentioned above, using landscape lighting from within could be the preferred method.
Some lights can be incorporated in to the design of the fountain (if it is custom made) so that the lighting is obscure and nonintrusive while other fountains will require over head lighting to be attached to surrounding trees or other structures such as a building, pergola, or lamp post.
Using the correct lighting techniques will require a little planning but will pay big dividends long term. You will want to experiment with a flashlight at night to see exactly the locations that will best serve you for your fountain lighting project. Many times fountains are the centerpiece of the garden and need to been lighted more heavily. My advice is to choose fountain lights that will accentuate and illuminate your fountain without overpowering the surrounding landscape. Do a little research and planning prior to starting the project to insure that the results are what you desired.
