How do you choose the best outdoor light for your patio, deck or garden? Each garden light offers you specific applications. Here is a handy list describing the different garden lights and what they are used for. Use this as an easy reference for planning your outside space.
It’s that time of year. Time to get outdoors and prepare your garden for spring gatherings, prom, graduation, weddings . . .
You bother to take the time to choose just the right plants, shrubs, trees and flowers. Now light them! There are many types that come in many sizes and styles in landscape lighting. Functional or decorative, the purpose of landscape lighting is to illuminate your plantings and walkways. Different trees and shrubs require different types of lighting. To make sure you choose the correct type for your garden here are some guidelines to follow.
Area/Path lights – This type of lighting, such as G1107G, G2838F and G2846F, fills in low level areas of your landscape and walkways. The light can be used to define perimeters, highlight areas of interest, or provide a margin of safety along a path. Spacing of these light fixtures depends on lamping, beam spreads, and the type of walkway. A custom landscape design firm like Copper Lantern can help you with this.
Down Lights – This type of lighting, such as G2864F and G2859F, can highlight interesting textures, greenery, statuary or any architecturally interest on any building. It simulates natural lighting coming from above when hung high up in tree canopies.
BBQ Lighting – This type of lighting, such as G2856F and G2857F, is the elegant alternative to a flashlight and is indispensable to the outdoor chef. Permanent or clip-on mounting is available on the topside of the BBQ area. With a flexible stem for accurate aiming on the cooking surface this feature will make you the envy of any gathering.
Hanging Lights – This type of lighting, such as G2868F, G2874F and G2867F, is a decorative way to illuminate an outdoor area such as a patio, deck, eave, awning, archway and pergolas. This will give you pinpoint lighting below to gain a total functional outdoor environment that your whole family will enjoy.
Step, Deck or Brick Lighting – This type of lighting, such as G2886F, G2878F and G2877F, allows the safe navigation of stairways and deck surfaces by displaying the steps themselves, as well as framing the edges of the risers, walkways and decks. They are installed recessed inside the framing and masonry or surface mounted to give you that professional look.
Shadowing Lighting – This type of lighting, such as G2861F, G2863F and G2866F, will cast a shadow of a foreground object onto a vertical structure behind. Placing the surface flood or spot fixture nearer to the object will cast a larger shadow behind to give you that two-dimensional look on a wall or facade of a house.
Silhouetting – These types of lights, such as G2883F and G2884F, are usually in-ground well lights that are placed behind an object such as a tree or a shrub, or on an interesting structure. The best results are obtained when the light is focused onto a vertical surface such as a wall or facade of a house.
Spotlighting – This type of lighting, such as G2866F and G2863F, utilizes a tight cone of light to isolate specimen objects such as statues, garden art, stone boulders, and plantings. It is a surface, directional fixture that focuses on key elements creating high contrast to the garden.
Floodlighting – This type of lighting, such as G2883F, G2884F and G2861F, is similar to spotlighting except it utilizes a broader beam spread of light for greater coverage. Usually the fixture of choice is an in-ground well light that can be installed at the base of trees and shrubs to illuminate upwards to the tree canopy. You can also floodlight stone and free-form boulders with a surface ground flood fixture to give detail to terracing and elevation changes.
Putting Green Lighting – This type of lighting, such as G2880F and G2882F, can accentuate a golf course or private putting green with a stem mounted, wide-angle surface flood fixture. Similar to a path light but with a high lumens adjustable flooding beam spread, this is a great choice for any golf enthusiast.
Underwater Lighting – This type of lighting, such as G2889F or G2890F, may be used in or out of water to dramatically enhance fountains, spillways, statues and waterfalls. They can be submerged in water or mounted on the side of a pond or fountain to illuminate all viewable areas.
Now that we have talked about different types of fixtures, let’s get into the technical issues of landscape lighting. Should you install line voltage (120 volt) or low voltage (12 volt)?
Both are good choices depending on cost and limitations. The 120 volt option will carry greater load on long runs such as path lighting or post lights. There is a fewer volt load loss which allows more fixtures to be installed on a single line as long as you do not go over the total amperage of the wire rating. The only down side is the greater cost because the wiring should go down underground at least 12” below grade. The 12 volt systems are installed with an in-ground or surface 120 volt transformer, such as G2893F and G2894F, to step down the voltage. With this system you have to be mindful of the load to loss ratios. The wire sizing depends on the total number of fixtures on the total length of the wire runs. For example, a 12 gauge wire can only go 80’ with a 300 watt load, where as a 10 gauge wire can go 120’ with a 300 watt load. You can achieve the same output with a 12 volt system as you can with a 120 volt system if you design the lighting layout with the transformer centrally located in the garden in order to shorten multiple runs. The plus factor for the 12 volt wiring is that the wire only has to go under the mulch rather than the 12” underground and longer life bulbs. This option is much more cost effective without losing function and illumination.
The one thing we tell all of our customers is to stay away from the lower cost kits sold in most home centers as well as Asian imports. They are cheap and give you basically no illumination on your paths or gardens. And never buy the cheap solar kits. You will just be throwing your money away. When choosing landscape lighting and designs, make sure you deal with a reputable corporation like the Copper Lantern. Do it right the first time with professional grade components and installations.
