The Do’s and Don’ts of Landscape Lighting

Owner of Southern Landscape Lighting Systems, Lindsey Rodericks, takes us through what to do, and what to avoid when it comes to your landscape lighting installation in Atlanta.

Landscape lighting, if done right, can subtly
set the mood of a garden by using light to highlight features and working with
shadows to create texture. Outdoor lighting also performs an additional
important job, that of increasing the security of your property. Lindsey, with many
years as owner of Southern
Landscape Lighting Systems, Atlanta,GA has enough wisdom on the subject to
fill a book, and she shares four of the most important things that you should
do with your landscape lighting, as well as some things to avoid.

Do Use LED Lights

New LED lighting is between 60% and 70%
more energy efficient than traditional halogen bulbs, and they can last ten
years or more. LED technology is still
evolving, and LED lights are now available in a range of different hues so that
you can create the same effect as the soft white light of halogen bulbs.

Do Use Enough Fixtures

It may be tempting
to save money by installing fewer fixtures but making
them brighter. This ruins the effect of outdoor
lighting as you will have patches of extreme light and extreme shadow. If you
have budget constraints, rather focus on lighting the important areas of your
exterior – such as patios, walkways, and
entrances.

Do Vary the Fixtures Throughout Your Garden

By varying the intensity of the beams in a
garden, it is possible to create a sense of depth and texture to the area.

Do Highlight Landscaping Features Correctly

It’s a mistake to only use one light to illuminate features that you want to
highlight in your garden such as statues
and water features. A single light will create harsh shadows and wash the
feature out; this can be avoided by using two lights spaced correctly
with low to medium bulb intensities.

Don’t Only Use Bullet Lights

Bullet lights (or spotlights) are a
versatile fixture as they can be fitted
with different color bulbs and beams, but they can be quite one dimensional as
the light that they provide and can be quite harsh. Lindsey suggests limiting
the use of bullet lights to the corners of your home and property and for
highlighting architectural details, but to rather use softer lighting options
for the front of your home.

Don’t Use Solar Lights

Solar lights produce very little light and
are not reliable because they are weather dependent, and the lifespan of solar lights
tends to be a lot shorter. For people looking to make environmentally conscious
decisions, LED landscape lighting is an energy efficient alternative.

Don’t Treat Pathways and Stairs the Same

Pathways are a flat surface that won’t
create awkward shadows whereas stairs immediately create shadows even if there is only a small amount of light on
them. Lighting up a staircase by placing a single light at the top will make
the bottom stairs difficult to see, but this set up could work effectively for
a pathway. Stairs need a single light on each level (if the stairs are narrow),
however for wider staircases, it may be necessary to place multiple lights on
each rung.

Southern
Landscape Lighting Systems has been servicing the Atlanta for many years,
providing expert advice, high levels of customer service and expert landscape
lighting services. The company specializes in landscape lighting design with
free daytime consultations, as well as offering
landscape lighting installation and service. The team focuses on quality
workmanship and only uses the best
quality products. They pride themselves on offering superior after-sales
service to keep their client’s systems operating optimally.

The following article was originally published to The Do’s and Don’ts of Landscape Lighting and is courtesy of Southern Landscape Lighting Systems. Read more on:} https://www.southernlls.com/